A system for providing alerts regarding dispense of potentially harmful medications to a patient comprising: an input device of an automated dispensing machine and configured to receive, from a user, a first request to dispense a medication for a patient; a communications module (114, 124) configured to provide, to a server over a communication network between the server and the automated dispensing machine, a second request for information regarding the medication dispense for the patient, and to receive, from the server in response to the second request, clinical information for the patient; and a processor configured to: receive, via the input device, the first request to initiate a dispense of a medication from the automated dispensing machine, and a selection of the patient; trigger, responsive to the first request and selection, the second request for information; obtain, from the server in response to the second request and the selection of the patient, the clinical information including critical information, characterized in that the critical information indicates an out of range lab value, associated with the patient, that would be impacted such as to aggravate a patient condition if the medication is administered to the patient; interrupt, responsive to the clinical information including the critical information and prior to dispensing the medication to the user, the dispense of the medication on the automated dispensing machine to display on a display device, to the user, an alert that identifies the medication as potentially harmful to the patient based on the critical information, the user being prevented from interacting with software of the automated dispensing machine until the alert is closed, log off the user from the automated dispensing machine when a timeout countdown expires without interaction between the user and the display device that displays the alert, and finish the dispense of the medication for the patient responsive to the user acknowledging the alert. an input device of an automated dispensing machine and configured to receive, from a user, a first request to dispense a medication for a patient; a communications module (114, 124) configured to provide, to a server over a communication network between the server and the automated dispensing machine, a second request for information regarding the medication dispense for the patient, and to receive, from the server in response to the second request, clinical information for the patient; and a processor configured to: receive, via the input device, the first request to initiate a dispense of a medication from the automated dispensing machine, and a selection of the patient; trigger, responsive to the first request and selection, the second request for information; obtain, from the server in response to the second request and the selection of the patient, the clinical information including critical information, characterized in that the critical information indicates an out of range lab value, associated with the patient, that would be impacted such as to aggravate a patient condition if the medication is administered to the patient; interrupt, responsive to the clinical information including the critical information and prior to dispensing the medication to the user, the dispense of the medication on the automated dispensing machine to display on a display device, to the user, an alert that identifies the medication as potentially harmful to the patient based on the critical information, the user being prevented from interacting with software of the automated dispensing machine until the alert is closed, log off the user from the automated dispensing machine when a timeout countdown expires without interaction between the user and the display device that displays the alert, and finish the dispense of the medication for the patient responsive to the user acknowledging the alert. receive, via the input device, the first request to initiate a dispense of a medication from the automated dispensing machine, and a selection of the patient; trigger, responsive to the first request and selection, the second request for information; obtain, from the server in response to the second request and the selection of the patient, the clinical information including critical information, characterized in that the critical information indicates an out of range lab value, associated with the patient, that would be impacted such as to aggravate a patient condition if the medication is administered to the patient; interrupt, responsive to the clinical information including the critical information and prior to dispensing the medication to the user, the dispense of the medication on the automated dispensing machine to display on a display device, to the user, an alert that identifies the medication as potentially harmful to the patient based on the critical information, the user being prevented from interacting with software of the automated dispensing machine until the alert is closed, log off the user from the automated dispensing machine when a timeout countdown expires without interaction between the user and the display device that displays the alert, and finish the dispense of the medication for the patient responsive to the user acknowledging the alert.