Patent ID: 6175779
Filing Date: 2001-01-16
Classification: A61G,G07F,G16H

Abstract:
A computerized unit dose medication dispensing cart for use in a medical facility comprising:a cart for transporting prepackaged unit dose medications;an input device mounted on said cart for generating a request signal to initiate the dispensing of the prepackaged unit dose medications for a patient;a computer system mounted on said cart and coupled to the input device, the computer system having memory means for storing medication information relating to the patient and means for generating a dispense signal in response to the request signal;a plurality of dispensing means mounted on said cart and coupled to said computer system, each dispensing means including a motor coupled to a plurality of rollers, the motor rotating the rollers in response to the dispense signal from said computer system, the rollers advancing a prepackaged unit dosage of a medication over the rollers and through a slit in the dispensing means from a stack of prepackaged unit dose medications stored in the dispensing means, each prepackaged unit dose medication dispensed through the slit being separable from the stack, said computer system transmitting the dispense signal only to the dispensing means dispensing a prepackaged unit dosage of a medication to be dispensed to the patient based on the medication information relating to the patient stored in said memory means; anddetection means mounted on said dispensing means and coupled to said computer system for detecting the dispensing of the prepackaged unit dose medications from said dispensing means, the computer system recording in the memory means that the dispensing of the prepackaged unit dose medication to the patient has occurred.