Patent ID: 7978564

Claim:
A medication system for performing at least one health safety function, the system comprising: at least one container for holding doses of medication, the container having a container memory device containing specifying information useable to determine a prescribed dosing regimen for the medication; a reminder device including: (i) a communication device; (ii) a timing device; (iii) a reminder device memory; and (iv) a processor and an associated surface, the processor for receiving the specifying information via rf communication; when the container memory device is proximate the surface, the processor linked to the timing device and the reminder device memory an linkable to the communication device; wherein, prior to an initial time the specifying information has not been received by the processor and the prescribed dosing regimen information is not stored in the reminder device memory, at the initial time the container memory device is disposed proximate the first surface and the processor receives the specifying information for the first time, the first time the processor receives the specifying information, the processor using the specifying information to obtain prescribed dosing regimen information from a location other than the reminder device memory and performing at least one health safety function as a function of the prescribed dosing regimen information; wherein, the processor further uses the at least a portion of the prescribed dosing regimen information to determine a predetermined time to take the medication, uses the timing device to identify a predetermined time, and causes the communication device to indicate when the predetermined time occurs.