Restocking method for medical item dispensing system

• US 6,108,588 A
• Filed: 01/27/1998
• Issued: 08/22/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 01/25/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Diebold Nixdorf, Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Diebold Incorporated (Diebold Nixdorf, Incorporated)
• Inventors: McGrady, R. Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Gordon, Paul P.
• Application Number:
  US09/014,137
• Time in Patent Office: 938 Days
• Field of Search: 700/214, 700/215, 700/216, 700/225, 700/226, 700/231, 700/232, 700/235, 700/236, 700/242, 53/55, 221/81, 221/9, 221/10, 705/28, 705/29
• US Class Current: 700/231
• CPC Class Codes: G06M 7/04 Counting of piece goods, e.g. of boxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/0092 for assembling and dispensing of pharmaceutical articles medical dispensers for private use, A61J7/00

Abstract

A system for monitoring and dispensing medical items includes a plurality of hook registers (10). Each of the hook registers includes sensors (48, 60, 62, 64) sensing the removal or addition of a medical item to the storage location on the hook register. Each hook register has a microprocessor (66) connected to the sensor which stores a count of the items added or removed from the location. The microprocessor also includes location identifying information specifically associated with the particular hook register. The microprocessor is periodically polled by a controller (72) which reads and stores the count and location identifying information from each of the hook registers. The controller information is periodically read by a data terminal (76) which is connected through a local area network (82) to a remote computer (84) having a processor and data store. A user of the data terminal is enabled to specify a patient for whom medical items will be used when the items are removed from the hook registers or other storage locations. In addition, the system also monitors inventories of items and levels of usage by users. The system also monitors and controls the dispense of other medical items from box registers (110) as well as controls the dispense of items from secure storage locations such as electronic lock drawers (96) and medicine dispensers (100).

Claims

1. A method of restocking medical items in a system for providing medical items, comprising in any order the steps of:

a) labeling a container holding a type medical item with a machine readable indicia representative of the particular item type; and

b) storing in a data store in operative connection with a processor, data representative of a storage location in which the type medical item is to be stored;

and after execution of steps (a) and (b) further comprising the steps of;

c) reading with a reading device in operative connection with the processor the machine readable indicia labeled on the container; and

d) placing the type medical item in the storage location.

2. The method according to claim 1 wherein in step (d) the container holding the type medical item is placed in the storage location.

3. The method according to claim 1 and subsequent to step (c) further comprising the step of:

e) comparing through operation of the processor, the medical item type corresponding to indicia read from the container in the reading step, and the medical item type indicated by the data in the data store as stored in the storage location.

4. The method according to claim 3 and subsequent to step (e) further comprising the step of:

f) generating an indicative signal when the medical item types compared in step (e) are not the same medical item types.

5. The method according to claim 1 wherein in step (a) the machine readable indicia labeled on the container includes a bar code, and in step (d) the bar code is read with a bar code reader.

6. The method according to claim 5 and prior to step (c) further comprising the step of:

(g) storing in the data store information which correlates the bar code labeled on the type medical item and the particular medical item type.

7. A method of restocking medical items in a system for providing medical items, comprising in any order, the steps of:

a) labeling a container holding a type medical item with a machine readable bar code representative of the particular type medical item;

b) storing in a data store in operative connection with a processor, data indicative of a storage location in which the type medical item is to be stored;

c) storing in the data store, information which correlates the bar code labeled on the type medical item and the particular type medical item;

d) reading with a bar code reader in operative connection with the processor, the bar code labeled on the container;

e) moving the container toward a first storage location;

and subsequent to step (d) further comprising the steps of;

f) determining using the information stored in step (c) the type medical item corresponding to the indicia read with the bar code reader in step (d);

g) checking if the type medical item determined in step (f) is the same type medical item indicated to be stored in step (b) in the first storage location;

and if in step (g) the type medical items are not the same, further comprising the step of;

g) giving an indication with an indicating device.

8. A method of restocking medical items in a system for providing medical items, comprising in any order the steps of:

a labeling a plurality of containers each holding one of a plurality of different types of medical items with one of a plurality of indicia, wherein the indicia labeled on each container is representative of the one type of medical item therein;

b) storing in a data store in operative connection with a processor, data representative of a plurality of storage locations, wherein data representative of each storage location is stored in correlated relation with data representative of one of the plurality of types of medical items;

and subsequent to steps (a) and (b) further comprising the steps of;

c) reading with a reading device in operative connection with the processor the indicia labeled on one container; and

d) placing a first type of medical item housed in the container on which the indicia is read in step (c), in the storage location corresponding to the storage location data stored in the data store in correlated relation with data representative of the first type medical item.

9. The method according to claim 8 and further comprising the steps of:

repeating step (c) reading indicia labeled on a second container holding a second type medical item; and

repeating step (d) by placing the second type medical item in a second storage location, wherein in the second storage location corresponds to the storage location data stored in correlated relation with data representative of the second type medical item.

10. A method of restocking medical items in a system providing medical items, comprising the steps of:

a) labeling a type medical item with a machine readable indicia representative of the particular item type; and

b) storing in a data store in operative connection with a processor, data representative of a storage location in which the type medical item is to be stored;

and after execution of steps (a) and (b) further comprising the steps of;

c) reading with a reading device in operative connection with the processor the machine readable indicia on the type medical item; and

d) placing the type medical item in the storage location.

11. A method comprising the steps of:

a) applying in connected relation with each of a plurality of medical items machine readable indicia, wherein the indicia applied in connection with each medical item is indicative of a medical item type associated with the respective medical item;

b) storing in a data store in operative connection with a processor, data representative of each of a plurality of storage locations and a medical item type to be stored in each respective storage location;

c) reading with a reading device in operative connection with the processor, the machine readable indicia in connection with a first medical item of a first medical item type; and

d) placing the first medical item in a first storage location, wherein in the data store, data representative of the first storage location is associated with the first medical item type.

12. A method comprising the steps of:

a) applying in connection with a plurality of medical items machine readable indicia, wherein the indicia applied to each medical item is indicative of a medical item type associated with the respective medical item;

b) storing in a data store in operative connection with a processor, data representative of each of a plurality of storage locations and a medical item type to be stored in each respective storage location;

c) reading with a reading device in operative connection with the processor, the machine readable indicia in connection with a first medical item of a first medical item type;

d) placing the first medical item in a first storage location;

e) comparing through operation of the processor, the data representative of the first medical item type associated with the machine readable indicia read in connection with the first medical item, and the data representative of the medical item type associated in the data store with the first storage location;

f) generating a signal indicative of a result of the comparison in step (e).