Patent ID: 9117010
Filing Date: 2015-08-25
Classification: A61J,G07F,G16H

Abstract:
1. An automated method of recording contents of medication packages vended from a plurality of vending machines in electronic records that store records for a plurality of patients who are associated with respective vending machines, each vending machine being associated with only one patient, the electronic records including the following fields (i) a patient identifier, (ii) schedule of dose times, (iii) contents of medication packages to be dispensed at the appropriate dose time in the dose schedule, and (iv) vended medications indicator, the method comprising: (a) receiving at a medication administration computer from the vending machines electronic messages generated at the vending machine that include at least a unique identifier of the patient whenever a vending event occurs at one of the vending machines, wherein the electronic messages do not include patient names or vended medications; (b) detecting at the medication administration computer for each received electronic message whether an electronic record exists for a patient identifier that matches the unique identifier of the patient and for which the scheduled dose time can be properly inferred; and (c) recording by the medication administration computer in the vended medications indicator field of the electronic record that the medications to be dispensed at the appropriate dose time in the dose schedule were properly dispensed if it is detected in step (b) that an electronic record exists for a patient identifier that matches the unique identifier of the patient and for which the scheduled dose time can be properly inferred, wherein the contents of medication packages vended from the vending machines are recorded in electronic records without communicating the patient names or the vended medications in the electronic message sent from the vending machines, and wherein all of the medication packages vended from a particular vending machine are for the same patient.