Patent Grant
7921583
This invention relates to the field of medication dosage tracking, and in particular, to a system which enables easy placement and removal of label-based dosage reminder and confirmation systems.
Most practitioner-prescribed medication, as well as over-the-counter medication, requires regimented usage for optimal results. In our fast-paced society, it is difficult for most people to maintain a medication-related schedule and to remember what has been taken and what still needs to be taken.
A survey of approximately one hundred people who take or have taken medication (the survey included pharmacists) was conducted by applicant to substantiate the belief that most people forget, or have forgotten to take their medication. The results of the survey was that ninety-nine percent of those people surveyed forget to take their medication, and that the majority of people forget to take their medications, more often than not. Not only do most people forget to take their medication, but just as important, most people, while in the process of remembering to take their medication, often forget if they have taken their last scheduled dose or not.
There do exist various label systems for reminding a medication user to take their medication and to help them remember (i.e., confirm) if they have already taken a scheduled dose. Typically, these label systems are adhered directly to the medicine container, see, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,752,087; 5,881,597; and 5,979,698. Once placed, these are not readily removed. Sometimes, the user may inadvertently mount the label system on top of dosage instructions printed in the container, which then obscures important information from the user.
It would be desirable to have a means of adhering a label system to a label-based medication dosage reminder and confirmation system which facilitates easy attachment of the label system to the medicine container, and also, which permits easy readjustment and removal even after the labels have initially been attached to the medicine container or like container.
It is would also be desirable to have a system which permits any pertinent medication information printed on the medication container to be viewed by the user, rather than obscured by the label system as is often the case.
Disclosed herein is a medication dosage reminder and confirmation sleeve apparatus and associated method for use in connection with a medicine container, comprising: a sleeve material, comprising a closed surface with a circumference substantially equal to a circumference of the medicine container with which the apparatus is to be used, wherein the sleeve material will conform to a shape of, and fit snugly upon, the medicine container, when placed over at least part of the medicine container; and affixed to the sleeve material, at least one tearable dosage reminder and confirmation sheet comprising a plurality of dosage tabs; wherein: when one of the dosage tabs is removed from the dosage reminder and confirmation sheet, a residue remains attached to the dosage reminder and confirmation sheet to indicate that the dose associated with the removed tab has been consumed; and the sleeve material in combination with the at least one tearable dosage reminder and confirmation sheet can, at will, be attached to, removed from, and adjusted upon the medicine container.
The features of the invention believed to be novel are set forth in the appended claims. The invention, however, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing(s) summarized below.
Dosage reminder and confirmation sleeve 11 is fabricated from a substantially transparent sleeve material 14 such but not limited to a clear, transparent plastic. Dosage reminder and confirmation sleeve 11 is fabricated into closed surface as illustrated, and to have substantially the same circumference as the medicine container 12 with which it is intended to be used. This allows a snug fit when dosage reminder and confirmation sleeve 11 is slid over at least part of medicine container 12. For example, transparent sleeve material 14 may be manufactured as a flat plastic sheet shown in
As illustrated in
Affixed to dosage reminder and confirmation sleeve 11 are one or more tearable dosage reminder and confirmation sheets 15 comprising a plurality of dosage tabs 16, which are designed such that, when the user takes a dose of medication, the user removes a tab 16, which tears off along tear line 17, but leaves behind a residue portion 18 which is an indicator that the dose associated with the removed tab has been consumed. Thus, for example, were the use to tear off the specific tab at 16, leaving behind the “W” shown at 18, this would constitute an indicator to the user that the Wednesday dosage had been consumed. (Days of the month, or any other suitable indicator may be used, and various systems of labeling the tabs may be employed, all within the scope of this disclosure and its associated claims.) The dosage reminder and confirmation sheets 15 may be in the form of a single layer of tabs as illustrated, or, for example, the multi-layer tabs illustrated in copending U.S. application Ser. No. 11/163,648, see also
To use dosage reminder and confirmation sleeve 11, the user slides reminder and confirmation sleeve 11 over medicine container 12 at will, as schematically illustrated by 19. Once this is done, the resulting configuration is that of
While
As noted earlier, by attaching one or more dosage reminder and confirmation sheets 15 to the medicine container 12, not directly, but rather, via pre-affixation to dosage reminder and confirmation sleeve 11 and then, in turn, by attachment of dosage reminder and confirmation sleeve 11 to medicine container 12, the user is afforded great flexibility, and can easily reposition or remove the dosage reminder and confirmation sheets 15 in such a way as to view any and all medication information 13 printed on medicine container 12. The user can then restore dosage reminder and confirmation sleeve 11 and its pre-affixed dosage reminder and confirmation sheets 15 to the medicine container 12.
The use of dosage reminder and confirmation sheets 15 which are tearable is for illustration, and does not preclude other types of reminder and confirmation systems that are similarly attached via an intermediating dosage reminder and confirmation sleeve 11.
While only certain preferred features of the invention have been illustrated and described, many modifications, changes and substitutions will occur to those skilled in the art. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the invention.
This application is a continuation-in-part of pending U.S. application Ser. No. 11/163,648 filed Oct. 26, 2005, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20080010874 A1 | Jan 2008 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 11163648 | Oct 2005 | US |
| Child | 11770877 | US |
