Medication and medical supply storage package and method

Abstract

A medication and medical supply storage package and packing method are provided for use with an automated medication and medical supply dispensing device. In various embodiments, the medication and medical supply storage package and method are configured to accommodate oversized medications or medical supplies by providing a package and packaging method that include first and second surfaces that are sealed with first and second seals, as well as an intermediate seal that extends through a limited portion of the first and second surfaces. As a result of the limited extent of the intermediate seal, oversized medication and medical supplies may extend into an open area on at least one side of the seal, allowing existing medication and medical supply dispensing devices to locate and dispense oversized medications or medical supplies that would otherwise have to be manually picked.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate generally to storing medications and medical supplies and, in particular, to a medication and medical supply storage package and method.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]In a typical hospital, nursing home, or other similar institution, doctors visit their patients on a routine basis and prescribe various medications for each patient. In turn, each patient is likely assigned a certain medication treatment plan that requires that he or she take one or more doses of various medications daily. Some medications may be administered only at certain times of the day (e.g., after meals) and / or at intervals of one or more hours each day. In addition, patients may request certain medications on an elective basis, such as head or body aches. These requests are typically included with the doctor's medication request or prescription that he or she sends to a pharmacy of the hospital for filling.[0003]Medication requ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0018]As a result, the present invention provides an improved medication and medical supply storage package and method for use with an automated medication and medical supply dispensing device. In various embodiments, the medication and medical supply storage package and method are configured to accommodate oversized medications or medical supplies by providing a package that includes first and second surfaces that are sealed with first and second seals, as well as an intermediate seal that extends through a limited portion of the first and second surfaces. As a result, oversized medication and medical supplies may extend into an open area on at least one side of the seal, allowing existing medication and medical supply dispensing devices to locate and dispense oversized medications or medical supplies that would otherwise have to be manually picked.

Problems solved by technology

Because of the desire to maximize the efficiency of typical automated medication and medical supply dispensing devices, existing storage packages are limited in size and shape, typically resulting in compact packages with little if any differences in package sizes. FIG. 3 shows two typical standardized storage packages 10 for use with an automated medication and medical supply dispensing device.

Unfortunately, some medications and medical supplies are oversized and do not fit into the standardized packages.

Thus, because of their size, these medications and medical supplies must be packaged in non-standardized packages that cannot be used with the automated medication and medical supply dispensing devices.

These manual operations are cumbersome, inefficient, and disrupt the automation of the dispensing device.

However, the cost to redesign such systems is large and this solution does not address the countless systems already in operation.

Another solution is to modify existing systems to accommodate the larger package sizes, however again this does not provide an efficient solution as such modifications would be quite costly, and, perhaps more importantly, would require removing the systems from service for an undetermined amount of time.

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