Pharmacy dispensing system and method
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A prescription filling workstation for filling a prescription order for a patient, the workstation comprising:
- a display screen;
a tray support surface configured to support a prescription tray having a unique identification tag;
a tag reader supported relative to the tray support surface such that the unique identification tag of a tray located on the tray support surface is located at a distance less than or equal to a predetermined distance, a communication range between the tag reader and the unique identification tags being equal to the predetermined distance, the tag reader and tags being configured not to communicate at distances beyond the communication range;
wherein the tag reader generates identifier data representative of the unique identification tag associated with a tray supported by the tray support surface in response to the tag being within the communication range; and
a computer in communication with the display screen and the tag reader to receive the identifier data from the tag reader and communicate with the display screen to display information related to at least one unfilled individual prescription item of the prescription order that is to be placed in the respective prescription tray supported by the tray support.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system for filling a prescription order for a patient includes a plurality of trays each having an RFID tag for storing a unique identifier corresponding to the prescription order, and a plurality of workstations operatively linked to one another, each workstation having an antenna for detecting the unique identifier in one of the plurality of trays, where the detecting is operative to trigger displaying of a profile of at least one prescription item for the corresponding prescription order.
70 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A prescription filling workstation for filling a prescription order for a patient, the workstation comprising:
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a display screen; a tray support surface configured to support a prescription tray having a unique identification tag; a tag reader supported relative to the tray support surface such that the unique identification tag of a tray located on the tray support surface is located at a distance less than or equal to a predetermined distance, a communication range between the tag reader and the unique identification tags being equal to the predetermined distance, the tag reader and tags being configured not to communicate at distances beyond the communication range; wherein the tag reader generates identifier data representative of the unique identification tag associated with a tray supported by the tray support surface in response to the tag being within the communication range; and a computer in communication with the display screen and the tag reader to receive the identifier data from the tag reader and communicate with the display screen to display information related to at least one unfilled individual prescription item of the prescription order that is to be placed in the respective prescription tray supported by the tray support. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A computerized prescription filling workstation for filling a prescription order within a pharmacy, the order including at least one prescription item, the workstation comprising:
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a support surface defining a boundary, the support surface configured to support a prescription tray having a unique identification tag; a tag reader supported relative to the tray support surface, the tag reader and unique identification tags being configured to communicate when a tray having a unique identification tag is placed on the support surface at a location such that the identification tag extends within the boundary defined by the support surface; the tag reader and tags being configured not to communicate when identification tags are located outside the boundary defined by support surface; wherein the tag reader generates data representative of a unique identification tag associated with a tray in response to a tray having a unique identification tag being supported by the support surface at a location at which the identification tag extends within the boundary defined by the support surface; a database which includes data representative of the prescription order, data representative of the identification tag of the tray, and an association between the data representative of the prescription order and the data representative of the identification tag of the tray; a display; and a workstation computer communicably coupled to the display, the tag reader and the database to receive the data representative of the unique identification tag associated with the tray read by the tag reader, to receive the data representative of the prescription order from the database that is associated with the identification tag of the tray read by the tag reader, and to communicate with the display to display information representative of at least one unfilled individual prescription item that is to be placed in a tray having an identification tag represented by data in the database associated with the at least one prescription item. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A computerized method for filling a prescription order for a patient within a pharmacy, the method comprising:
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associating an individual prescription item of a prescription order with a unique container identification tag; placing a container having the unique container identification tag on a container support surface of a a tag reading device; receiving automatically on a computer coupled to the tag reading device identifier data representative of the unique container identification tag only when the container having the unique container identification tag is located on the container support surface at a distance less than or equal to a predetermined distance, a communication range between the tag reading device and unique identification tags being equal to the predetermined distance, the tag reading device and tag being configured not to communicate at distance beyond the communication range; wherein the tag reading device generates identifier data representative of the unique identification tag associated with a container supported by the container support surface in response to the tag being within the communication range; and controlling a display screen to display information representative of at least one unfilled individual prescription item to be placed in the respective container having the unique container identification tag in response to the receipt of the identifier data representative of the unique identification tag associated with the container. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification