Remote medication management system

• US 8,600,548 B2
• Filed: 03/12/2007
• Issued: 12/03/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/24/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: EMMA Health Technologies Incorporated
• Original Assignee: INRange Systems, Inc.
• Inventors: Bossi, Christopher E., Stokes, Adam J., Stancliff, Timothy J.
• Primary Examiner(s): COLLINS, MICHAEL
• Application Number:
  US11/685,191
• Publication Number:
  US 20070185615A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,458 Days
• Field of Search: 700/236, 700/237, 700242-243
• US Class Current: 700/240
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 2200/30 Compliance analysis for taking medication
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 2205/10 Bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 2205/30 Printed labels
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 2205/70 Audible labels, e.g. for pre-recorded info or messages
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/0084 for multiple medicaments
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/04 Arrangements for time indication or reminder for taking medicine, e.g. programmed dispensers
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/66 Trinkets, e.g. shirt buttons or jewellery items recognising microscopic objects G06V20/69
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/0092 for assembling and dispensing of pharmaceutical articles medical dispensers for private use, A61J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/13 delivered from dispensers
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 90/10 Information and communication technologies [ICT] supporting adaptation to climate change, e.g. for weather forecasting or climate simulation

Abstract

An integrated medication management and compliance system for enabling a care provider to remotely manage and deliver individual doses of medications to a patient, in a non-sequential fashion. The system includes delivery apparatus remotely located from the care provider, wherein the apparatus stores a plurality of sealed unit dose packages that are delivered to a patient at a scheduled dosing time. The delivery apparatus is coupled to a control facility and to a computer terminal of the care provider by way of a secure communications network. The system enables the patient'"'"'s medication regimen to be remotely tailored in real-time to accommodate fluid medical conditions.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by a medication delivery unit, an input medication carrier comprising a plurality of unit dose packages in a two-dimensional arrangement and storing at least one medication, each unit dose package of the plurality of unit dose packages comprising a unit dose of one of the at least one medication, the input medication carrier further comprising at least one identifying indicator capable of being read by the medication delivery unit;

reading, by the medication delivery unit, the at least one identifying indicator to provide decoded data;

providing, by the medication delivery unit, the decoded data to a remote controller;

receiving, by the medication delivery unit from the remote controller, authorized medication carrier information regarding the at least one medication based on the decoded data;

determining whether the input medication carrier is authorized for the medication delivery unit based on whether the at least one identifying indicator compares favorably with the authorized medication carrier information; and

when the input medication carrier is not authorized for the medication delivery unit, refusing to store the input medication carrier in the medication delivery unit.

2. A method comprising:

receiving, by a medication delivery unit, an input medication carrier comprising a plurality of unit dose packages in a two-dimensional arrangement and storing at least one medication, each unit dose package of the plurality of unit dose packages comprising a unit dose of one of the at least one medication, the input medication carrier further comprising at least one identifying indicator capable of being read by the medication delivery unit;

reading, by the medication delivery unit, the at least one identifying indicator to provide decoded data;

providing, by the medication delivery unit, the decoded data to a remote controller;

receiving, by the medication delivery unit from the remote controller, authorized medication carrier information regarding the input medication carrier based on the decoded data, wherein the information regarding the input medication carrier comprises at least one of;

a number of unit dose packages in the input medication carrier and a layout identification of the input medication carrier;

determining whether the input medication carrier is authorized for the medication delivery unit based on whether the at least one identifying indicator compares favorably with the authorized medication carrier information; and

when the input medication carrier is not authorized for the medication delivery unit, refusing to store the input medication carrier in the medication delivery unit.

3. A method comprising:

receiving, by a medication delivery unit, an input medication carrier comprising a plurality of unit dose packages in a two-dimensional arrangement and identifying indicia uniquely associated with each one of the plurality of unit dose packages;

reading, by the medication delivery unit, at least one of the identifying indicia uniquely associated with each of the plurality of unit dose packages to provide decoded data;

providing, by the medication delivery unit, the decoded data to a remote controller;

receiving, by the medication delivery unit from the remote controller, authorized medication carrier information regarding each medication in the plurality of unit dose packages;

determining whether the input medication carrier is authorized for the medication delivery unit based on whether the at least one identifying indicator compares favorably with the authorized medication carrier information; and

when the input medication carrier is not authorized for the medication delivery unit, refusing to store the input medication carrier in the medication delivery unit.

4. A method in a medication delivery unit comprising:

receiving, by the medication delivery unit from a remote controller, authorized medication carrier information for the medication delivery unit;

receiving an input medication carrier comprising one or more sealed unit dose packages in a two-dimensional arrangement and storing at least one medication, each unit dose package comprising a unit dose of one of the at least one medication, the input medication carrier further comprising at least one identifying indicator capable of being read by the medication delivery unit;

determining whether the input medication carrier is authorized for the medication delivery unit based on whether the at least one identifying indicator compares favorably with the authorized medication carrier information; and

when the input medication carrier is not authorized for the medication delivery unit, refusing to store the input medication carrier in the medication delivery unit.