Patent ID: 7596426

Claim:
A method comprising: (a) receiving an indication that plural medical items having different characteristics have been removed for use in a surgical procedure, including an indication that a first quantity of a medical item having a first characteristic has been manually removed from a first storage location in a medical facility, wherein the medical items are part of an inventory of quantities of various medical items having different characteristics, wherein medical items stored in the first storage location have a medical item characteristic different from medical items stored in a second storage location; wherein first removal data is received from a sensor at the first storage location that indicates that the first quantity has been removed from the first storage location for a patient, (b) wherein second removal data is received from a barcode scanner that indicates that the first quantity has been removed from the first storage location for the patient, wherein the barcode scanner is operative to scan a barcode identifier that corresponds to the first Quantity of the medical item having the first characteristic, wherein a data store includes information that correlates the barcode identifier with the medical item, (c) performing a determination that the first removal data is consistent with the second removal data and generating third removal data subsequent to performing the determination, wherein the third removal data is operative to automatically cause a charge for the first quantity to be allocated to the patient, wherein the third removal data is operative to cause at least one update of standing of medical item quantities associated with the inventory in carrying out real time processor monitoring of the inventory, including update to reflect location of the first quantity; (d) subsequent to step (d), receiving return data from the sensor that indicates that a second quantity of the first quantity removed in step (a) that was not used in the surgical procedure has been returned to the first storage location, and wherein the return data is operative to automatically cause a credit for the second quantity to be allocated to the patient and applied against the charge, wherein the return data is operative to cause at least one update of the standing of medical item quantities associated with the inventory in carrying out real time processor monitoring of the inventory, including update to reflect location of the second quantity and update to reflect patient usage of a third quantity, wherein the first quantity equals the second quantity plus the third quantity.