Medication administering apparatus

• US 9,626,483 B2
• Filed: 06/05/2013
• Issued: 04/18/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/07/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Providence Health Technologies, LLC
• Original Assignee: Advantage Pharmacy Services, LLC
• Inventors: Barrett, John Todd, Schoville, Fred P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Waggoner, Timothy
• Assistant Examiner(s): AKRIDGE, STEPHEN LEE
• Application Number:
  US13/910,556
• Publication Number:
  US 20130331983A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,413 Days
• Field of Search: 700236, 700241, 700242
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 12/001 Trolleys for transport of medicaments, food, linen, nursing supplies carts specially adapted for surgery or diagnosis A61B50/13; hand carts B62B3/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/0084 for multiple medicaments
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/13 delivered from dispensers

Abstract

A method of administering medication. Medication is stored in a plurality of drawers wherein each of the plurality of drawers includes a drawer electrical connector, a medication conveyor, and a non-volatile read/write memory to store data about the drawer. A drawer of the plurality of drawers is inserted into a receptacle of a housing, wherein the receptacle is one of a plurality of receptacles, and the housing also includes a plurality of housing electrical connectors corresponding to the plurality of receptacles, wherein one of the housing electrical connectors is coupled to the electrical connector of the drawer when the drawer is inserted in the receptacle. Data is selectively transmitted from among non-volatile read/write memory of the plurality of drawers to a computer in communication with the plurality of housing electrical connectors, wherein when the drawer is inserted into the receptacle such that the drawer and housing electrical connectors are operatively engaged, the memory of the inserted drawer is triggered to transmit data stored therein to the computer.

Claims

1. A medication administering apparatus, comprising:

a housing including a plurality of receptacles and a plurality of housing electrical connectors corresponding to the plurality of receptacles;

a plurality of medication drawers corresponding to the plurality of receptacles, wherein a drawer of the plurality of drawers carries;

a drawer electrical connector to couple to one of the housing electrical connectors when the drawer is inserted in a receptacle of the plurality of receptacles;

a medication conveyor; and

a non-volatile read/write memory to store data about the drawer;

a computer in communication with the plurality of housing electrical connectors; and

a means for selectively transmitting data from among the non-volatile read/write memory of the plurality of medication drawers, wherein when a medication drawer of the plurality of medication drawers is inserted into a corresponding receptacle such that corresponding drawer and housing electrical connectors are operatively engaged, the selectively transmitting data means triggers the memory of the inserted drawer to transmit data stored therein to the computer.

2. The medication administering apparatus of claim 1, wherein the computer recognizes the drawer regardless of which one of the plurality of receptacles receives the drawer.

3. The medication administering apparatus of claim 1, wherein when medication is dispensed from the drawer by activation of the medication conveyor by the computer, a medication count for the drawer is decremented in the memory, and the computer activates the selectively transmitting data means to trigger the memory to transmit data to the computer, such that the computer receives data only from the memory of the drawer from which the medication was dispensed.

4. The medication administering apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of drawers also includes a circuit board assembly including a circuit board carrying the memory.

5. The medication administering apparatus of claim 1, wherein the memory is in wired communication with the computer via the electrical connectors.

6. The medication administering apparatus of claim 1, wherein the housing also carries a wireless transceiver in communication with the computer, and wherein the memory communicates with the computer via the wireless transceiver.

7. The medication administering apparatus of claim 1, wherein the read/write memory includes wired memory and the selectively transmitting data means includes a data relay coupled to the wired memory and the drawer electrical connector.

8. The medication administering apparatus of claim 1, wherein the read/write memory includes wireless RFIC memory and the selectively transmitting data means includes a normally closed switch that is coupled across voltage output and input pins of the RFIC memory and that is powered to be open when the drawer and housing electrical connectors are operatively engaged.

9. The medication administering apparatus of claim 1, wherein the read/write memory includes wireless RFIC memory and the selectively transmitting data means includes a MOSFET coupled to the RFIC memory to prevent the RFIC memory from being interrogated until the computer outputs an activation signal to the RFIC memory.

10. The medication administering apparatus of claim 1, wherein the computer receives data only from the memory of the drawer that is inserted and not all of the drawers.

11. The medication administering apparatus of claim 10, further comprising:

a wireless RFIC memory to store data about the drawer; and

a MOSFET coupled to the RFIC memory to prevent the RFIC memory from being interrogated until the computer outputs an activation signal to the RFIC memory, wherein when the drawer is inserted into the receptacle such that the drawer and housing electrical connectors are operatively engaged, the computer outputs a signal to the RFIC memory to trigger the memory to transmit data stored therein to the computer.

12. A medication administering apparatus, comprising:

a housing including a plurality of receptacles and a plurality of housing electrical connectors corresponding to the plurality of receptacles;

a plurality of medication drawers corresponding to the plurality of receptacles, wherein a drawer of the plurality of drawers carries;

a drawer electrical connector to couple to one of the housing electrical connectors when the drawer is inserted in a receptacle of the plurality of receptacles;

a medication conveyor; and

a read/write memory to store data about the drawer;

a computer in communication with the plurality of housing electrical connectors; and

a data relay coupled between the computer and the drawer memory, wherein when the drawer is inserted into the receptacle such that the drawer and housing electrical connectors are operatively engaged, the computer outputs a signal to the data relay to trigger the memory to transmit data stored therein to the computer.

13. The medication administering apparatus of claim 12, wherein when medication is dispensed from the drawer by activation of the medication conveyor by the computer, a medication count for the drawer is decremented in the memory, and the computer activates the data relay to selectively trigger the memory to transmit data to the computer, such that the computer receives data only from the memory of the drawer from which the medication was dispensed.

14. A medication administering apparatus, comprising:

a housing including a plurality of receptacles and a plurality of housing electrical connectors corresponding to the plurality of receptacles;

a plurality of medication drawers corresponding to the plurality of receptacles, wherein a drawer of the plurality of drawers carries;

a drawer electrical connector to couple to one of the housing electrical connectors when the drawer is inserted in a receptacle of the plurality of receptacles;

a medication conveyor; and

a wireless read/write RFIC memory to store data about the drawer;

a computer in communication with the plurality of housing electrical connectors; and

a MOSFET coupled to the RFIC memory to prevent the RFIC memory from being interrogated until the computer outputs an activation signal to the RFIC memory, wherein when the drawer is inserted into the receptacle such that the drawer and housing electrical connectors are operatively engaged, the computer outputs a signal to the RFIC memory to trigger the memory to transmit data stored therein to the computer.

15. The medication administering apparatus of claim 14, wherein when medication is dispensed from the drawer by activation of the medication conveyor by the computer, a medication count for the drawer is decremented in the memory, and the computer activates the MOSFET to selectively trigger the RFIC memory to transmit data to the computer, such that the computer receives data only from the RFIC memory of the drawer from which the medication was dispensed.

16. A method of administering medication, comprising:

storing medication in a plurality of drawers wherein each of the plurality of drawers includes a drawer electrical connector, a medication conveyor, and a non-volatile read/write memory to store data about the drawer;

inserting a drawer of the plurality of drawers into a receptacle of a housing, wherein the receptacle is one of a plurality of receptacles, and the housing also includes a plurality of housing electrical connectors corresponding to the plurality of receptacles, wherein one of the housing electrical connectors is coupled to the electrical connector of the drawer when the drawer is inserted in the receptacle; and

selectively transmitting data from among non-volatile read/write memory of the plurality of drawers to a computer in communication with the plurality of housing electrical connectors, wherein when the drawer is inserted into the receptacle such that the drawer and housing electrical connectors are operatively engaged, the memory of the inserted drawer is triggered to transmit data stored therein to the computer.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein when the drawer is inserted into the receptacle such that the drawer and housing electrical connectors are operatively engaged, the memory of the inserted drawer is triggered using at least one of a relay or a switch to transmit data stored therein to the computer.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

dispensing medication from the drawer, wherein dispensing include activating the medication conveyor via the computer;

decrementing a medication count for the drawer in the memory; and

activating at the computer the at least one of the relay or the switch to selectively trigger the memory to transmit data to the computer; and

in response to the activation, receiving data at the computer only from the memory of the drawer from which the medication was dispensed.