Patent ID: 7483766

Claim:
A method of prescribing and conveying regulated pharmaceuticals, comprising the steps of: providing a central processing unit; providing a stock of pharmaceuticals that are prepackaged as units of use, wherein each unit of use is a sealed container that contains a single pharmaceutical type in a quantity equal to an average course of treatment of said pharmaceutical type for a particular patient type; providing a vending machine that is controlled by said central processing unit, said vending machine storing said stock of pharmaceuticals therein, wherein each of said units of use can be independently vended and automatically dispensed from said vending machine upon the activation of said vending machine; providing a data reading unit proximate said vending machine that electronically communicates with said central processing unit; providing a data input terminal that communicates with said central processing unit and is remote from said vending machine; entering prescription data into said data input terminal, wherein said prescription data is forwarded to said central processing unit, and wherein said prescription data identifies one of said units of use within said vending machine; assigning a first vending code to said prescription data; providing a portable data storage medium containing a second vending code that is matched to said first vending code; reading said second vending code from said portable storage medium with said data reading unit; activating said vending machine if said second vending code read from said portable storage medium is matched to said first vending code by said central processing unit; vending one of said units of use identified by said prescription data assigned to said first vending code; and printing a printout each time one of said units of use vends from said vending machine, wherein each said printout contains a label image.