SYSTEM AND METHODOLOGY FOR FILLING PRESCRIPTIONS
First Claim
1. A method for processing prescription orders for patients of multiple medications, the method comprising the steps of:
- receiving a bulk supply of a variety of medications;
entering information pertaining to the bulk supply of medications into an inventory database;
packaging each of the medications in the bulk supply of medications into individual unit dose packages;
updating the inventory database with unit dose package information;
placing the unit dose packages into inventory of a dispensing system;
receiving a patient'"'"'s prescription order for a plurality of identified medications;
dispensing unit dose packages associated with the plurality of identified medications from the dispensing system;
assembling the dispensed unit dose packages together; and
delivering the assembled unit dose packages corresponding to the patient'"'"'s order.
13 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An overall pharmacy system and methodology begins with bulk medications and supplements introduced into the work flow, individually packaged and assembled into med pass orders per patient and delivered to the long-term care (LTC) facility or other institution for patient consumption. The process according to one embodiment of this invention begins by converting bulk medications and supplements to packaged unit doses and ultimately individually packaged med pass bags for each patient on a 24-hour schedule. The various safeguards and measures built into this system increase patient safety eliminate waste and increase labor efficiency by reducing and/or minimizing the disposal of unused medications and supplements. The design of the overall system and its individual components allows for physical control of each unit dose package from start to finish without any unit dose package “free fall” in the system. This process is automated and does not rely upon manual sorting. The med pass bags are consolidated into the final shipping container and do not require manual sorting and packing.
143 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for processing prescription orders for patients of multiple medications, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving a bulk supply of a variety of medications; entering information pertaining to the bulk supply of medications into an inventory database; packaging each of the medications in the bulk supply of medications into individual unit dose packages; updating the inventory database with unit dose package information; placing the unit dose packages into inventory of a dispensing system; receiving a patient'"'"'s prescription order for a plurality of identified medications; dispensing unit dose packages associated with the plurality of identified medications from the dispensing system; assembling the dispensed unit dose packages together; and delivering the assembled unit dose packages corresponding to the patient'"'"'s order. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method for processing prescription orders for patients of multiple medications, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving a bulk supply of a variety of medications; entering information pertaining to the bulk supply of medications into an inventory database; packaging each of the medications in the bulk supply of medications into individual unit dose packages; labeling each of the unit dose packages with relevant medication information; updating the inventory database with unit dose package information; placing the unit dose packages into inventory of a dispensing system; receiving a patient'"'"'s prescription order for a plurality of identified medications; dispensing unit dose packages associated with the plurality of identified medications from the dispensing system; assembling the dispensed unit dose packages together; and shipping the assembled unit dose packages corresponding to the patient'"'"'s order to a location remotely located relative to the dispensing system. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method for processing prescription orders for patients of multiple medications, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving a bulk supply of a variety of medications; entering information pertaining to the bulk supply of medications into an inventory database; packaging each of the medications in the bulk supply of medications into individual unit dose packages; labeling each of the unit dose packages with relevant medication information; updating the inventory database with unit dose package information; assembling similar medications into containers after the packaging step and prior to the placing step; placing the containers of unit dose packages into inventory of a dispensing system; receiving a patient'"'"'s prescription order for a plurality of identified medications; verifying the patient'"'"'s prescription after the receiving step; dispensing unit dose packages associated with the plurality of identified medications from the dispensing system; assembling the dispensed unit dose packages associated with a single med pass for each patient together in a bag; accumulating a plurality of the bags for a given patient, each bag being associated with a different med pass; shipping the assembled unit dose packages corresponding to the patient'"'"'s order to a location remotely located relative to the dispensing system; and maintaining positive physical control over the unit dose packages.
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Specification