AUTOMATED LABEL VERIFY SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DISPENSING PHARMACEUTICALS

• US 20120305638A1
• Filed: 08/14/2012
• Published: 12/06/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Omnicare LLC (CVS Health Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Omnicare Incorporated (CVS Health Corporation)
• Inventors: Szesko, Michael J., Carson, Bradley, Fearon, Kevin R., Smith, Robert A., Bonkenburg, Thomas P., Herring, Jonathan M.
• Granted Patent: US 9,367,981 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/375
• CPC Class Codes: B65C 9/44 by special means responsive to marks on labels or articles feed control in wrapping B65B
• CPC Class Codes: B65C 9/46 Applying date marks, code marks, or the like, to the label during labelling manually-controlled or operable apparatus having printing equipment B65C11/02; ticket printing and issuing G07B1/00 ; apparatus for ticket validating or cancelling G07B11/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/00 Methods or arrangements for effecting co-operative working between equipments covered by two or more of main groups G06K1/00 - G06K15/00, e.g. automatic card files incorporating conveying and reading operations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 11/004 Restocking arrangements therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/0092 for assembling and dispensing of pharmaceutical articles medical dispensers for private use, A61J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/13 delivered from dispensers
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 156/1089 of discrete laminae to single face of additional lamina

Abstract

Apparatus and methods for filling a prescription order with plurality of products each containing a pharmaceutical. The apparatus and method verifying a barcode on each of the products and printing and applying a patient label with a verified barcode to each of the products. After the patient label is applied, the barcodes are independently verified before the products are released.

Claims

1. An apparatus for filling a prescription order with a plurality of products each containing a pharmaceutical and each marked with a product barcode, the apparatus comprising:

a conveyor configured to move the products along a workflow path;

a first verification station in the workflow path of the conveyor and configured to verify that the product barcode on each product belongs in the prescription order being filled;

a label application station in the workflow path of the conveyor and configured to print and apply a patient label onto each of the products; and

a second verification station in the workflow path of the conveyor and configured to independently verify that the product barcode on each of the products matches a patient barcode on the patient label after application to the product.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

a product loading station including at least one product feed device configured to receive and singulate batches of the products.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the at least one product feed device further comprises:

a feed chute configured to receive a stack of the products;

a landing plate defining a bottom of the feed chute and configured to support the stack of the products; and

a gripping device movable relative to the landing plate, the gripping device configured to cooperate with the feed chute to successively singulate each of the products from the stack.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein comprising:

a reject bin positioned adjacent the conveyor, the reject bin configured to receive the products determined by the first verification station to fail verification.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the first verification station includes a shift arm configured to move laterally across the workflow path of the conveyor, the shift arm configured to transfer products determined by the first verification station to fail verification from the conveyor to the reject bin.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

an escape including a chute positioned adjacent to the conveyor, the escape configured to receive products for which the product barcode is independently verified to match the patient barcode on the patient label.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the second verification station includes a shift arm configured to move laterally across the workflow path of the conveyor, the shift arm configured to transfer products for which the product barcode is independently verified to match the patient barcode on the patient label from the conveyor onto the chute of the escape for transfer to a container.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the label application station is configured to independently verify the patient barcode on the patient label before the patient label is applied to one of the products.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the label application station comprises:

a label printer configured to print information on each of the patient labels;

an applicator configured to temporarily capture one of the patient labels from the label printer and move the patient label along a path of motion toward the product being processed by the label application station; and

a reject plate selectively movable between a first position in the path of motion of the applicator and a second position out of the path of motion,

wherein the applicator is configured to apply each of the patient labels to one of the products or to the reject plate.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the products are shaped with at least two different form factors, and the applicator is configured to apply each of the patient labels to the products of the different form factors.

11. A method of filling a prescription order with a plurality of products each containing a pharmaceutical, the products being loaded into a machine for processing, the method comprising:

moving the products along a workflow path defined by a conveyor;

automatically verifying a product barcode on each of the products at a first verification station in the workflow path of the conveyor;

printing a patient label for each of the products verified by the first verification station;

applying the patient labels to at least some of the products; and

after the patient label is applied to a product, independently verifying that the product barcode matches a patient barcode on the patient label at a second verification station in the workflow path of the conveyor.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

singulating batches of the products loaded into the machine so that the products can be individually processed by the machine; and

automatically loading the individual products singulated from the batches onto the conveyor.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein singulating batches of the products further comprises:

singulating batches of products shaped with a card form factor using a first product feed device; and

singulating batches of products shaped with a box form factor using a second product feed device.

14. The method of claim 11 wherein automatically verifying a product barcode on each of the products at the first verification station further comprises:

after each product has been loaded onto the conveyor, reading the product barcode on each of the products;

comparing the product barcode to tracking data to verify that the product belongs in the prescription order being filled; and

transferring the products with a product barcode that fails verification at the first verification station from the conveyor into a reject bin positioned adjacent the conveyor.

15. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

pushing the products for which the product barcode matches the patient barcode laterally from the conveyor at the second verification station onto a chute of an escape for transfer to a container.

16. The method of claim 11 wherein independently verifying that the product barcode matches the patient barcode at the second verification station further comprises:

reading the product barcode and the patient barcode on each product with one or more barcode readers;

comparing the product barcode read from each product to tracking data to verify that the product belongs in the prescription order being filled; and

comparing the patient barcode read from each product to tracking data to verify that the correct patient label has been applied to the correct product.

transferring the products with a product barcode or patient barcode that fails verification at the second verification station from the conveyor into a second reject bin positioned adjacent the conveyor.

17. The method of claim 11 wherein the patient labels are printed by a label printer, and applying the patient labels further comprises:

temporarily capturing each patient label with an applicator after the patient label has been printed, the applicator being suspended above the product being processed; and

moving the applicator and the patient label temporarily captured by the applicator along a path of motion toward the product being processed.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein applying the patient labels to at least some of the products further comprises:

applying the patient labels to products shaped with a card form factor with the applicator; and

applying the patient labels to products shaped with a box form factor with the applicator.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the applicator includes a tamp pad having a central section and peripheral sections pivotally coupled to the central section, and applying the patient labels to products shaped with a box form factor further comprises:

retaining each patient label on the tamp pad after the patient label is printed;

moving the tamp pad toward the product until the central section brings the patient label into contact with a front surface of the product; and

pivoting the peripheral sections relative to the central section to bring the patient label into contact with opposed side surfaces of the product.

20. An apparatus for filling a prescription order with a plurality of products each containing a pharmaceutical, the apparatus comprising:

a product loading station configured to receive batches of the products, the product loading station further configured to singulate the products for subsequent processing along a workflow path;

a conveyor configured to move each of the products singulated by the product loading station along the workflow path;

a first verification station in the workflow path, the first verification station including a bar code reader configured to read a product barcode on each of the products and a transfer arm configured to selectively remove the products from the workflow path;

a label printing station in the workflow path downstream of the first verification station, the label printing station including a label printer configured to print patient labels and an applicator configured to apply each patent label on one of the products; and

a second verification station in the workflow path downstream of the label printing station, the second verification station including a bar code reader configured to read the product barcode on each of the products and a patient barcode on each of the patient labels, the second verification station further including a transfer arm configured to remove the products from the workflow path.

21. The apparatus of claim 20 wherein the product loading station, the first verification station, the label printing station, and the second verification station are configured to process products shaped with different form factors.