Patent ID: 8595609

Claim:
A pharmaceutical dispensing apparatus, comprising: a touch screen; a processor; memory coupled to the processor; and a computer program residing in the memory that is executable by the processor for guiding a user through a process of creating and modifying a label via the touch screen, wherein the computer program displays a graphical user interface (GUI) on the touch screen, a label template within the GUI, a display area within the GUI adjacent to the label template that contains a list of selectable data fields that can be used to build a label within the label template, and a toolbox area within the GUI adjacent to the label template that contains a plurality of touch-activated GUI controls adjacent to the template, wherein the GUI controls allow a user to perform one or more of the following functions: change data field size, change data field orientation, and change font type and size of alphanumeric characters displayed within a data field, wherein the toolbox area further includes a touch-activated GUI control that allows a user to zoom the display of a data field in the template, and wherein the label template is adapted to receive a plurality of data fields by a user from the display area adjacent to the label template, wherein each data field is adapted to receive and display respective data, wherein at least one data field can be dragged in any direction and to any location within the label template by a user's finger or stylus in direct contact with the at least one data field; a label printer that prints labels created and modified via the computer program; and a labeling station that applies printed labels to pharmaceutical vials, wherein the labeling station is positioned to receive a printed label from the label printer.