Method of intelligently dispensing medicaments

• US 7,844,362 B2
• Filed: 07/11/2006
• Issued: 11/30/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/13/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Helene Laliberte, Michael Handfield
• Original Assignee: Helene Laliberte, Michael Handfield
• Inventors: Handfield, Michael, Laliberte, Helene
• Primary Examiner(s): Crawford; Gene
• Assistant Examiner(s): Waggoner; Timothy R
• Application Number:
  US11/484,983
• Publication Number:
  US 20060249525A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,603 Days
• Field of Search: 700/237, 700/240
• US Class Current: 700/237
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 1/03 for pills or tablets containers for pills or tablets with special dispensing means therefor B65D83/04
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 2205/30 Printed labels
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/0076 Medicament distribution means with pill counting devices A61J7/02; with time indication A61J7/04; containers or packages with special means for dispensing contents B65D83/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/0084 for multiple medicaments
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/66 Trinkets, e.g. shirt buttons or jewellery items recognising microscopic objects G06V20/69
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 11/24 Rotary or oscillatory members
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 11/38 in which the magazines are horizontal
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 11/44 in which magazines the articles are stored in bulk
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 11/62 in which the articles are stored in compartments in fixed receptacles
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/0092 for assembling and dispensing of pharmaceutical articles medical dispensers for private use, A61J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/026 for alarm, monitoring and auditing in vending machines or means for indication, e.g. when empty
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/13 delivered from dispensers
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation

Abstract

The invention relates to a medicament dispensing container for dispensing medicaments contained therein and further including electronic circuitry for performing various functions such as, for example, determining an operating mode of the container, determining if the data stored in the memory device is up to date, determining if a new container needs to be ordered, determining if the medicament units have been recalled, determining if the container is to be returned for credit, determining if the medicament units may cause adverse side effects to a specified patient, and determining if the container is to be discarded.

Claims

1. A medicament container comprising:

a housing adapted to store a plurality of medicaments;

a memory unit contained within the housing, the memory unit storing a plurality of instructions for determining whether an external device has been designated to receive the container and for generating a first output upon determining that the external device has not been designated to receive the medicament container, wherein the first output is adapted to trigger generation of an e-mail to a designated caregiver;

a processor connected to the memory unit and adapted to execute the plurality of instructions;

a dispensing mechanism adapted to dispense one or more medicaments from the housing; and

a control module connected to the processor and adapted to control the dispensing mechanism based at least in part upon an output from the processor.

2. The medicament container of claim 1, wherein the external device comprises a dispensing machine.

3. The medicament container of claim 1, wherein the memory unit is adapted to store an identifier associated with an external device that is designated to receive the medicament container.

4. The medicament container of claim 1, wherein the plurality of instructions comprise instructions for disabling the dispensing mechanism upon determining that the external device has not been designated to receive the medicament container.

5. The medicament container of claim 4, wherein disabling the dispensing mechanism comprises preventing a first rotational element associated with the external device from interfacing with a second rotational element associated with the medicament container.

6. The medicament container of claim 5, wherein the first and second rotational elements comprise drive gears.

7. The medicament container of claim 5, wherein preventing a first rotational element from interfacing with a second rotational element comprises controlling an access shutter disposed within said housing, wherein the access shutter is adapted to enable access to the second rotational element.

8. The medicament container of claim 1, wherein the external device has not been designated to receive the medicament container if the medicament container comprises at least one of a recalled medicament, a medicament contraindicated with a prescription of the patient, an expired medicament, a medicament prescribed in a non-therapeutic dose, and a medicament that does not correlate with a diagnosis of the patient, and wherein the external device has not been designated to receive the medicament container if at least one of the patient'"'"'s insurance information and payment information is outdated.

9. The medicament container of claim 1, wherein the first output is adapted to trigger a warning message upon a designated display module.

10. The medicament container of claim 9, wherein the display module comprises an LED display module attached to the housing of the medicament container.

11. The medicament container of claim 9, wherein the display module comprises a display screen associated with a computer that is connected to the external device.

12. The medicament container of claim 1, wherein the first output is adapted to trigger an alarm within a portable device associated with a designated caregiver.

13. A computer readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed by a processor disposed within an automated medicament dispensing tray, perform a process comprising:

loading a first identifier from memory disposed within the automated medicament dispensing tray;

receiving a second identifier from an external device in electrical communication with the automated medicament dispensing tray;

determining whether the first identifier is equal to the second identifier;

generating an email to at least one of a designated caregiver and an insurance provider upon determining that the first identifier is not equal to the second identifier; and

writing an error code to memory disposed within the automated dispensing tray upon determining that the first identifier is not equal to the second identifier.

14. The computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein the external device comprises a dispensing machine.

15. The computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein the process further comprises:

determining whether an error code has been written to the memory disposed within the automated dispensing tray; and

disabling the automated medicament dispensing tray if it is determined that an error code has been written to the memory.

16. The computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein said disabling the automated medicament dispensing tray comprises preventing an external element associated with the external device from engaging the tray.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein said disabling the automated medicament dispensing tray comprises preventing the external device from communicating with the tray.

18. A medicament container comprising:

a housing adapted to store a plurality of medicaments;

a memory unit contained within the housing and adapted to store a plurality of instructions for authenticating a dispensing machine and for generating a first communication to an external device upon an unsuccessful authentication of the dispensing machine, wherein the first communication comprises an e-mail to a designated individual;

a processor connected to the memory unit and adapted to execute the plurality of instructions; and

a dispensing mechanism connected to the processor and adapted to dispense one or more medicaments from the housing upon a successful authentication of the dispensing machine.

19. The medicament container of claim 18, wherein the plurality of instructions further comprise instructions for disabling the dispensing mechanism upon an unsuccessful authentication of the dispensing machine.

20. The medicament container of claim 18, wherein the plurality of instructions further comprise instructions for preventing a rotational element associated with the dispensing machine from engaging an internal drive gear associated with medicament container upon an unsuccessful authentication of the dispensing machine.

21. The medicament container of claim 20, wherein said preventing a rotational element from engaging an internal drive gear comprises preventing access to the internal drive gear by ensuring that an access shutter disposed within the housing of the medicament container remains closed while the medicament container is connected to the dispensing machine.

22. The medicament container of claim 18, wherein the plurality of instructions further comprise instructions for disabling communications with the dispensing machine upon an unsuccessful authentication of the dispensing machine.

23. The medicament container of claim 18, wherein the plurality of instructions further comprise instructions for writing an error code to memory upon an unsuccessful authentication of the dispensing machine.

24. The medicament container of claim 18, wherein an unsuccessful authentication of the dispensing machine comprises a determination that one or more medicaments comprise at least one of a recalled medicament, a medicament contraindicated with a prescription of the patient, an expired medicament, a medicament prescribed in a non-therapeutic dose, and a medicament that does not correlate with the patient'"'"'s diagnosis, and wherein an unsuccessful authentication of the dispensing machine comprises a determination that at least one of the patient'"'"'s insurance information and payment information is outdated.

25. The medicament container of claim 18, wherein the first communication comprises a warning message for display upon an associated display screen.

26. The medicament container of claim 18, wherein the first communication comprises an alarm, and wherein the external device comprises a portable electronic device.

27. A method of preventing unauthorized access to medicaments stored within an automated dispensing tray, the method comprising:

using a communication module disposed within the automated dispensing tray to determine whether a connection exists between an external device and the

communication module;

using a processor disposed within the automated dispensing tray to execute a set of instructions for determining whether an external device connected to the communication module is the same device as a device designated within a memory module disposed within the automated dispensing tray;

using the processor to generate an email to at least one of a designated caregiver and an insurance provider upon determining that the external device connected to the communication module is not the same device as a device designated within the memory module; and

using the processor to generate a first signal upon determining that the external device connected to the communication module is not the same device as a device designated within the memory module.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the first signal comprises an error code.

29. The method of claim 27, wherein the first signal comprises an instruction to disable at least one function associated with the automated dispensing tray.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the instruction comprises an instruction to disable communications between the external device and the communication module.

31. The method of claim 29, wherein the instruction comprises an instruction for preventing the external device from engaging the automated dispensing tray.

32. The method of claim 27, wherein the first signal comprises a signal adapted to generate a warning message in at least one remote device.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the at least one remote device comprises a remote server.

34. The method of claim 32, wherein the at least one remote device comprises a handheld electronic device.