METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MANAGING INVENTORY IN A HEALTHCARE FACILITY

• US 20090008447A1
• Filed: 06/06/2008
• Published: 01/08/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/07/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Carefusion 303 Incorporated (Becton Dickinson & Co)
• Original Assignee: Carefusion 303 Incorporated (Becton Dickinson & Co)
• Inventors: Godlewski, Peter Phillip
• Application Number:
  US12/135,091
• Publication Number:
  US 20090008447A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/385
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/00 ICT specially adapted for therapies or health-improving plans, e.g. for handling prescriptions, for steering therapy or for monitoring patient compliance
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/20 for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities, e.g. managing hospital staff or surgery rooms

Abstract

A method and system for managing inventory in a healthcare facility, in which it is determined whether a machine-readable tag affixed to at least one of a used item and a container of the used item is deposited in a receptacle. It is automatically communicated to a centralized database that the machine-readable tag has been deposited in the receptacle. A demand signal may be automatically generated demanding a replacement for the used item, when it is determined that the machine-readable tag is deposited in the receptacle. Also, a charge for the used item may be automatically generated on a patient bill stored in the database, when it is determined that the machine-readable tag is deposited in the receptacle.

Claims

1. A method of managing inventory in a healthcare facility, comprising:

determining whether a machine-readable tag affixed to at least one of a used item and a container of the used item is deposited in a receptacle at the healthcare facility; and

automatically communicating to a centralized database that the machine-readable tag has been deposited in the receptacle.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising sensing at the receptacle that the machine-readable tag has entered the receptacle.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising associating at the centralized database the sensed machine-readable tag with the used item.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising automatically generating a demand signal demanding a replacement for the used item, when it is determined that the machine-readable tag is deposited in the receptacle.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the demand signal is generated at the centralized database communicatively coupled to the receptacle.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising transmitting the demand signal from the centralized database to a supplier of the used item.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising automatically generating a charge for the used item on a patient bill stored in the centralized database, when it is determined that the machine-readable tag is deposited in the receptacle.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein a supplier of the used item previously affixes the machine-readable tag to the at least one of the used item and the container of the used item.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the machine-readable tag is a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag.

10. A system of managing inventory in a healthcare facility, comprising:

a receptacle configured to determine whether a machine-readable tag affixed to at least one of a used item and a container of the used item is deposited in the receptacle at the healthcare facility; and

a communication interface to automatically communicate to a centralized database that the machine-readable tag has been deposited in the receptacle.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the communication interface comprises a sensor, at the receptacle, configured to sense that the machine-readable tag has entered the receptacle.

12. The system of claim 11, further comprising:

a processor at the centralized database associating the sensed machine-readable tag with the used item.

13. The system of claim 10, further comprising a processing unit configured to generate a demand signal demanding a replacement for the used item, when it is determined that the machine-readable tag is deposited in the receptacle.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the demand signal is generated at the centralized database communicatively coupled to the receptacle.

15. The system of claim 14, further comprising a transmitter configured to transmit the demand signal from the centralized database to a supplier of the used item.

16. The system of claim 10, further comprising a processing unit configured to automatically generate a charge for the used item on a patient bill stored in the database, when it is determined that the machine-readable tag is deposited in the receptacle.

17. The system of claim 10, wherein a supplier of the used item previously affixes the machine-readable tag to the at least one of the used item and the container of the used item.

18. The system of claim 10, wherein the machine-readable tag is a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag.

19. A computer-readable medium storing instructions thereon for performing a method of managing inventory in a healthcare facility, the method comprising:

determining whether a machine-readable tag affixed to at least one of a used item and a container of the used item is deposited in a receptacle at the healthcare facility; and

automatically communicating to a centralized database that the machine-readable tag has been deposited in the receptacle.