SMART MEDICATION WASTE DISPOSAL

• US 20120226447A1
• Filed: 03/01/2012
• Published: 09/06/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/04/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Becton, Dickinson & Co
• Original Assignee: Becton, Dickinson & Co
• Inventors: Nelson, Elizabeth, Peterson, Bart D., Marshall, William R., Davis, Bryan G.
• Granted Patent: US 9,283,321 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/25
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/168 Means for controlling media flow to the body or for metering media to the body, e.g. drip meters, counters ; Monitoring media flow to the body flow control in general G05D7/00
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/17 delivered via infusion or injection
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/60 for the operation of medical equipment or devices

Abstract

A system for recording the wasting of fluids includes a waste disposal unit and a sensor system, having a sensor. The sensor can have one or more sensor elements in fluid communication with a fluid as it is wasted from a container into the waste disposal unit. The sensor system is configured to identify one or more drugs within the fluid and record the identity of the one or more drugs in a computer-readable medium electrically coupled to the sensor system.

Claims

1. A system for tracking the disposal of a fluid, the system comprising:

a waste disposal unit having a sensor for sensing a characteristic of a wasted fluid; and

a processor unit operably connected to the waste disposal unit, wherein the processor unit receives determines and displays the characteristic of the fluid.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the characteristic of the fluid is a volume of the fluid wasted into the waste disposal unit.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising an electronic record operably connected to the processor unit via a network.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the processor unit is configured to record the characteristic of the fluid to the electronic record.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the characteristic of the wasted fluid is at least one of a constituent of the wasted fluid, a diluent of the wasted fluid, a drug of the wasted fluid, a concentration of the wasted fluid, a date and time of the wasting of the wasted fluid, and an identity of the wasted fluid.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the processor unit is configured to record the characteristic of the fluid to the electronic record.

7. The system of claim 3, wherein the processor unit is configured to access information previously stored on the electronic record.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the previously stored information comprises a previously determined characteristic of an original fluid.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the previously determined characteristic of the original fluid comprises at least one of a constituent of the original fluid, a diluent of the original fluid, a drug of the original fluid, a concentration of the original fluid, and an identity of the original fluid.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the sensor is configured to perform one or more tests on the fluid useful in identifying the characteristic of the fluid.

11. The system of claim 5, wherein the sensor further comprises a volume sensor coupled to the waste disposal unit.

12. The system of claim 1, further comprising an input device configured to receive information from a label on the container.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the processor unit is configured to compare the characteristic of the wasted fluid with a previously determined characteristic of the original fluid to detect a discrepancy.

14. The system of claim 1, further comprising a display device operably coupled to the processor unit.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the waste disposal unit further comprises a drain.

17. The system of claim 13, further comprising a processor unit operably connected to the sensor and configured to receive the characteristic of the fluid from the sensor and record the characteristic of the fluid to the electronic record.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the characteristic of the fluid is at least one of a constituent of the fluid, a diluent of the fluid, a drug of the fluid, a concentration of the fluid, a dosage of the fluid, a date and time of the wasting of the fluid, and an identity of the wasted fluid.

16. A system for detecting a discrepancy in a fluid being wasted, the system comprising:

a waste disposal unit;

a sensor coupled to the waste disposal container, the sensor having a sensing element in a fluid pathway of a fluid being wasted from a container into the waste disposal unit, the sensor element being configured to identify a characteristic of the fluid; and

an electronic record operably connected to the sensor, wherein the electronic record records the identified characteristic of the fluid.

20. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

accessing a previously determined characteristic of the fluid;

comparing the identified characteristic of the fluid with the previously determined characteristic of the fluid; and

detecting a discrepancy between the identified characteristic of the fluid and the previously determined characteristic of the fluid.

19. A method for recording the wasting of IV fluids, comprising:

identifying a characteristic of a fluid using a waste disposal unit having a sensor for sensing the characteristic of the fluid; and

recording the characteristic of the fluid in an electronic record operably coupled to the sensor of the waste disposal unit.