Pharmacist workstation

• US 8,776,446 B1
• Filed: 11/01/2011
• Issued: 07/15/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/01/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Walgreen Co. (Walgreens Boots Alliance Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Walgreen Co. (Walgreens Boots Alliance Incorporated)
• Inventors: Jhaveri, Nimesh S., Dhruve, Archana, Hill, Heather K., Kozic, Dejan, Tebbe, Laura J., Heald, Susan G., Tulyathorn, Warit, Jones, Mark A., Frisk, Sara B., Levin, Jennifer M., Comiskey, Jennifer A., Blanchard, David T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Katcheves, Basil
• Assistant Examiner(s): MINTZ, RODNEY K
• Application Number:
  US13/286,874
• Time in Patent Office: 987 Days
• Field of Search: 52/361, 52/364, 52/791, 52/797, 52/798, 522/34, 522/381, 52/33, 52/796, 521/731, 521/74, 522/361, 186/35, 186/36, 705/2
• US Class Current: 52/36.1
• CPC Class Codes: A47F 10/00 Furniture or installations specially adapted to particular types of service systems, not otherwise provided for conveyor aspects B65G; building aspects E04H; coin-freed apparatus G07F
• CPC Class Codes: E04H 3/02 Hotels; Motels; Coffee-houses; Restaurants; Shops; Department stores
• CPC Class Codes: E04H 3/08 Hospitals, infirmaries, or the like; Schools; Prisons

Abstract

A pharmacist workstation that has a desk that is accessible to customers at a customer position in front of the desk; pharmacist seating directly behind the desk, from which a pharmacist can directly interact with a customer in front of the desk; a pass-through window to a secure preparation area; and a private consulting area that has an entrance that is located to a side of the pharmacist seating.

Claims

1. A retail store comprising:

a first counter and door that securely separate a secure pharmacy preparation area from a customer area;

a pharmacist workstation that is located entirely in the customer area and has;

signage that indicates that a pharmacist is available for consultation with customers;

a desk that is accessible to customers at a customer position in front of the desk;

a pharmacist seating area that is located directly behind the desk and entered from another part of the customer area, from which direct interactions can be made with a customer in front of the desk; and

a consulting area that has an entrance that is located to a side of the pharmacist seating area, and has a screening element that selectively screens a patient position within the consulting area from view from the customer position in front of the desk; and

a pass-through window that provides a direct line-of sight from the pharmacist seating area to a separate preparation counter in the secure pharmacy preparation area, and is directly adjacent the pharmacist seating area.

2. The retail store as recited in claim 1, in which the first counter has a continuous countertop that:

has one section that is accessible to customers at a prescription area in front of that section of the countertop; and

has an adjacent section that is in the secure pharmacy preparation area and is directly accessible, through the pass-through window, from the pharmacist seating area.

3. The retail store as recited in claim 1, in which:

the pharmacist seating area is positioned between the desk and the pass-through window, making the pass-through window inaccessible to customers in front of the desk.

4. The retail store as recited in claim 1, in which:

the pass-through window is positioned at least four feet from the front of the desk.

5. The retail store as recited in claim 1, in which:

the pharmacist seating area is positioned between the consulting area and the pass-through window.

6. The retail store as recited in claim 1, in which:

the desk has a terminal end;

the pharmacist seating area is between the desk, a back wall, and a lateral counter that extends rearward from a front counter of the desk toward the back wall;

the pass-through window is on the back wall and is spaced at least three feet from a point on the back wall across from the terminal end of the desk.

7. The retail store as recited in claim 1, in which:

the entrance to the consulting area is less than ten feet from both the pharmacist seating area and from the customer position in front of the desk, and more than six feet from the pass-through window.

8. The retail store as recited in claim 1, in which:

the entrance to the consulting area is perpendicular to a width of the desk, and an angle between the customer position, the pharmacist seating area, and the entrance to the consulting area is between 45 and 135 degrees.

9. The retail store as recited in claim 1, in which:

the screening element has a sliding screen that slides laterally between (a) a welcoming position in which guest seating in the consulting area is visible from the customer position in front of the desk and (b) a privacy position in which the guest seating is screened from view from the customer position.

10. The retail store as recited in claim 1, in which:

the entrance to the consulting area is between six and eight feet wide, and

the screening element fits in the entrance and takes the form of a sliding screen that is between two and three-and-a-half feet wide.

11. The retail store as recited in claim 1, in which:

the screening element fits in the entrance to the consulting area and takes the form of a sliding screen that slides to a privacy position that (a) is interposed between guest seating in the consulting area and the customer position in front of the desk, and (b) leaves open a more than 2-foot wide section of the entrance.

12. The retail store as recited in claim 1, in which:

the screening element fits in the entrance to the consulting area and takes the form of a sliding screen that has a section of relatively low transparency and one or more edges of greater transparency.

13. The retail store as recited in claim 1, in which the screening element fits in the entrance to the consulting area and takes the form of a sliding screen that:

has a section of relatively low transparency and one or more edges of greater transparency; and

has a closed position in which (a) the section of relatively low transparency is interposed between guest seating in the consulting area and the customer position in front of the desk, and (b) a more than 2-foot wide section of the entrance is left open.

14. A retail store comprising:

a first counter and single door that securely separate a secure pharmacy preparation area from a customer area;

a pharmacist workstation that is located in the customer area and has;

signage that indicates that a pharmacist is available for consultation with customers;

a desk that is accessible to customers at a customer position in front of the desk;

a pharmacist seating area that is located behind the desk and entered from another part of the customer area, from which direct interactions can be made with a customer in front of the desk; and

a consulting area that has an entrance that is located less than ten feet from the pharmacist seating area, and has a screening element that selectively screens a part of the consulting area from view from the customer position in front of the desk; and

a pass-through window that provides a direct line-of sight from the pharmacist seating area to a separate preparation counter in the secure pharmacy preparation area.

15. A retail store comprising:

a first counter and single door that securely separate a secure pharmacy preparation area from a customer area;

a pharmacist workstation that is located in the customer area and has;

a desk that is accessible to customers at a customer position in front of the desk;

a pharmacist seating area that is entered from another part of the customer area and is located between the desk, a back wall, and a lateral counter that extends rearward from a front counter of the desk toward the back wall, from which direct interactions can be made with a customer in front of the desk; and

a consulting area that has an entrance located proximate to the pharmacist seating area, the consulting area further including a sliding screen that has a section of relatively low transparency, one or more edges of greater transparency, and a closed position in which (a) the section of relatively low transparency is interposed between a part of the consulting area and the customer position in front of the desk, selectively screening that part of the consulting area from view from the customer position; and

(b) a more than 2-foot wide section of the entrance is left open; and

a pass-through window that is on the back wall, is positioned less than three feet from the pharmacist seating area and at least four feet from the front of the desk, is spaced at least three feet from a point on the back wall across from a terminal end of the desk, and provides a direct line-of sight from the pharmacist seating area to a separate preparation counter in the secure pharmacy preparation area.