Method, system and apparatus for dispensing drugs

Abstract

A method, system and apparatus is provided for dispensing drugs quickly, conveniently, securely, and accurately and at relatively less cost than traditional pharmacy-based dispensing systems. A script for a drug prescribed to a user is generated comprising a human readable description of the drug and the user or a machine readable description of the drug and the user. The script is provided to a robotic prescription dispensary operable to recognize either the human readable description or the machine readable description, and validate and dispense the drug accordingly. The robotic prescription dispensary includes a user interface, a teleconferencing or videoconferencing means enabling communication between the user and a human validation agent, and a scanning means for capturing an image of the script. A method for managing inventory and distribution of drugs is also provided.

1 . A method for tracking inventory and dispensing of a drug, comprising:
 (a) identifying one or more pedigree attributes of the drug;   (b) generating a drug identifying tag for the drug that incorporates the one or more pedigree attributes of the drug and other data;   (c) associating said drug identifying tag being with the drug; and   (d) reading the drug identifying tag to obtain the one or more pedigree attributes of the drug;   (e) repacking the drug;   (f) generating a repack identifying tag for the repacked drug that incorporates at least one of the pedigree attributes of the drug and at least a part of the drug identifying tag; and   (g) associating the repack identifying tag with the repacked drug.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising the further step of identifying one or more pedigree attributes of the drug by identifying one or more of the following: drug name; drug manufacturer; drug identification number; lot number; bin number;
 universal product code; expiry date; date of receipt by the drug provider; purchase order number; item weight; and a digital picture of the drug.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising the further step of reading the repack identifying tag at points during the inventory and dispensing process to verify the repacked drug and the pedigree attributes of the repacked drug. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising the further step of generating at least one of the drug identifying tag or the repack identifying tag as one or more of the following: a RFID tag, a bar code, text, or machine readable code. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising the further step of repacking the drug by repacking the drug into one or more standard dosage units, reading the drug identifying tag to obtain the one or more pedigree attributes of the drug, and generating repack identifying tags for each of the one or more standard dosage units, said repack identifying tags incorporating the pedigree attributes of the one standard dosage unit and is associated with the one standard dosage unit. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising the further step of transferring the repacked drug to a drug dispensary and associating the slot where the repacked drug is stocked in the drug dispensary with the repack identifying tag. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising the further step of a restocking module displaying a visual representation of the slots of the dispensary showing slots with repacked drugs and the one or more pedigree attributes and other data incorporated in the repack identifying tag associated with the repacked drug. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising the further step of conducting the inventory and dispensing processes in accordance with a set of pre-defined standard operating procedures. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising the further step of the drug dispensary generating a drug pedigree certificate as a visual reference, said drug pedigree certificate including the one or more pedigree attributes of the repacked drug and supporting the suitability of the repacked drug for use by a patient. 
     
     
         10 . A system for tracking inventory and dispensing of a drug, comprising:
 (a) a pedigree attributes identifier for identifying one or more pedigree attributes of the drug;   (b) a tag generator operable to generate a drug identifying tag relating to the drug that incorporates the one or more pedigree attributes of the drug and other data;   (c) a drug/tag association means operable to associate the drug identifying tag with the drug;   (d) a tag reader operable to read the drug identifying tag to obtain the one or more pedigree attributes of the drug;   (e) a repacking means operable to repack the drug;   (f) a repack tag generator operable to generate a repack identifying tag for the repacked drug that incorporates at least one of the obtained pedigree attributes of the drug, and at least a part of the drug identifying tag; and   (g) a repack drug/tag association means operable to associate the repacked identifying tag with the repacked drug.   
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10 , further comprising a report generator operable to generate reports including information relating to the drug in the inventory and the repacked drug in the dispensing processes. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 10 , further comprising a transfer means for transferring the repacked drug to a slot in a dispensary, and associating the slot with the repack identifying tag relating to the repacked drug. 
     
     
         13 . A method for tracking drug inventory and dispensing drugs comprising:
 (a) receiving a drug into a warehouse, generating a drug identifier tag, including one or more pedigree attributes of the drug, and attaching said drug identifier tag to the drug;   (b) reading the drug identifier tag to identify the one or more pedigree attributes of the drug, repacking the drug into one or more dosage units, generating one or more dosage unit identifier tags that include the one or more pedigree attributes of the drug, and attaching the dosage unit identifier tags to each of the one or more dosage units;   (c) storing the one or more dosage units on a picking shelf of the warehouse until the one or more dosage units are picked for transfer to an unmanned dispensary, and assigning each of the picked one or more dosage units to a slot of the unmanned dispensary;   (d) transferring the picked one or more dosage units to the unmanned dispensary, utilizing a dispensary reader to read the dosage unit identifier tag of each of the one or more dosage units to verify that the dosage unit matches the drug required in each slot, and transferring the dosage unit to the slot;   (e) receiving a prescription and reading said prescription to identify a prescribed drug, locating the prescribed drug in the slot of the unmanned dispensary, reading the dosage unit identifier tag of the dosage unit in the slot to verify that the dosage unit matches the prescribed drug;   (f) dispensing the verified dosage unit to a user; and   (g) collecting data based on the location, transfer and the one or more pedigree attributes of each of the one or more dosage units and storing said data in a data storage area.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , comprising the further step of receiving the prescription either from a user who submits the prescription to the unmanned dispensary, or from a doctor who communicates the prescription to the unmanned dispensary. 
     
     
         15 . A method of inventory tracking and drug dispensing involving the tracking of one or more pedigree attributes of a drug, comprising the steps of:
 (a) receiving the drug and its one or more pedigree attributes from a drug provider;   (b) generating a drug identifier tag, through the use of a tag device, said drug identifier tag incorporating the one or more pedigree attributes, and attaching the drug identifier tag to the drug;   (c) reading the drug identifier tag and repacking the drug into one or more drug dosage units, generating a dosage unit identifier tag for each of the one or more drug dosage units, said dosage unit identifier tag incorporating the one or more pedigree attributes read from the drug identifier tag, and attaching the dosage unit identifier tag to each of the one or more dosage units.