Pharmaceutical waste identification system

• US 7,366,640 B2
• Filed: 08/31/2005
• Issued: 04/29/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Waste Management National Services, Inc. (Waste Management Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: PharmEcology Associates, LLC (Waste Management Incorporated)
• Inventors: Smith, Charlotte A., McCauley, James R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Barlow; John
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cherry; Stephen J.
• Application Number:
  US11/217,064
• Publication Number:
  US 20060036407A1
• Time in Patent Office: 972 Days
• Field of Search: 702/188, 702/81, 702/83
• US Class Current: 702/188
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/13 delivered from dispensers
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/20 for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities, e.g. managing hospital staff or surgery rooms
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 70/40 relating to drugs, e.g. their side effects or intended usage
• CPC Class Codes: G16Z 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other main groups of this subclass

Abstract

A pharmaceutical waste identification system presents pharmaceutical waste information and, in response to a client entering a pharmaceutical name, the system provides a pharmaceutical waste disposal recommendation. This recommendation can include a labeling recommendation for a container for the pharmaceutical, a disposal recommendation for an empty container previously containing the pharmaceutical, and a disposal recommendation for the pharmaceutical.

Claims

1. A computer program application embodied in a computer readable medium and configured for use in a medical dispensing software program to generate proper labels and disposal recommendations for pharmaceuticals, the application comprising:

pharmaceutical waste information associated with a pharmaceutical, the pharmaceutical waste information being gathered from a plurality of sources, wherein the pharmaceutical waste information includes information regarding finished pharmaceutical dosage forms of the pharmaceutical, the pharmaceutical waste information including analysis and notes from one or more reviewers of the pharmaceutical; and

a user interface that presents the information associated with the pharmaceutical waste information to a client, wherein the client enters a pharmaceutical name and is provided with a pharmaceutical waste disposal recommendation.

2. The program application of claim 1, wherein the pharmaceutical waste disposal recommendation comprises a disposal recommendation for an empty container previously containing the pharmaceutical.

3. The program application of claim 1, wherein the pharmaceutical waste disposal recommendation comprises a labeling recommendation for a primary container of the pharmaceutical.

4. The program application of claim 1 wherein the recommendation is presented in a different color depending on a severity level.

5. The program application of claim 4, wherein a red color represents a high severity of hazardous waste.

6. The program application of claim 1, wherein the pharmaceutical waste disposal recommendation includes information on an appropriate waste disposal system.

7. The program application of claim 1, further comprising benchmarking information having data regarding a formulary of the pharmaceutical and demographic data.

8. The program application of claim 7, wherein the benchmarking information comprises usage and cost information.

9. The program application of claim 1, further comprising a link to a supporting Material Safety Data Sheet accessible via the Internet.

10. A method of providing disposal recommendations for pharmaceuticals, the method comprising:

using a first processing system to maintain a pharmaceutical waste information processing unit that receives and processes requests for pharmaceutical waste information including data from reviewers and information regarding finished dosage forms;

receiving a signal for invoking the pharmaceutical waste information processing unit from a remote processing system via a network wherein the signal is transmitted when a client enters a pharmaceutical name; and

providing a recommendation in response to the signal, wherein the recommendation includes any one of the labeling recommendation for a primary container of the pharmaceutical, a disposal recommendation for an empty primary container of the pharmaceutical, and a disposal recommendation for the pharmaceutical.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the pharmaceutical waste information date comprises non-hazardous information which is differentiated into sewerable, municipal solid waste, and incinerable.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the response to the signal is provided via a hand-held bar code scanner that provides the disposal recommendation using an electronic display.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising printing a label for the primary container based on the labeling recommendation.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the labeling recommendation comprises Department of Transportation (DOT) guidance.

15. A device configured to receive pharmaceutical information and provide a disposal recommendation in response to the received pharmaceutical information, the device comprising:

an input component configured to receive a pharmaceutical identifier;

a memory containing programmed instructions that determines a pharmaceutical based on the pharmaceutical identifier and that provides a disposal recommendation based on stored information associated with the pharmaceutical; and

an output component that presents the disposal recommendation, wherein the output component communicates the disposal recommendation to a computer application associated with a health care medical dispensing program.

16. The device of claim 15, wherein the input component comprises a bar-code scanner.

17. The device of claim 15, wherein the output component comprises an electronic display.

18. The device of claim 15, wherein the output component comprises a label printer configured to print labels for containers of the pharmaceutical.

19. The device of claim 15, wherein the output component further provides instructions for a unit dose packaging software to mark the pharmaceutical according to the disposal recommendation.

20. The device of claim 15, wherein the input component comprises an Internet-based application communicatively coupled to the Internet.