System and method for management of pharmacy workflow

Abstract

A system and method for optimized management of pharmacy workflow, specifically, workflow associated with fulfillment of prescription orders for medications and health-related products in a pharmacy environment. A computer-controlled system coordinates and controls pharmacy workflow to sequence prescriptions for fulfillment in a most efficient path thereby minimizing a cost function associated with fulfillment of the prescription order. The system coordinates and controls prescription order fulfillment from automated and non-automated storage locations and can be easily adapted to the specific layout and level of automation desired by the operator.

1 .- 13 . (canceled) 
     
     
         14 . A computerized method for filling a prescription order, comprising:
 receiving by a control computer a prescription order comprising two or more medications, each medication stored at a different location;   using the control computer to generate a sequence in which to gather the medications of the prescription order at the different locations; and   generating human-readable indicia of the sequence;   wherein the control computer determines the sequence by minimizing a cost function associated with gathering the two or more medications from the different locations for the fulfillment of the prescription order.   
     
     
         15 . The computerized method of  claim 14  wherein the cost function includes at least one variable related to the distance required to be traveled between the different locations to fulfill the prescription order. 
     
     
         16 . The computerized method of  claim 14  wherein the cost function includes variables related to the locations of medications assigned to other prescription orders that are co-pending with the prescription order. 
     
     
         17 . The computerized method of  claim 14  wherein the control computer is programmed to determine the sequence to decrease the time needed to fill the prescription order. 
     
     
         18 . The computerized method of  claim 14 , wherein the control computer is programmed to determine the sequence based upon the position of the different locations. 
     
     
         19 . The computerized method of  claim 14  wherein the human-readable indicia includes information identifying each of the two or more medications. 
     
     
         20 . The computerized method of  claim 19  wherein the human-readable indicia includes information identifying the storage location of each of the two or more medications. 
     
     
         21 . The computerized method of  claim 20  wherein the information is printed on a tote bag configured to hold the medications of the prescription order. 
     
     
         22 . The computerized method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 receiving a digital image of at least one of the medications stored in a dispensing apparatus provided at one of the different locations, the digital image taken by a feature of the dispensing apparatus.   
     
     
         23 . The computerized method of  claim 22 , further comprising:
 displaying the digital image proximate to a display of a stock image of the medication for comparison thereof.   
     
     
         24 . A method for fulfilling a prescription within a personnel-driven pharmacy, the method comprising:
 receiving by a control computer a prescription order comprising two or more medications, each medication stored at a different location within the pharmacy;   generating a sequence in which to retrieve the medications from the different locations with a control computer, the control computer programmed to generate the sequence based on workflow considerations; and   generating human-readable indicia of the sequence, the human-readable indicia including indicia identifying each of the two or more medications and including information identifying the storage location of each of the two or more medications.   
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 24  wherein the workflow considerations include the distance required to be traveled between the different locations to fulfill the prescription order within the pharmacy. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 24  wherein the indicia identifying each of the two or more medications includes at least one of a name of the medication and a stock image of the medication, wherein the information identifying the storage location of each of the two or more medications includes an icon representative of the location at which each medication is stored. 
     
     
         27 . The computerized method of  claim 26  wherein the sequence is printed on a tote bag configured to hold the medications of the prescription order. 
     
     
         28 . A computerized method for filling a prescription order within a pharmacy, the prescription order including at least two medications to be retrieved from separate storage locations within the pharmacy, the method comprising:
 determining a sequence in which to gather the medications of the prescription order at the different locations within the pharmacy with a control computer, wherein the control computer determines the sequence based upon a cost function associated with gathering the two or more medications for the fulfillment of the prescription order; and   generating human-readable indicia of the determined sequence.   
     
     
         29 . The computerized method of  claim 28  wherein the cost function includes at least one variable related to the distance required to be traveled between the different locations to fulfill the prescription order. 
     
     
         30 . The computerized method of  claim 28  wherein the cost function includes variables related to the locations of medications assigned to other prescription orders that are co-pending with the prescription order. 
     
     
         31 . A method for facilitating the efficient filling of a prescription order within a pharmacy, the prescription order including at least two medications to be retrieved from separate storage locations within the pharmacy, the method comprising:
 programming a control computer to determine a sequence in which to gather the medications of the prescription order based upon a cost function associated with the gathering the two or more medications within the pharmacy; and   programming a control computer to generate human-readable indicia of the determined sequence.   
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 31  wherein the cost function includes at least one variable related to the distance required to be traveled between the different locations to fulfill the prescription order. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 31  wherein the cost function includes variables related to the locations of medications assigned to other prescription orders that are co-pending with the prescription order.