Patent ID: 7787986

Claim:
A communication network for use in delivering pharmacy-filled prescriptions associated with specific consumers that are stored in a random storage and delivery device comprising: a random storage and delivery device comprising a housing for securely enclosing at least one hundred prescription storage locations, each prescription storage location designed to store a unique, pharmacy-filled prescription that has been associated with a specific consumer before being placed within the device, a consumer interface, a delivery apparatus that can deliver any pharmacy-filled prescription stored at any prescription storage location, and a dispensing computer that communicates with the consumer interface and the delivery apparatus; a sensor, located within the housing, for sensing a sensable identifier associated with each consumer-specific prescription; wherein each consumer-specific prescription is randomly stored at a non-predesignated storage location, and said dispensing computer receives information about the identity and location of said stored consumer-specific prescription from said sensor which senses said sensable identifier after said consumer-specific prescription is placed at the non-predesignated prescription storage location, to allow the storage and delivery device to associate said consumer-specific prescription to the non-predesignated storage location after said consumer-specific prescription is stored; a pharmacy information system for storing electronic records associated with stored consumer-specific prescriptions, which are created by the pharmacy and comprise a unique consumer identifier and a prescription number associated with the consumer; and an interface engine that communicates with the pharmacy information system and the dispensing computer, and through which a unique electronic record corresponding to each consumer-specific prescription stored in the storage and delivery device is transferred from the pharmacy information system to the dispensing computer; wherein the consumer interface receives identification information from a consumer, the dispensing computer determines the location of a consumer-specific prescription stored within the storage and delivery device for that consumer, and which corresponds to the electronic record for that consumer-specific prescription, and the dispensing computer controls the delivery apparatus to deliver the consumer-specific prescription to the consumer.