Patent Application
20110077771
Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to unit dose packages and, more particularly, to unit dose packages and associated robotic dispensing systems and methods that facilitate the automated dispensation of a unit dose package.
Medications and, in particular, oral solid medications, are packaged in a variety of manners. One type of packaging that has become popular, both in retail consumer settings and within hospitals and other healthcare facilities, is a unit dose blister pack. A unit dose blister pack includes a backing member and a blister mounted upon the backing member and defining a cavity for storing a medication. Typically, a single dose of medication is stored within the cavity, such as by storing a single pill within a cavity. Unit dose blister packs have become popular for a variety of reasons, including the ease or readiness with which a medication dispensed in a unit dose blister pack can be administered. Additionally, unit dose blister packs may provide smaller and/or less expensive packaging than that available for medications packaged by a pharmacy.
One approach for dispensing medication within a hospital or other healthcare facility involves the use of automated dispensing cabinets located throughout the facility. These automated dispensing cabinets are stocked by a pharmacy, typically with a wide variety of medications. Nurses or other healthcare professionals may then access the automated dispensing cabinets in a secure manner in order to withdraw medications prescribed for patients, many of which are generally located in the vicinity of the automated dispensing cabinet.
Unit dose blister packs are stocked in automated dispensing cabinets since the unit dose blister packs provide for efficient storage of the various medications. Typically, complete unit dose blister pack cards are provided by the pharmacy and stocked by the automated dispensing cabinets. A full unit dose blister card includes a plurality of unit dose blister packs connected, such as by means of perforations, to form an integral card. In order to administer the medication of a unit dose pack to a patient, a nurse or other healthcare professional must generally separate a unit dose blister pack from the remainder of the unit dose blister card, with the remainder of the unit dose blister card remaining within the automated dispensing cabinet. Although it is generally preferred by a nurse or other healthcare professional to retrieve a singulated unit dose blister pack from an automated dispensing cabinet in comparison to taking the additional time required to separate a unit dose blister pack from the remainder of the unit dose blister card, unit dose blister cards are generally stocked within automated dispensing cabinets since the unit dose blister cards are generally easier to pick within the pharmacy and may assist with inventory management.
With regard to the picking of unit dose blister cards within the pharmacy, the unit dose blister cards are generally picked manually since automated or robotic dispensation systems generally provide for the dispensation of unit dose medications only in instances in which the unit dose medications have been over-bagged. It has also been observed in instances in which individually packaged unit dose medications, such as singulated unit dose blister packs or over-bagged unit dose medications, are available to be picked that a plurality of individually packaged unit dose medications must frequently be selected in order to fill an order requiring two, three or more doses of the medications, thereby necessitating multiple pick operations. Although the multiple pick operations required to dispense a plurality of individually packaged unit dose medications might suggest that unit dose blister cards containing multiple unit dose blister packs would be more favored, the number of unit dose blister packs that is dispensed for a single patient is generally much fewer than the number of unit dose blister packs included within a unit dose blister card. For example, it may be somewhat common to dispense two unit dose blister packs for the same patient, but not the ten unit dose blister packs that may be included within a single unit dose blister card.
As such, it may be desirable to provide an improved system and method for automatically dispensing unit dose packages in order to, for example, reduce the number of pick operations and to increase the relative efficiency with which the unit dose packages are dispensed.
According to embodiments to the present invention, a unit dose package is provided that facilitates the robotic or automated picking and dispensation of the unit dose package. As such, the unit dose package of embodiments of the present invention permits a plurality of individually packaged unit dose medications to be dispensed in a single pick operation so as to increase the relative efficiency of the pick process. According to other embodiments of the present invention, a robotic dispensing system and method are provided that facilitate the selective dispensation of unit dose packages having different numbers of individually packaged unit dose medications, thereby further increasing the efficiency of the pick process.
A robotic dispensing system of one embodiment is provided that includes a unit dose package having a plurality of individually packaged unit dose medications. Each of the individually packaged unit dose medications is separably connected to at least one other individually packaged unit dose medication such that the plurality of individually packaged unit dose medications are separably interconnected. The robotic dispensing system also includes a storage location for storing at least one unit dose package having a plurality of individually packaged unit dose medications, and a controller configured to direct picking of the unit dose package. Each individually packaged unit dose medication may include indicia, such as a barcode, for identifying the medication. In this regard, each individually packaged unit dose medication of the unit dose package may include different indicia for individually identifying the respective individually packaged unit dose medications.
According to one embodiment, a unit dose blister card is provided that includes a plurality of unit dose blister packs. Each unit dose blister pack includes a backing member and a blister defining a cavity for storing a medication. Each of the plurality of unit dose blister packs is connected to at least one other unit dose blister pack such that the plurality of unit dose blister packs are interconnected. The unit dose blister card of this embodiment also includes a plurality of perforations defined between neighboring unit dose blister packs to facilitate separation of the unit dose blister packs. The unit dose blister card of this embodiment also defines a hole along at least one perforation such that the at least one perforation is aligned with the hole. In one embodiment, the hole is defined at an intersection of at least two perforations.
The unit dose blister card of one embodiment extends lengthwise between opposed ends and widthwise between opposed sides. In this embodiment, the hole may be defined to be closer to one end than another end and to be centered between the opposed sides. The unit dose blister card of one embodiment may also include indicia, such as a bar code, carried by each unit dose blister pack for identifying the medication. In this embodiment, the hole may be positioned so as to be spaced from the indicia carried by each unit dose blister pack.
In another embodiment, a robotic dispensing system is provided that includes a first storage location for storing at least one first unit dose package having a first predetermined number of individually packaged unit dose medication(s), such as a single unit dose medication. The robotic dispensing system of this embodiment also includes a second storage location for storing at least one second unit dose package having a second predetermined number of individually packaged unit dose medications with the second predetermined number being different than the first predetermined number. At least one of the first and second unit dose packages has a plurality of individually packaged unit dose medications that are configured such that each individually packaged unit dose medication is connected to at least one other individually packaged unit dose medication such that a plurality of individually packaged unit dose medications are interconnected. For example, the second unit dose package may include a plurality of interconnected, individually packaged unit dose medications, while the first unit dose blister card may have only a single unit dose medication. The robotic dispensing system of this embodiment also includes a controller configured to direct picking of the first unit dose package or the second unit dose package dependant upon a requested number of individually packaged unit dose medication(s).
The first and second storage locations may include first and second rods, respectively. In this embodiment, the first and second unit dose packages may each define a hole configured to receive the first and second rods, respectively. Additionally, the second rods may be spaced apart from neighboring rods by a greater distance than a distance by which the first rods are spaced apart from neighboring rods, thereby accommodating unit dose blister cards having different sizes.
Each individually packaged unit dose medication of one embodiment includes indicia, such as a bar code, for identifying the medication. In this instance, each individually packaged unit dose medication of a second unit dose package may include different indicia for individually identifying the respective unit dose medication. In one embodiment, the indicia associated with the at least one second unit dose package is different than the indicia associated with the at least one first unit dose package so as to differentiate the different packages.
In accordance with a further embodiment, a method of dispensing medication is provided that includes storing at least one first unit dose package having a first predetermined number of individually packaged unit dose medication(s) at a first storage location and storing at least one second unit dose package having a second predetermined number of individually packaged unit dose medications at a second storage location. The second predetermined number is different than the first predetermined number. For example, the first unit dose package may include only a single, individually packaged unit dose medication, while the second unit dose package may include a plurality of individually packaged unit dose medications. At least one of the first and second unit dose packages has a plurality of individually packaged unit dose medications that are configured so that each individually packaged unit dose medication is connected to at least one other individually packaged unit dose medication such that the plurality of individually packaged unit dose medications are interconnected. The method of this embodiment also directs picking of the first unit dose package or the second unit dose package dependent upon a requested number of individually packaged unit dose medication(s).
In one embodiment in which the first and second storage locations include first and second rods, respectively, the first and second unit dose packages each define that hole configured to receive a respective rod. In this embodiment, the method also includes spacing the second rods apart from neighboring rods by a greater distance than the distance by which the first rods are spaced apart from neighboring rods to accommodate the differently sized packages.
The method of one embodiment identifies each individually packaged unit dose medication based upon indicia, such as a barcode, carried by each unit dose medication. In this regard, the method of one embodiment identifies the medication by individually identifying the respective individually packaged unit dose medications of a second unit dose package based upon the different indicia of each individually packaged unit dose medication of the second unit dose package. In one embodiment, the indicia associated with a second unit dose package is different than the indicia associated with the first unit dose package, thereby permitting a different unit dose package to be distinguished.
Having thus described embodiments of the invention in general terms, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:
The present inventions now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all embodiments of the inventions are shown. Indeed, these inventions may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.
Referring now to
The unit dose package may include perforations defined between the individually packaged unit dose medications to permit separation of the individual medications. For example, a unit dose blister card 10, such as that shown in
In order to facilitate the automated dispensation of the unit dose packages, such as by robotic dispensing system as discussed below, the unit dose package also includes a hole 22. The hole may be defined at various locations within the unit dose package but, in the illustrated embodiment, is defined along at least one perforation 20 such that the at least one perforation is aligned with the hole. By being aligned with the hole, the line or path along which the perforation extends also extends through the hole such that the perforation would extend through that portion of the unit dose blister card from which the hole is defined in the absence of the hole. As shown in
As noted above, the hole 22 need not necessarily be located in an aligned relationship with at least one perforation, but may be located elsewhere within a blister card 10. Alternatively, the unit dose package, such as a unit dose blister card 10, may include a hook, hanger or the like that extends outwardly from the remainder of the package and that defines a hole. The hole may be either fully defined by the hook, hanger or the like or may be partially defined by the hook, hanger or the like 23 as shown in
Each individually packaged unit dose medication of a unit dose package may include indicia, such as a barcode, for identifying the medication. As shown in
By defining a hole 22, a unit dose package, such as a unit dose blister card 10, may be stored in a predefined accessible manner within an automated dispensing system. As shown in
In addition to the storage locations, the robotic dispensing system 40 may include a controller 42 configured to direct the picking of medications from respective storage locations 44 within the dispensing system, as shown in
In order to ensure that the appropriate medications are dispensed, the robotic dispensing system 40 may also include a scanner 50 or other reader for reading the indicia 24 carried by the medication that is picked. The scanner may be provided in various manners. For example, the scanner may be carried by the end effector 48 so as to read the indicia proximate the time of picking. Alternatively, the scanner may be separate from the end effector such that the end effector transports the picked medication to the scanner to read the indicia. The scanner or other reader may provide a representation of the indicia to the controller 42 for confirmation that the medication identified by the indicia is, in fact, the medication that is intended to be picked and, if not, to alert the user or system operator.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the robotic dispensing system 40 may be configured to pick the medications 18 that are desired for restocking medication cabinets, such as automated dispensing cabinets. In this regard, the robotic dispensing system may include storage locations 44, including a first storage location, for storing one or more unit dose packages. In one embodiment, the first storage location may be defined by a first rod with the first rod extending through the holes 22 defined by the unit dose blister cards as shown in
In instances in which the request or order includes one or more of the unit dose packages, such as one or more unit dose blister cards 10 in the embodiment of
In addition or instead of restocking automated dispensing cabinets, robotic dispensing systems 40 may be utilized to fill orders for individual patients. In these instances, the robotic dispensing system may be called upon to dispense smaller quantities of a medication 18, such as singulated unit dose blister packs 12, pairs of unit dose blister packs or the like. In order to facilitate the automated dispensation of these quantities, unit dose packages having different numbers of individually packaged unit dose medications may be provided and stored within a robotic dispensing system. As shown in
In one embodiment, the robotic dispensing system 40 is stocked with unit dose packages having the same medication 18, but in different quantities with the number of individually packaged unit dose medications of each unit dose package being selected, for example, based upon the most common quantities of the medication that are ordered. By way of example, a robotic dispensing system of one embodiment may include first unit dose blister cards having only a single unit dose blister pack and second unit dose blister cards having a plurality of unit dose blister packs, such as a pair of unit dose blister packs as shown in
In one embodiment depicted in
As described above, each individually packaged unit dose medication may include indicia 24, such as a barcode, for identifying the medication 18 and the robotic dispensing system 40 may also include a scanner 50 or reader for reading the indicia carried by the individually packaged unit dose medication of a unit dose package that has been picked in order to confirm that the proper medication has been picked prior to its dispensation. For example, although the first and second unit dose blister cards 10 of the above-described embodiment contain the same medication, the first and second unit dose blister cards may include different indicia with the indicia representative not only of the type of medication, but also the quantity of medication provided by the respective unit dose blister card. Further, in instances in which a unit dose package includes a plurality of individually packaged unit dose medications, the indicia carried by each individually packaged unit dose medication may differ from one another so as to not only identify the type of medication, but also to individually identify each individually packaged unit dose medication of a unit dose package. By individually identifying each individually packaged unit dose medication, the medication can be readily identified in the event that any of the medication is returned after having been singulated by a nurse or the like on the floor.
As shown in
By including unit dose packages having different quantities of individually packaged unit dose medications, however, a robotic dispensing system 40 may more efficiently pick and dispense the requested medication 18 by reducing the number of pick operations required to retrieve the same quantity of medication. As such, not only may unit packages be dispensed automatically in accordance with embodiments of the present invention, but a robotic dispensing system of one embodiment may be configured to dispense individually packaged unit dose medications in an efficient manner by stocking and dispensing unit dose packages having different numbers of individually packaged unit dose medications.
Many modifications and other embodiments of the inventions set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which these inventions pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the inventions are not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.
