This disclosure relates generally to dispensing of prescription medications, and more specifically, to dynamic prescription dispensing checklist systems and methods.
One procedure for filling weekly or monthly pill organizers is to go through, one by one, the various prescription bottles, read the labels, and place the pills in the container portions of the weekly or monthly pill organizer. The process is then repeated once the weekly or monthly pill organizer is empty.
There is a need for dispensing of prescription medications, and more specifically, to dynamic prescription dispensing checklist systems and methods for dispensing of prescription medications.
In a first aspect, the present disclosure provides a dynamic prescription dispensing checklist system for use in filling a weekly or monthly pill organizer. The system includes a board comprising a first surface having an area identified for allowing a user to identify prescriptions, an area identified for allowing a user to identify times for taking the prescription, and an area identified for allowing a user to removably mark the board upon dispensing pills into a weekly or monthly pill organizer. A first plurality of strips is movably and releasably attachable to the first surface of the board in the area identified for identifying prescription medications. The first plurality of strips comprises a front surface operable for allowing a user to removably label prescription medications. A second plurality of strips is movably and releasably attachable to the first surface of the board in the area identified for identifying times for taking the prescription medications.
In a second aspect, the present disclosure provides a method for use in filling a weekly or monthly pill organizer. The method includes providing the dynamic prescription dispensing checklist system noted above, obtaining a plurality of prescription medication pill bottles comprising pills for dispensing over a week or month, labeling a name of the prescription medications on some of the first plurality of strips, labeling times during the day for taking the prescription medications on the second plurality of strips, and placing the labeled first plurality of strips and the labeled second plurality of strips on the board so that the prescription medications of first plurality of strips for a day are coordinated with the times of the second plurality of strips. The method also includes removing a plurality of first pills from a first of the prescription pill bottles, placing the plurality of first pills in respective container portions of a weekly or monthly pill organizer corresponding to the prescription medication and time identified on the dynamic prescription dispensing checklist system, marking the dynamic prescription dispensing checklist system to identify that the first plurality of pills has been dispensed into the weekly or monthly pill organizer, repeating the steps of removing, placing, and marking for the remaining plurality of prescription pill bottles, removing the markings after completing the dispensing of the plurality of pills into the weekly or monthly pill organizer, removing the plurality of pills from the weekly or monthly pill organizer over the course of the week or month, and repeating the steps of removing, placing, and marking to refill the pill organizer for the next weekly or monthly pill organizer.
The subject matter which is regarded as the invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification. The invention, however, may best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of various embodiments and the accompanying drawings in which:
The present disclosure is directed to providing a flexible system for people (patients and/or caregivers) to use as they allocate and keep track of pills (prescription or vitamin) into a weekly or monthly pill container. As described below, the system is dynamic and can easily be changed to accommodate and reflect any changes made by doctors to a patient's medication regimen. The present disclosure may, if not always, contain the most current medication regimen that a patient is on, if it is utilized accordingly.
Each of the plurality of removable strips 50 may have a front surface 52 and a rear surface (not shown in
With reference still to
In addition, additional strips when not in use may be attached or stored on the rear side as described below. The Jantoven 5 mg is a different dosage than the Jantoven 7.5 mg located on the schedule in the working section of the board, and the 5 mg can be exchanged with 7.5 mg as necessary.
With reference still to
As shown in
In one aspect, with reference to
For example, while allocating medication, a patient or caregiver would place pills into daily compartments of a container and then place a checkmark in the “Dispensed” box that is in line with the magnetic strip labeled with that medication, when the allocation was completed. If the pill quantity is low, the patient or caregiver would place a checkmark in the “Refill Needed” box, thus aiding in the management of the medication regimen. This procedure would be repeated for all medications on the chart. When all medications are allocated and refills called in, the patient or caregiver may easily wipe off the checkmarks, leaving the permanently marked columns and boxes empty for the next time the medications are allocated into the monthly/weekly container.
If a medication dosage is changed, a new magnetic strip may be inserted to replace the old one. If a new medication is added, a new magnetic strip may be simply added to the appropriate section such as “Bedtime”, “Breakfast”, etc. If a person is taken off a medication, the magnetic strip may be simply removed and may be erased or saved for future use in case the person is put back on the medication. If a medication is prescribed intermittently, such as antibiotics or chemotherapy, the magnetic strip can be stored on a refrigerator or other metal device and added to the chart/schedule when necessary.
The present disclosure addresses the problems associated with prescription management for patients who are responsible for allocating and taking their own medications, or prescription management for caregivers for aiding patients. For example, the present disclosure provides a management system for patients or their caregivers to accurately allocate medications into a weekly/monthly container, thus potentially reducing the likelihood of potential medication mix-ups.
This present disclosure is particularly helpful for patients who take multiple prescriptions that may change frequently, such as dosage changes or on-off medication regimens. If a patient or caregiver uses a typed or otherwise permanent checklist, then any regimen or prescription changes would require a new checklist to be created. If a patient or caregiver just scratches in a change in medication on a permanent checklist, this could open up opportunities for mistakes to be made. The present disclosure solves this problem because the checklist includes magnetic strips that may be added or removed quickly and conveniently.
Examples of how this system solves some problems associated with prescription management include the following. In a first example, Coumadin is a blood thinning drug that must be monitored carefully. A patient on Coumadin may need to have blood work done weekly and the patient may have to change the dosage on a weekly basis as the blood tests indicate. The present disclosure allows the patient or caregiver to remove and store the magnetic strip with the current Coumadin dosage and replace it with a new one. This can easily be done each week if necessary.
In a second example, cancer patients may be on chemotherapy for a period of time, then off of it, and then back on it. Cancer patients may also be on and off antibiotics as well, due to secondary infections that set in due to weakened immune systems (a side-effect of the chemotherapy drugs). The present disclosure allows a patient or caregiver to easily add or remove chemotherapy drugs and/or antibiotics to the schedule on the magnetic board as necessary. All of this can be done without having to re-write or recreate an entirely new checklist.
It is also possible that, if the number of medications prescribed are not too numerous, the present disclosure may be used by two people in a household, e.g., one person could utilize the left half of the board, while the other person could utilize the right half of the board. Or, two separate boards could be customized for two people in a household, thereby meeting each person's needs and possibly reducing medication mix-ups.
The present disclosure also includes an area to convey and easily locate other helpful information, e.g., located on the back side of the board, such as phone numbers of doctors and pharmacies, Rx numbers for refills, allergy information, emergency contact information, etc. The present disclosure helps the patient or caregiver efficiently manage the process of allocating medications, refilling medications, and monitoring changes made to the medication regimen.
In addition, the present disclosure offers advantages over regular whiteboards that may be used for the same purpose because the writing on a regular whiteboard can smudge easily with only a slight touch from a person or object. A patient could use permanent markers to avoid this, however, they would have to use a highly odorous solvent (such as nail polish remover) to remove any items that need to removed or changed. While removing or changing an unwanted portion from the whiteboard, it is possible and likely that other wanted items could accidentally and unintentionally be disturbed or erased. All of these examples are time-consuming and unpleasant (in terms of odor). The dynamic prescription checklist system likely offers a more convenient and efficient alternative method of monitoring the allocation of pills.
Further, the present disclosure would allow the patient, caregivers, or EMTs to effectively communicate with doctors regarding medications taken by the patient because the dynamic prescription dispensing checklist system would contain the most up-to-date information regarding medications that the patient is taking. It would also facilitate care in an emergency situation, e.g., if the patient could not speak for him/herself, if the dynamic prescription dispensing checklist system was found and used by EMTs, or if a caregiver needed to communicate information to the medical staff involved in the care of the patient. The magnetic nature of the system keeps the strips in place and makes the board very portable. Many people take their medications with them to hospitals, emergency room visits, or to doctor visits. The board would eliminate the need to physically take the medications because it would contain the patient's most up-to-date prescription history.
From the present description, it will be appreciated that a pen or other writing device may be provided for labeling the plurality of strips and marking the various boxes. In one aspect, the labeled prescriptions or labeled items may be washable or erasable. For example, the labeled prescriptions or labeled times may be generally smudge proof and require water or a solvent for erasing or removal. In addition, the labeled prescriptions or labeled times may be generally smudge proof and require removal using a solvent such as an organic solvent such as containing acetone. It is also appreciated that the labeling may be done using permanent markers, and the strips may be disposable and replaceable. It will also be appreciated that other means for movably attaching the strips to the board may be suitably employed. For example, the board and strips may operably include hook-and-loop fasteners such as VELCRO, or a releasable adhesive, for releasably attaching the strips to the board. It will be appreciated that the various areas for information on the board may be arranged in other suitable configuration.
It is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. For example, the above-described embodiments and/or aspects thereof may be used in combination with each other. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the various embodiments without departing from their scope.
While the dimensions and types of materials described herein are intended to define the parameters of the various embodiments, they are by no means limiting and are merely exemplary. Many other embodiments will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. The scope of the various embodiments should, therefore, be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.
In the appended claims, the terms “including” and “in which” are used as the plain-English equivalents of the respective terms “comprising” and “wherein.” Moreover, in the following claims, the terms “first,” “second,” and “third,” etc. are used merely as labels, and are not intended to impose numerical requirements on their objects. Further, the limitations of the following claims are not written in means-plus-function format and are not intended to be interpreted based on 35 U.S.C. §112, sixth paragraph, unless and until such claim limitations expressly use the phrase “means for” followed by a statement of function void of further structure.
It is to be understood that not necessarily all such objects or advantages described above may be achieved in accordance with any particular embodiment. Thus, for example, those skilled in the art will recognize that the systems and techniques described herein may be embodied or carried out in a manner that achieves or optimizes one advantage or group of advantages as taught herein without necessarily achieving other objects or advantages as may be taught or suggested herein.
While the invention has been described in detail in connection with only a limited number of embodiments, it should be readily understood that the invention is not limited to such disclosed embodiments. Rather, the invention can be modified to incorporate any number of variations, alterations, substitutions, or equivalent arrangements not heretofore described, but which are commensurate with the spirit and scope of the invention. Additionally, while various embodiments of the invention have been described, it is to be understood that aspects of the disclosure may include only some of the described embodiments. Accordingly, the invention is not to be seen as limited by the foregoing description, but is only limited by the scope of the appended claims.
This written description uses examples to disclose the invention, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal language of the claims.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/610,633, filed Mar. 14, 2012, entitled “Dynamic Prescription Dispensing Checklist Systems and Methods”, which is hereby incorporated in its entirety herein by reference.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20130264352 A1 | Oct 2013 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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61610633 | Mar 2012 | US |