Pharmacy will-call and prescription order article management system
First Claim
1. A pharmacy will-call system for management of articles selected to fulfill prescription orders while awaiting pick-up of the prescription orders from the pharmacy, the system comprising:
- a will-call storage module having a plurality of discrete storage locations each configured to accept only a single container holding at least one article for a patient'"'"'s prescription order;
a machine-readable code proximate each one of the storage locations;
a code reader operative to read a code associated with each container and the code proximate each one of the storage locations;
a visual indicator operative to visually indicate the storage location at which each container is located and to guide a user toward the storage location; and
control apparatus operative to receive the codes from the code reader, associate the container holding the at least one article for the patient'"'"'s prescription order with any available one of the storage locations and operate the indicator to indicate the storage location of the container holding the at least one article for the patient'"'"'s prescription order to guide the user toward the storage location.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A pharmacy will-call and prescription order article management system and method for managing articles selected to fulfill patient prescription orders awaiting patient pick-up from the pharmacy. An exemplary system includes a storage module including a plurality of separate spaced-apart storage locations for storing containers containing the articles. The containers may be stored at any of the storage locations, thereby maximizing storage density. A visual indicator is provided to indicate each storage location and each storage location has a unique machine-readable identification code identifying that storage location. A code reader is provided to read a unique identification code associated with each container and the unique code at each storage location. Control apparatus controls system operation by locating each container at a storage location and operating the indicator to indicate the relevant storage location when a pick-up request for the prescription order articles is made. Hanging bags may be utilized and exemplary storage apparatus may include hanging rack apparatus.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A pharmacy will-call system for management of articles selected to fulfill prescription orders while awaiting pick-up of the prescription orders from the pharmacy, the system comprising:
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a will-call storage module having a plurality of discrete storage locations each configured to accept only a single container holding at least one article for a patient'"'"'s prescription order; a machine-readable code proximate each one of the storage locations; a code reader operative to read a code associated with each container and the code proximate each one of the storage locations; a visual indicator operative to visually indicate the storage location at which each container is located and to guide a user toward the storage location; and control apparatus operative to receive the codes from the code reader, associate the container holding the at least one article for the patient'"'"'s prescription order with any available one of the storage locations and operate the indicator to indicate the storage location of the container holding the at least one article for the patient'"'"'s prescription order to guide the user toward the storage location. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method for management of containers holding articles selected to fulfill patient prescription orders while awaiting pick-up from a pharmacy, the method comprising:
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reading a first code associated with a container holding at least one article selected for a patient'"'"'s prescription order; reading a second code uniquely identifying any available one of a plurality of separate storage locations, the second code being proximate the storage location and each storage location being configured to accept only a single container; associating the first code with the second code to locate the container to the storage location; storing the container at the storage location; and visually indicating the storage location of the container responsive to a pick-up request thereby guiding a user toward the storage location. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification