Device for conversion from a pharmaceutical identification number to a standardized number and method for doing the same
DCFirst Claim
1. A method for converting bar code indicia of a type selected from a plurality of bar code indicia types into a common output format comprising a standardized string of a fixed length of characters having at least two identification portions by means of a scanner and comprising the steps of:
- reading the bar code indicia with the scanner;
converting the bar code indicia into an input string of a first length having at least a first portion and a second portion;
manipulating the input string into the common output format so that the length of the first string equals the fixed length of the standardized string and so that the first portion of the input string corresponds to one of the least two identification portions of the output format and the second portion of the input string corresponds to another of the at least two identification portions of the output format; and
sending the first string to a processing unit.
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Abstract
A device and method is provided for converting product-specific identification numbers associated with bar code indicia on pharmaceutical products to an industry standard identification number. The process involves reading a bar code indicia, converting the indicia into an input string and standardizing the input string by means of adding or subtracting characters in accordance with rules based on the bar code type and length of the input string. By means of the invention pharmaceutical products of two different sources may be compared to determine if they contain the same drug as determined by the standard identification number. The device can include a removable member for interchanging and updating bar code indicia information rather than reprogramming the device.
171 Citations
51 Claims
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1. A method for converting bar code indicia of a type selected from a plurality of bar code indicia types into a common output format comprising a standardized string of a fixed length of characters having at least two identification portions by means of a scanner and comprising the steps of:
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reading the bar code indicia with the scanner; converting the bar code indicia into an input string of a first length having at least a first portion and a second portion; manipulating the input string into the common output format so that the length of the first string equals the fixed length of the standardized string and so that the first portion of the input string corresponds to one of the least two identification portions of the output format and the second portion of the input string corresponds to another of the at least two identification portions of the output format; and sending the first string to a processing unit. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method for verifying that a first and second bar code indicia are identical comprising the steps of:
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reading the first bar code indicia; converting the first bar code indicia into a standardized first string of a common output format having a predetermined length and at least a first identification portion and a second identification portion; sending the first string to a processing unit; storing the first string in the processing unit; reading the second bar code indicia; converting the second bar code indicia into a standardized second string of the common output format having the predetermined length and the at least a first identification portion and a second identification portion; sending the second string to the processing unit; storing the second string in the processing unit; and comparing the first string and the second string to determine whether the first and second identification portions of the first string are identical to the first and second identification portions of the second string. - View Dependent Claims (19)
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20. A method for converting a bar code indicia of a type selected from a plurality of bar code indicia types into a common output format comprising a standardized string of a fixed length of eleven characters having at least a first identification portion and a second identification portion by means of a scanner and comprising the steps of:
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reading the bar code indicia with the scanner; setting a standardized first string to null; converting the bar code indicia into an input string of a first length of at least ten characters and no more than fifteen characters; manipulating the input string into the first string so that the length of the first string equals the first length of the standardized string in the common output format, the manipulating steps comprising the sub-steps of forming the input string into the output format having the first and second identification portions by; identifying if the bar code indicia is of a predetermined type, eliminating check characters from the input string, and eliminating other non-standard characters from the input string; and sending the standardized first string to a processing unit. - View Dependent Claims (21)
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22. A method for converting bar code indicia into a standardized string of a fixed length comprising characters by means of a scanner and comprising the steps of:
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reading the bar code indicia with the scanner; converting the bar code indicia into an input string of a first length; eliminating check characters and other non-standard characters from the input string to form a first string; comparing at least a lead character of the input string to a predetermined character, wherein if the at least lead character of the input string equals the predetermined character, then comprising the additional steps of (1) appending the predetermined character to the beginning of the first string; and
(2) appending at least a portion of the input string to the first string after the predetermined character; andsending the first string to a processing unit. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A method for converting a bar code indicia representing a bar code of a first type selected from a group of a plurality of bar code types containing a first predetermined number of characters to a NDC string containing a second predetermined number of characters including a first source identification portion, a second product identification portion and a third trade package portion by means of a scanner and comprising the steps of:
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reading the bar code indicia with the scanner; converting the bar code indicia into an input string representing the bar code of the first predetermined number of characters; extracting a first subset of characters from the input string corresponding to the first source identification portion; extracting a second subset of characters from the input string corresponding to the second product identification portion; extracting a third subset of characters from the input string corresponding to the trade package portion; forming a second string by combining the first source identification, second product identification and third trade package portions of a length equal to the second predetermined number of characters; and sending the second string to a processing unit. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37)
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38. A method for converting bar code indicia of a type selected from a plurality of bar code types into a standardized string of a fixed length of characters by means of a scanner and comprising the steps of:
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reading the bar code indicia with the scanner; converting the bar code indicia into an input string of an input length of characters; manipulating the input string to reflect a root string of a root string length of characters depending upon at least one of the type of bar code indicia, the input length and the type of characters comprising the input string; comparing a first predetermined number of characters of the root string with a first identifier string; and creating an output string comprising at least one insert character and the root string based upon the result of the comparing step. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51)
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Specification