Patent ID: 7711449

Claim:
A dispenser for dispensing a dose of medication, comprising: at least one chamber for holding a supply of loose and randomly oriented pills; a device adapted to dispense one pill at a time from said supply of loose and randomly oriented pills; a controller adapted to operate said device to dispense a preset number of pills from said at least one chamber at a preset time; the controller being programmable by access to data from at least one of a pharmacy, a smartcard reader, a programmable digital assistant (PDA), a cell phone, and a network link; wherein the device dispenses said one pill to a receptacle area including a drawer having a spring loaded handle and a sweep attached to the handle, and the dispenser further comprises a sensor that detects when the receptacle area is open or has been accessed by a user; and a system for improving compliance by a user with a preset pill dispensing schedule, in which selectable, personalized alerts or messages are providable to at least one of reminding the user that said one pill has been dispensed or rewarding the user for being in compliance with the dispensing schedule.