Abstract:
Current medication labels are very difficult for people with disabilities, language barriers, functional impairments, or illiteracy to read, potentially increasing the risk for accidental medication overdoses and/or poor compliance with medication administration and adherence. By having a color coded sticker system with an enclosed full body guide in the form of a poster, and a home health medication record card, these stickers are placed on each medication bottle as a symbol for what the medication is used for. The stickers are color coded in order to distinguish the time the medication is to be administered. Home health agencies may use the poster and stickers as they educate their patients about the medications they take.

Description:
[0001]    This is a complete application which claims priority from, and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/267,544, filed Dec. 8, 2009, hereby incorporated in its entirety by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to color coded anatomical and non-anatomical sticker labels to be used in medication bottles to identify a use of a medication. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Currently, medication labels do not have any reference explaining what the medication is used for except for the diagnosis (if written on the prescription by the provider). Research supports that this directly results in poorer health outcomes, especially for those patients who may be disabled, elderly, functionally impaired, non-English speaking or are illiterate. 
         [0004]    Currently, medication labels are written in typed black ink. This assumes the user can read English, can see the print, and understands what the words mean. With a culture of increasing diversity, “English” may not be the primary language. A medication bottle is presently given to a non-English speaking user and it is expected that the person understands what he/she is taking and when it should be given. The same is true for the elderly who may be functionally impaired, persons with disabilities, or those who are illiterate. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    The present invention provides a color coded, anatomical icon and non-anatomical icon sticker system that eliminates the problems of the prior art. The stickers are also color coded to identify what time of day the pill should be taken. 
         [0006]    Within the kit of the present invention, a full body guide, in the form of a poster, identifies each sticker according to what part of the body the medication is used for or what part of the medical plan the medication is used for, i.e. “antibiotics”. The stickers are kept simple, and do not contain any words. The stickers are only identified in English and Spanish on the poster guide. The present invention is meant to be a “visual” guide that can be utilized in any country or with any barrier. 
         [0007]    The present invention is a single unit which includes: color coded anatomical and non-anatomical icon stickers, a full body guide in the form of a poster, a home health medication record card, and a blank medication reorder form. The parts may be separated and sold individually based on demand. 
         [0008]    Once the kit of the present invention is purchased, the stickers, measuring 0.5×0.5 inches square at the most, are placed on the individual medication bottles (or cards) according to what the medication is used for. For visually impaired individuals, the stickers measure one inch by one inch. 
         [0009]    For example, COREG is a heart medication that may be given up to three times daily. The stickers used would be three separate heart icon stickers, and each of the three stickers would be color coded a different color to indicate the time of the day the medicine should be taken. 
         [0010]    The times of day are: “blue” for morning, “orange” for noon, “pink” for afternoon, “purple” for evening, “black” for bedtime, “brown” for weekly, “light blue” for monthly, “green” for as needed, and “red” for stop taking. These colors would be explained by appropriately graphic icons on the full body guide. 
         [0011]    The different icon stickers represent: 
         [0012]    (1) Head; 
         [0013]    (2) Brain; 
         [0014]    (3) Ear; 
         [0015]    (4) Eye; 
         [0016]    (5) Nose; 
         [0017]    (6) Mouth; 
         [0018]    (7) Neck; 
         [0019]    (8) Bone; 
         [0020]    (9) Arm; 
         [0021]    (10) Hand; 
         [0022]    (11) Chest; 
         [0023]    (12) Back; 
         [0024]    (13) Heart; 
         [0025]    (14) Stomach; 
         [0026]    (15) Kidneys; 
         [0027]    (16) Leg; 
         [0028]    (17) Foot; 
         [0029]    (18) Skin; 
         [0030]    (19) Pain; 
         [0031]    (20) Depression/Anxiety; 
         [0032]    (21) Sugar; 
         [0033]    (22) Tremors; 
         [0034]    (23) Memory; 
         [0035]    (24) Male; 
         [0036]    (25) Female; 
         [0037]    (26) Antibiotic; 
         [0038]    (27) Weight; 
         [0039]    (28) Constipation; 
         [0040]    (29) Blood Thinner; 
         [0041]    (30) Sleep Deprivation; 
         [0042]    (31) Vitamin; and 
         [0043]    (32) Blank Stickers. 
         [0044]    Each kit will have two sheets of three sets of different color coded icon stickers each, 300 stickers per sheet for a total of 600 stickers. The stickers are color coded according to time of day the medicine is to be taken. It is envisioned as being within the scope of the present invention that the sheets of stickers may be in booklet form, color coded per page, with a lesser number of stickers per sheet for a total of 600 stickers. 
         [0045]    Since more medications may be used for the heart or bone for instance, additional stickers will be present on each sheet for that anatomical part than for stickers less frequently used, such as “weight”. Blank and time period icon stickers are included and used at the discretion of the user (patient, home health nurse, caregiver, etc.). 
         [0046]    A full body poster, no larger than 11×14 inches, is used as a guide when identifying what the stickers represent. For visually impaired individuals, the poster would measure 16×24 inches. 
         [0047]    Both English and Spanish words identifying what the sticker represents will be written below each sticker on the poster only. The color key will be included on the poster identifying the time of the day the medication is to be taken. 
         [0048]    A blank medication card will be included in the kit for the user to write down all of his/her medications once the medications are understood. The top of the card will identify the patient&#39;s name, allergies, physician name and number, emergency contact name and number, and pharmacy name and number, for example. The bottom of the card will have the name of the medication, space for the corresponding icon sticker, dosage and time for administration. 
         [0049]    The elements of the kit include the color coded anatomical and non-anatomical stickers, a full body guide in the form of a poster, and a medication record card. An optional item would be a re-order form. A survey could be added for patient feedback to measure the effectiveness of the present invention. 
         [0050]    The present invention is simple and straightforward. The stickers identified cover the main category for each medicine prescribed. The symbols created were designed to keep it simple. For example, “BONIVA” is an osteoporosis medication. The bottom line is it works on bones, so a “bone” sticker is used and the color light blue with a central “30”, because it is taken monthly. It does not matter if the back is affected more or the hip, it is a “bone” medication. 
         [0051]    Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a series of stickers in six different colors to indicate a time of day for taking a particular medication and the relevance of the medication to a particular body part or function as explained with reference to a poster chart. 
         [0052]    It is another object of the present invention to provide a series of stickers in six different colors to indicate a time of day for taking a particular medication and the relevance of the medication to a particular body part or function as explained with reference to a poster chart, where a kit of the stickers and poster chart also includes a medication card to provide a reference for a particular medication, amount of medication, time of day for taking the medication and the applicability of the particular medication to a physical or mental functioning. 
         [0053]    It is still yet another object of the present invention to provide a series of stickers in six different colors to indicate a time of day for taking a particular medication and the relevance of the medication to a particular body part or function as explained with reference to a poster chart, where a kit of the stickers and poster chart also includes a medication card to provide a reference for a particular medication, amount of medication, time of day for taking the medication and the applicability of the particular medication to a physical or mental functioning, with the stickers being used to label medication bottles to identify the use of the medication and the time of day of taking the medication, as well as the time period for taking the medication. 
         [0054]    These and other objects of the invention, as well as many of the intended advantages thereof, will become more readily apparent when reference is made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0055]    The following drawings illustrate examples of various components of the invention disclosed herein, and are for illustrative purposes only. Other embodiments that are substantially similar can use other components that have a different appearance. 
           [0056]      FIG. 1  is a poster chart of the kit of the present invention which is used as a reference guide to provide a label for treatment of a body part by use of a medication and frequency of use of the medication. 
           [0057]      FIGS. 2 and 3  represent two sheets of icon stickers to be used in combination with the poster chart to identify the use of a medication, time of day of use of the medication and frequency of use of a medication. 
           [0058]      FIG. 4  illustrates a medication chart for keeping a record of a medication, the amount of the medication to be taken and the time period within which the medication is taken. 
           [0059]      FIG. 5  illustrates a prescription bottle labeled with the appropriate icon stickers to advise an individual as to what the medication is used to treat and the frequency with which the medication should be taken. 
           [0060]      FIG. 6  illustrates five different bottles and the various icon stickers which are used on the bottles to identify a use of a medication and the frequency of use of the medication. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0061]    In describing a preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, specific terminology will be resorted to for the sake of clarity. However, the invention is not intended to be limited to the specific terms so selected, and it is to be understood that each specific term includes all technical equivalents which operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar purpose. 
         [0062]    With reference to the drawings, in general, and to  FIGS. 1 through 3  in particular, a medication identification system embodying the teachings of the subject invention includes a chart  10  and two sheets  12 ,  14  as shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , respectively. In  FIG. 1 , there are three groups of icons. The first group  16  includes a plurality of icons associated with an outline of a human body  18 . Each of the icons include an image which is associated with a particular body part with the icon positioned on or proximate to a particular body part. By looking at the image on each of the stickers from sheets  12  and  14 , it is automatically recognized to which body part the sticker is associated. A label for each sticker is printed on chart  10  below the icon in English and in Spanish. 
         [0063]    The second group  20  of icons is used to associate a particular medical treatment for either a male or a female and by visualization of a particular icon, a particular malady is recognized associated with the human body. The third group  22  of icons identifies by the icon and its color, a particular time of day for taking of a particular medication. For example, sticker  24  is of a blue color indicative of morning. Sticker  26  is of orange color indicative of noon time. Sticker  28  is of pink color indicative of late afternoon. Sticker  30  is of purple color indicative of evening. Sticker  32  is black indicative of bedtime. In addition, brown sticker  34 , with the number “7” centrally located on the sticker is indicative of a medication which should be taken once a week. Similarly, sticker  36  is of a light blue color and with the number “30” in the center of the sticker, is indicative of a medication which should be taken once a month. Sticker  38  is of a green color and is indicative of a medication which should be taken “as needed”. Sticker  40  includes a red octagonal stop sign symbol and is indicative of a medication which should be discontinued. 
         [0064]    On sheets  12 ,  14  as shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , there are six sets of stickers  42 ,  44 ,  46 ,  48 ,  50  and  52 . Each group of stickers includes the stickers in group  16  and group  20  shown on the chart  10 . However, each of the six groups of stickers is a different color. 
         [0065]    Set  42  is blue and therefore identifies by the respective icons on the stickers the use of the medication and by the color, indicates that a particular medicine should be taken in the morning to treat the ailment associated with the icon. Set  44  is of orange color, set  46  is of pink color, set  48  is of purple color, set  50  is of black color and set  52  is of green color. 
         [0066]    Therefore, by looking at the icon on each sticker, and the color of the sticker, the particular ailment to be treated by a medication is identified as well as the time of day that the medicine should be taken. The use of multiple stickers with the same icon would indicate the different times of day in which a particular medication should be taken. 
         [0067]    Each sheet  12 ,  14  also includes a set of stickers  54  which includes the three remaining stickers  34 ,  36  and  40  from the chart  10 . These stickers are used to indicate a medication that should be taken once a week or once a month or should be discontinued. 
         [0068]    Set of stickers  52 , since in green color, indicates that the medication to treat a particular ailment should be taken as needed. In addition, blank boxes  56  are for indicating an ailment or frequency of use of a medication not identified from the six sets of colored icons, and would be filled in by a caregiver or other health care professional to indicate a treatment not specifically covered. 
         [0069]    To provide a record of the treatment regimen, medication card  60  is used to identify a patient&#39;s name  62  and other relevant information. In the example shown, the particular name of a medication  63  is indicated as well as the dosage and frequency of use  64 . A sticker  66  including a heart icon is indicative of heart medication and its blue color indicates that the medication should be taken in the morning. 
         [0070]    Similarly, a second medication  68  with its dosage and frequency of use  70  includes an associated sticker  72  indicative of heart medication and its black color indicative of taking at bedtime. The medication card  60  is for use by a caregiver to summarize a patient&#39;s medication. The stickers  66  and  72  do not necessarily represent the frequency of use on the medication card. The frequency of use and identification of the ailment being treated by the medication is used in combination with the medication bottles as shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 . 
         [0071]    In  FIG. 5 , a bottle of prescription medicine  74  includes three stickers having a heart-shaped icon indicative of medication used for treating the heart. Sticker  76  is blue in color indicating that the medicine should be taken in the morning. Sticker  78  is orange in color indicating that the medication should be taken at noon. Sticker  80  is black in color indicating that the medication should be taken at bedtime. 
         [0072]    Other examples of medication bottle labeling is provided by bottle  82  including medication for treating bones by sticker  84  of blue color indicating that the medication should be taken in the morning and sticker  86  of black color indicating that the medication should be taken at bedtime. Bottle  88  includes sticker  90  indicating that medication to treat the stomach is contained in the bottle and that the green color of sticker  90  means that the medication should be taken as needed. Bottle  92  includes stickers  94 ,  96  and  98 . These stickers indicate that the medication is bottle  92  is used to treat tremors. Sticker  94  of blue color indicates that the medication should be taken in the morning. Sticker  96  of pink color indicates that the medication should be taken in the late afternoon. Sticker  98  of black color indicates that the medication should be taken at bedtime. 
         [0073]    Bottle  100  includes stickers  102 ,  104 ,  106  and  108  with the icon indicative that the medication is used for treatment of the lungs and that, due to the blue, orange, purple and black colors of stickers  104  through  108 , respectively, indicates that the medication should be taken in the morning, in the late afternoon, in the evening and at bedtime. 
         [0074]    Accordingly, by the present invention, a simple system of identification of medication for treatment of a particular ailment or condition and the time of day at which the medication should be taken is provided without a need to identify the medication by writing or by a written indication of frequency of use. Quick reference to the chart  10  provides an indication of the ailment being treated and the frequency of use of a medication by colored icons and association to particular body parts which allows a patient to take the right medication at the right times. 
         [0075]    The foregoing description should be considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and, accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.