COMPUTER CONTROLLED AND MONITORED MEDICAL STORAGE SYSTEM

• US 20120176245A1
• Filed: 12/06/2011
• Published: 07/12/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Omnicell Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Omnicell Incorporated
• Inventors: Paydar, Akbar, Kim, Stanley, Chai, Andrew
• Granted Patent: US 8,773,270 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/585
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2050/0014 Cooling means
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 50/10 Furniture specially adapted for surgical or diagnostic appliances or instruments
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 50/30 Containers specially adapted for packaging, protecting, dispensing, collecting or disposing of surgical or diagnostic appliances or instruments for wound clamps A61B17/10; for ligaturing clips A61B17/122; packages or dispensers for surgical gloves or finger-stalls A61B42/40
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 29/00 Arrangement or mounting of control or safety devices
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 29/008 Alarm devices
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 3/005 Circuits arrangements for indicating a predetermined temperature fire detection G08B17/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 3/04 in respect of time
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/0092 for assembling and dispensing of pharmaceutical articles medical dispensers for private use, A61J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/001 Interfacing with vending machines using mobile or wearable devices
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/002 Vending machines being part of a centrally controlled network of vending machines
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/105 Heating or cooling means, for temperature and humidity control, for the conditioning of articles and their storage dispensers for food articles requiring a processing by temperature treatment or conditioning before they are ready for dispensing G07F17/0064
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/13 delivered from dispensers

Abstract

A system is disclosed for monitoring and controlling a refrigerated medical storage unit. The system may include a control station. The control station may receive temperature information from the refrigerated medical storage unit and may cause at least a portion of the temperature information to be stored. The control station may determine whether the temperature is outside a predefined range and may causes an alarm to be generated when the temperature is outside the predefined range. The control station may receive user authentication information from a user, and upon verification of the user authentication information, send unlock instructions to the refrigerated medical storage unit.

Claims

1. A system for monitoring and controlling a refrigerated medical storage unit, the system comprising:

a control station, wherein the control station;

receives temperature information from the refrigerated medical storage unit;

causes at least a portion of the temperature information to be stored;

determines whether the temperature is outside a predefined range;

causes an alarm to be generated when the temperature is outside the predefined range;

receives user authentication information from a user; and

upon verification of the user authentication information, sends unlock instructions to the refrigerated medical storage unit.

2. The system for monitoring and controlling a refrigerated medical storage unit of claim 1, wherein the control station further:

causes a bulletin to be displayed or printed when the alarm is generated.

3. The system for monitoring and controlling a refrigerated medical storage unit of claim 2, wherein the control station further:

causes the bulletin to be displayed or printed at predefined intervals until the temperature is back within the predefined range.

4. The system for monitoring and controlling a refrigerated medical storage unit of claim 2, the bulletin comprising:

an identification of the refrigerated medical storage unit;

a date and time;

a temperature; and

an acknowledgement or signature line or field for the user.

5. The system for monitoring and controlling a refrigerated medical storage unit of claim 1, wherein the control station further:

receives information from the user specifying the predefined temperature range.

6. The system for monitoring and controlling a refrigerated medical storage unit of claim 1, wherein the control station further:

receives information from the user specifying a predefined time interval at which the control station will check the received temperature information against the predefined range.

7. The system for monitoring and controlling a refrigerated medical storage unit of claim 5, wherein the control station further:

controls operation of the refrigerated medical storage unit to maintain the temperature inside the refrigerated medical storage unit within the predefined temperature range.

8. The system for monitoring and controlling a refrigerated medical storage unit of claim 1, the system further comprising:

the refrigerated medical storage unit, wherein the refrigerated medical storage unit comprises;

a reversible locking mechanism to secure a door of the refrigerated medical storage while in a closed position; and

a temperature sensor.

9. The system for monitoring and controlling a refrigerated medical storage unit of claim 8, wherein the refrigerated medical storage unit comprises a visual indicator which changes from a first state to a second state when the refrigerated medical storage unit is unlocked.

10. The system for monitoring and controlling a refrigerated medical storage unit of claim 9, wherein the control station further:

receives instructions from the user to test the visual indicator; and

causes the visual indicator to change from the first state to the second state in response to the instructions to test the visual indicator.

11. The system for monitoring and controlling a refrigerated medical storage unit of claim 8, wherein the reversible locking mechanism remains in a locked state when the control station loses power.

12. The system for monitoring and controlling a refrigerated medical storage unit of claim 1, the system further comprising:

a central data system, wherein the central data system;

receives at least a portion of temperature information from at least one control station; and

receives at least a portion of the user authentication information received by at least one control station.

13. The system for monitoring and controlling a refrigerated medical storage unit of claim 1, wherein the control station causing at least a portion of the temperature information to be stored comprises storing temperature versus time information only when the temperature is outside the predefined range.

14. The system for monitoring and controlling a refrigerated medical storage unit of claim 1, wherein the alarm comprises at least one of an audio or a visual alarm presented by the control station.

15. The system for monitoring and controlling a refrigerated medical storage unit of claim 1, wherein the control station further:

causes information regarding alarm generation to be stored; and

denies access to the storage unit based at least in part on the information regarding alarm generation.

16. The system for monitoring and controlling a refrigerated medical storage unit of claim 1, wherein the control station further:

causes information regarding alarm generation to be stored; and

causes a warning to be displayed, in response to a user storage unit withdrawal request, based at least in part on the information regarding alarm generation.

17. The system for monitoring and controlling a refrigerated medical storage unit of claim 1, wherein the control station further:

receives information identifying a particular temperature range related to a particular medication or item;

receives information directing the control station to take a particular action in response to a withdrawal request for the particular medication or item which has experienced storage outside the particular temperature range during the particular medication or item'"'"'s storage within the storage unit.

18. The system for monitoring and controlling a refrigerated medical storage unit of claim 17, wherein the particular action comprises a selection from a group consisting of:

denying access to the storage unit; and

causing a warning to be displayed.

19. A method for monitoring and controlling an environmentally controlled medical storage unit, the method comprising:

receiving temperature information from the environmentally controlled medical storage unit;

causing at least a portion of the temperature information to be stored;

determining whether the temperature is outside a predefined range;

causing an alarm to be generated when the temperature is outside the predefined range;

receiving user authentication information from a user; and

verifying the user authentication information;

in response to successfully verifying the user authentication information, causing the environmentally controlled medical storage unit to be unlocked.

20. A system for monitoring and controlling a medical storage unit, the system comprising:

a control station, wherein the control station;

is remote from the medical storage unit;

receives user authentication information from a user; and

upon verification of the user authentication information, sends unlock instructions to the medical storage unit.

21. The system for monitoring and controlling a medical storage unit of claim 20, wherein the control station being remote from the medical storage unit comprises the control station not being integrated with any portion of the medical storage unit.