Robotic drug delivery system for medical facilities

Abstract

Methods, devices, and systems are described for a robotic drug delivery system. The robotic drug delivery system includes either an overhead track situated overhead of a floor space at a medical facility. The overhead track extends between a pharmacy terminal at the medical facility and a remote site at the medical facility. The robotic drug delivery system includes either a motorized platform, a motorized carousel, or a motorized cart configured to travel along the overhead track. The robotic drug delivery system includes a processor configured to instruct the motorized platform, the motorized carousel, or the motorized cart to move a transportable dispenser from the remote site to the pharmacy terminal along the overhead track. The transportable dispenser is configured to dispense the medication at the remote site at the medical facility.

Description

ROBOTIC DRUG DELIVERY SYSTEM FOR MEDICAL FACILITIESTECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to distribution systems, and more particularly, to a robotic drug delivery system for medical facilities.BACKGROUND

[0002] Delivering drugs is a labor-intensive process in hospitals and clinics. In some locations, exchange carts are used to deliver prescription drugs to patients across a medical facility. An exchange cart contains a “cassette” of drawers each of which contains all the medications needed for a period of time for a given patient. An identical second cassette is located in the pharmacy and is being filled and updated until it is delivered and exchanged with the currently active cassette.

[0003] More commonly in the United States, commonly used medications for a particular patient care area are stored in automated dispensing cabinets (ADC) from which nurses retrieve those commonly-used medications when they need to be administered. The maintenance of these cabinets is time-consuming and costly for the pharmacy.

[0004] Once exchange carts are loaded with prescribed medications, the drug prescriptions may be updated, edited, or canceled to meet the immediate needs of the patients. The loaded prescribed medications on exchange carts cannot be updated in real-time with the drug prescription updates or cancellations. This means prescribed medications may be loaded on the exchange cart that should not be delivered to the patient and that the updated prescription medication is not present on the exchange carts. The non-synchronized nature of exchange carts creates delays in delivering the prescribed medications to patients and, even worse, may lead to delivery of incorrect prescribed drugs. Perhaps more troublesome, medical caregivers may borrow from one patient’s medication supply in response to another patient’s urgent medical needs. Due to regulations, it can be difficult to straighten out these situations and may leave the intended patient without the needed medication.

[0005] Similarly, maintaining medications in an ADC requires that a pharmacy expend significant resources to ensure that the ADC contains the medications required to supply most needed medications for patients it serves. This may involve changing the quantitiesof current medications to support changes in medication demand, replacing seldom-used medications with different medications that are more commonly needed, or creating patientspecific packages of medications which may not be stored in the ADC but in some other storage location. This use of alternative storage adds to the effort required by nurses to locate medication supplies.

[0006] In either case, nursing can spend significant amounts of non-value-added time searching for required medications and arranging for their replenishment when they determine that their supply has been exhausted.

[0007] In either case, the pharmacy must expend significant amounts of human effort dispensing and physically moving needed supplies to patient care areas on either a scheduled or ad hoc basis. Most of this activity is performed by pharmacy technicians who must interrupt their assigned work to perform these deliveries.

[0008] In either case, a nurse (or other caregiver) assigned to administer medications to a patient must acquire the needed medications, transport those medications to the patient room or other location, administer those medications to the patient, and record that administration (and pertinent other patient information) in the patient’s medical record.

[0009] If, upon reaching the patient location, the nurse discovers that additional medications or supplies are needed to complete the required medication administration, they must then leave the room to acquire the additional medications or supplies and return to the room to complete the process.SUMMARY

[0010] The present disclosure relates generally to the fields of distribution systems, including systems and methods useful for robotic drug delivery system for medical facilities.

[0011] In one aspect, disclosed herein is a robotic drug delivery system that delivers medications required to be administered to patients in the acute care environment to the patient location at or slightly before the time they are intended to be administered, eliminating the need for caregivers to search and locate the medications they need to administer and eliminating the need for pharmacy personnel to constantly maintain decentralized medication supplies to support those caregivers.

[0012] In another aspect disclosed herein is a system including a robotic drug delivery system includes either an overhead track situated overhead of a floor space at a medical facility. The overhead track extends between a pharmacy terminal at the medical facility and a remote site at the medical facility. The robotic drug delivery system includes either a motorized platform, a motorized carousel, or a motorized cart configured to travel along the overhead track. The robotic drug delivery system includes a processor configured to instruct the motorized platform, the motorized carousel, or the motorized cart to move a transportable dispenser from the remote site to the pharmacy terminal along the overhead track. The transportable dispenser is configured to dispense the medication at the remote site at the medical facility.

[0013] In some variations, the at least one processor is further configured to instruct, using the at least one processor, the at least one of the motorized platform, the motorized carousel, or the motorized cart to move the transportable dispenser from the pharmacy terminal to at least one of the remote site or another remote site along the at least one of the overhead track or the overhead passageway in response to determining the quantity of medication in the transportable dispenser satisfies a high quantity threshold. Additionally, the at least one processor is further configured to record, using the at least one processor, an expiration date of the medication in the transportable dispenser. Further, the at least one processor is configured to determine, using the at least one processor, that the medication in the transportable dispenser satisfying the high quantity threshold is expired or expires within a time threshold based on the recording of the expiration date. Additionally, the at least one processor is further configured to instruct, using the at least one processor, the at least one of the motorized platform, the motorized carousel, or the motorized cart to move the transportable dispenser from the remote site to the pharmacy terminal along the at least one of the overhead track or the overhead passageway in response to determining that the medication in the transportable dispenser satisfying the high quantity threshold is expired or expires within the time threshold for removal of the medication.

[0014] In some variations, the at least one processor is configured to generate, using the at least one processor, a first estimated time in which the transportable dispenser is expected to satisfy the low quantity threshold in response to determining an amount of medication needed to service patients at the remote site over a period of time. The at least one processor is configured to generate, using the at least one processor, a second estimated time to obtain asecond transportable dispenser satisfying a high quantity threshold. The at least one processor is configured to instruct, using the at least one processor, the at least one of the motorized platform, the motorized carousel, or the motorized cart to move the second transportable dispenser along the at least one of the overhead track or the overhead passageway based on the difference between the first estimated time and the second estimated time satisfying a time buffer threshold.

[0015] In some variations, the at least one processor is configured to determine, using the at least one processor, that the quantity of medication in the transportable dispenser satisfies the low quantity threshold. Additionally, the at least one processor is configured to instruct, using the at least one processor, the at least one of the motorized platform, the motorized carousel, or the motorized cart to move a second transportable dispenser along the at least one of the overhead track or the overhead passageway to the remote site in response to the quantity of medication in the transportable dispenser satisfying the low quantity threshold.

[0016] In some variations, the at least one processor is further configured to instruct, using the at least one processor, the at least one of the motorized platform, the motorized carousel, or the motorized cart to move the transportable dispenser satisfying the high quantity threshold to a different remote site in response to determining that a second transportable dispenser is situated at the remote site, the second transportable dispenser having the medication that was requested by a patient. Additionally, wherein the remote site is a patient terminal and wherein the transportable dispenser is configured to dispense a dose of the medication at the patient terminal.

[0017] In some variations, the robotic delivery system further includes at least one of a local overhead track or a local overhead passageway situated overhead of the floor space at the medical facility, the at least one of the local overhead track or the local overhead passageway extending between a patient terminal at the medical facility and the remote site at the medical facility. Further, the at least one processor is further configured to cause, using the at least one processor, a supply container to be transported from the remote site to the patient terminal along the at least one of the local overhead track or the local overhead passageway in response to the transportable dispenser dispensing a dose of the medication into the supply container, the patient terminal configured to receive the supply container containing the medication.

[0018] In some variations, the robotic delivery system further includes a medical facility data system configured to receive an alert notifying of a delivery of the supply container containing the medication and communicatively coupled to the at least one processor. Further, the at least one processor is configured to determine, using the at least one processor, that the supply container has arrived at the patient terminal. Additionally, the at least one processor is configured to transmit, using the at least one processor, the alert notifying of the delivery of the supply container containing the medication to the medical facility data system. Further, the robotic delivery system further includes at least one of a client device communicatively coupled to the medical facility data system. The alert is configured to be displayed on the at least one of the client device to alert a medical facility worker of the delivery of the supply container.

[0019] In yet another embodiment, disclosed herein is yet another the robotic drug delivery system including at least one of an overhead track or an overhead passageway situated overhead of a floor space at a medical facility, the at least one of the overhead track or the overhead passageway extending between a patient terminal at the medical facility and a remote site at the medical facility. The robotic drug delivery system includes at least one of a motorized platform, a motorized carousel, or a motorized cart configured to travel along the at least one of the overhead track or the overhead passageway. The robotic drug delivery system includes at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one of the motorized platform, the motorized carousel, or the motorized cart. The at least one processor is configured to instruct, using the at least one processor, the at least one of the motorized platform, the motorized carousel, or the motorized cart to move a supply container from the remote site to the patient terminal along the at least one of the overhead track or the overhead passageway in response to a transportable dispenser dispensing a dose of medication into the supply container, the transportable dispenser configured to dispense the medication at the remote site at the medical facility, the patient terminal configured to receive the supply container.

[0020] In some variations, the at least one processor is further configured to instruct, using the at least one processor, the at least one of the motorized platform, the motorized carousel, or the motorized cart to move the supply container from the patient terminal to the remote site along the at least one of the overhead track or the overhead passageway in response to determining the dose of medication in the supply container has been withdrawn. Further, the at least one processor is further configured to instruct, using the at least one processor, the at least one of the motorized platform, the motorized carousel, or the motorized cart to move thesupply container to the remote site along the at least one of the overhead track or the overhead passageway in response to determining that the medication in the supply container was at least one of partially used, unused, or is to be destroyed.

[0021] In some variations, the at least one processor is further configured to generate, using the at least one processor, an estimated time in which the transportable dispenser is configured to dispense a medication into the supply container and in which the at least one of the motorized platform, the motorized carousel, or the motorized cart takes to move the supply container from the remote site to the patient terminal. The at least one processor is further configured to determine, using the at least one processor, a time remaining to a scheduled time at which the medication in the supply container is to be delivered to the patient terminal. The at least one processor is further configured to instruct, using the at least one processor, the at least one of the motorized platform, the motorized carousel, or the motorized cart to move the supply container from the remote site to the patient terminal along the at least one of the overhead track or the overhead passageway to deliver the medication based on a difference between the estimated time and the time remaining to the scheduled time satisfying a time buffer threshold. Additionally, the at least one processor is further configured to instruct, using the at least one processor, the at least one of the motorized platform, the motorized carousel, or the motorized cart to move the supply container to a different patient terminal in response to determining that a patient has changed locations and that the supply container includes a medication that was requested for the patient.

[0022] In some variations, the robotic drug delivery system includes a medical facility data system configured to receive an alert notifying of a delivery of the supply container containing the medication and communicatively coupled to the at least one processor. Further, the at least one processor is configured to determine, using the at least one processor, that the supply container has arrived at the patient terminal and transmit, using the at least one processor, the alert notifying of the delivery of the supply container containing the medication to the medical facility data system. The robotic drug delivery system further includes a client device communicatively coupled to the medical facility data system. Additionally, the alert is configured to be displayed on the at least one of the client device to alert a medical facility worker of the delivery of the supply container.

[0023] In some variations, the robotic drug delivery system includes at least one of a pharmacy overhead track or a pharmacy overhead passageway situated overhead of the floorspace at the medical facility, the at least one of the pharmacy overhead track or the pharmacy overhead passageway extending between the patient terminal at the medical facility and the remote site at the medical facility. The at least one processor is further configured to cause, using the at least one processor, the transportable dispenser to be transported from the remote site to a pharmacy terminal situated in the medical facility along the at least one of the overhead track or the overhead passageway in response to determining that a quantity of medication in the transportable dispenser satisfies a low quantity threshold, the pharmacy terminal configured to receive the transportable dispenser.

[0024] In yet another aspect, disclosed herein is a robotic drug delivery system that includes at least one of an overhead track or an overhead passageway situated overhead of a floor space at a medical facility, the at least one of the overhead track or the overhead passageway extending between a pharmacy terminal at the medical facility and a remote site at the medical facility. The at least one processor may be configured to cause, using the at least one processor, a transportable dispenser to be transported from the remote site to the pharmacy terminal situated in the medical facility along the at least one of the overhead track or the overhead passageway in response to determining that the transportable dispenser needs to be moved from the pharmacy terminal to the remote site, the pharmacy terminal configured to receive the transportable dispenser, the transportable dispenser configured to dispense the medication at the remote site at the medical facility. Further, the at least one processor is further configured to cause, using the at least one processor, the transportable dispenser to be transported to the remote site the at least one of the overhead track or the overhead passageway in response to determining the quantity of medication in the transportable dispenser satisfies a high quantity threshold, the transportable dispenser configured to dispense the medication at the remote site at the medical facility.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] The embodiments herein may be better understood by referring to the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals indicate identically or functionally similar elements, of which:

[0026] FIG. 1 depicts an example of a block diagram of a robotic drug delivery system, the display, the client device, and / or the medical facility data system communicatively coupled via a network and / or via a direct device-device connection;

[0027] FIG. 2 depicts an example of a mapping of the robotic drug delivery system at a medical facility;

[0028] FIG. 3 depicts an example of a block diagram of a monitoring and control system for a robotic drug delivery system;

[0029] FIG. 4 depicts an example of a block diagram of a routing and planning system for the robotic drug delivery system;

[0030] FIG. 5 A depicts an example of a cross-section of a packaged-pill transportable automated dispenser configured to be transported in the robotic drug delivery system;

[0031] FIG. 5B depicts an example of a front view of a packaged-pill transportable dispenser;

[0032] FIG. 5C depicts an example of a back view of a packaged-pill transportable dispenser;

[0033] FIG. 6A depicts an example of a cross-section of a transportable automated pouch dispenser configured to be transported in the robotic drug delivery system;

[0034] FIG. 6B depicts an example of a front view of a transportable pouch dispenser configured to be transported in the robotic drug delivery system;

[0035] FIG. 6C depicts an example of a back view of a transportable pouch dispenser configured to be transported in the robotic drug delivery system;

[0036] FIG. 7A depicts an example of a cross-section of a transportable automated cup dispenser configured to be transported in the robotic drug delivery system;

[0037] FIG. 7B depicts an example of a front view of a transportable cup dispenser configured to be transported in the robotic drug delivery system;

[0038] FIG. 7C depicts an example of a back view of a transportable cup dispenser configured to be transported in the robotic drug delivery system;

[0039] FIG. 8A depicts an example of a cross-section of a transportable automated vial or bottle dispenser configured to be transported in the robotic drug delivery system;

[0040] FIG. 8B depicts an example of a cross-section of a transportable vial dispenser configured to be transported in the robotic drug delivery system;

[0041] FIG. 8C depicts an example of a cross-section of a transportable vial dispenser configured to be transported in the robotic drug delivery system;

[0042] FIG. 9A depicts illustrated is an example of a cross-section of a transportable box dispenser configured to be transported in the robotic drug delivery system;

[0043] FIG. 9B depicts an example of a transportable box dispenser configured to be transported in the robotic drug delivery system;

[0044] FIG. 9C depicts an example of a transportable box dispenser configured to be transported in the robotic drug delivery system;

[0045] FIG. 10 depicts an example of a flowchart for refilling a transportable dispenser at a remote site using the robotic drug delivery system; and

[0046] FIG. 11 depicts a block diagram of a block diagram illustrating a computing system consistent with implementations of the current subject matter.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0047] Many of the above identified problems are addressed if a clinician could rely on the medications being delivered to the patient room as needed on their behalf. With such delivery, a clinician could enter a room, assess the patient, administer the delivered medications to the patient, record the administration, and leave the room having met that patient’s medication needs. The human effort required to have pharmacy technicians (or other transporters) do this on their behalf would add significantly to an already overburdened pharmacy staff.

[0048] Features are described for a robotic system that can gather medications and supplies as needed and transport them to the patient’s location at (or slightly before) the time they were intended to be administered and alert the clinician that all was prepared and awaiting their visit to the patient to administer those medications. This would permit the clinician to enter the room, assess the patient, acquire the needed medications, administer thosemedications, and record administration without having to leave the patient location and without having to spend time searching for the needed medications and supplies.

[0049] The methods, systems, and apparatuses described herein are for robotic drug delivery systems for medical facilities. In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. In the drawings, similar symbols generally identify similar components, unless context dictates otherwise. The illustrative alternatives described in the detailed description, drawings, and claims are not meant to be limiting. Other alternatives may be used and other changes may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matter presented here. It will be readily understood that the aspects, as generally described herein, and illustrated in the Figures, can be arranged, substituted, combined, and designed in a wide variety of different configurations, all of which are explicitly contemplated and make part of this application.

[0050] The robotic drug delivery system described herein provides hardware and software for the acquisition and transportation of prescribed medication to multiple patients inside of a medical facility, such as a hospital at or just before the time at which they are to be administered. The robotic drug delivery system may acquire and transport the prescribed medication in real-time without human intervention. The robotic drug delivery system may deliver the needed medication directly to the caregiver in the patient’s room while a caregiver is actively caring and assessing the patient. Without the robotic drug delivery system, the caregiver would have to divert attention and assessment time from the patient and leave the room to obtain the medication and related supplies. Additionally, the robotic drug delivery system may prevent incorrect delivery of drugs or the diversion of drugs intended for one patient to be delivered to another patient. Further, the robotic drug delivery system may dispense the exact dosage that is needed at or near the time the administration of the drug to the patient.

[0051] In other systems, caregivers may have to leave the room to retrieve medication. This unscheduled trip increases the likelihood that caregivers will be interrupted and potentially leading to errors in obtaining the correct dosage of medication and delays in administering the prescribed drug. Even decentralized dispensing cabinets create difficulty locating some prescribed medications as the medication is not all stored in one place. In the event a nurse or other medical worker must retrieve medication from a decentralized dispensing cabinet, the nurse may be interrupted en route and lead to reduced medical attention of thepatient. Further, since the automated dispenser cabinet (ADC) may represent a single location from which medications are acquired, a nurse or other caregiver may be required to wait in line to acquire the medication(s) they need. The robotic drug delivery system corrects these shortcomings by delivering the prescribed medication directly to the patient room.

[0052] Further, some medical facilities may have decreased control over inventory due to caregivers retrieving the medication. In some instances, caregivers may remove more or less medication than prescribed to the patient. In other instances, caregivers may fail to follow selection practices of removing medication from the same lot or medication that is due to expire the soonest. The robotic drug delivery system corrects these shortcomings by providing the correct dosage of medication that is selected according to best medical practices.

[0053] The robotic drug delivery system may also benefit pharmacies located at the medical facility. Pharmacies may need to make planned trips to replenish decentralized dispensing cabinets and unplanned trips to provide urgent medication delivery. Pharmacies may change the locations of the medication at the decentralized dispensing cabinets, resulting in caregivers struggling to know where to locate medication. Pharmacies may be able to control the supply and stay ahead of any replenishing needs. Managing the contents of the dispensing cabinets may be labor-intensive, resulting in unscheduled delivery trips to refill depleted dispensing cabinets and to modifying the layout of dispensing cabinets to accommodate a new medication. Managing the inventory also requires managing the PAR quantities (min / max amount in a “pocket”) and the expiration times of the medication in the pockets. PAR quantity maintenance is necessarily based on historical usage and can be insensitive to subsequent significant changes in demand. A robotic system that interacts continuously with the electronic medical record can detect and manage inventory based on current demand, which is more sensitive to changes in demand.

[0054] In contrast to some current systems, the robotic drug delivery system eliminates some of the burdens of maintaining decentralized dispensing cabinets and can directly control the removal of medications. The robotic drug delivery system maintains an accurate awareness and view of the medication inside of the cabinets and across the system. The robotic drug delivery system can readily determine the amount and expiration of every medication available in its system across the medical facility. The robotic drug delivery system can also pull medication on a first-expiry -first-out basis and automatically manage replacementof the medication that is expired or about to expire without requiring trips to the care area by pharmacy personnel.

[0055] The robotic drug delivery system may be configured to remove unused medications and other detritus from a completed patient medication administration and dispose of it appropriately. Compared to some current systems, the drug delivery system can maintain more detailed logs and may remove the need to have a witness for the destruction of medication.

[0056] The robotic drug delivery system may be adaptive and can make planned and unplanned deliveries. Other systems may require medical professionals to perform the planned or unplanned deliveries. For example, pharmacies may require one or more scheduled delivery trips from the pharmacies to dispensing cabinets that occur on or about the same time every day, have a longer duration, include a wider array of delivery types and number of deliveries, and include visiting a large number of dispensing cabinets. In some instances, all or a portion of these scheduled trips may be inefficient, redundant, and / or unnecessary. The couriers may take poorly planned routes to perform the deliveries at each dispensing cabinet during a trip, potentially expiring medications stored at the dispensing cabinet may no longer be present in the dispensing cabinet at the time of the scheduled trip, and / or the like. The robotic drug delivery system eliminates the inefficiencies and the delays inherent in delivering medication to dispensing cabinets.

[0057] The robotic drug delivery system may eliminate the need for couriers and nurses to take ad hoc trips. Often, couriers make ad hoc trips from the pharmacies to particular dispensing cabinets to meet the needs of a patient care area. These trips may be relatively short in duration, involve visiting only a small number of dispensing cabinets, involve performing a small number of deliveries, and involve performing a small number of deliveries types at the dispensing cabinets. Similarly, if caregivers cannot locate medication in a cabinet, the caregivers must look in multiple cabinets to locate the medications and may have to arrange and then await delivery of those medications to complete medication administration, often resulting in their having to rearrange their activities until those medications arrive. To prevent ad-hoc trips, caregivers often pull medication for multiple patients at the same time rather than pulling medications for only one patient at a time, which is the best practice. The robotic drug delivery system may eliminate the need for ad hoc trips for medication and ensure best medical practices are followed.

[0058] Referring to FIG. 1, illustrated is a block diagram of a robotic drug delivery system 110, a clinical data terminal 170, a client device 160, and / or the medical facility data system 130 communicatively coupled via a network 190 and / or via a direct device-device connection. The network 190 may be a wired and / or wireless network including, for example, a public land mobile network (PLMN), a local area network (LAN), a virtual local area network (VLAN), a wide area network (WAN), the Internet, a short-range radio connection, for example Bluetooth, a peer-to-peer mesh network, and / or the like.

[0059] The robotic drug delivery system 110 may be configured to receive orders from the medical facility data system, the client device, and the clinical data terminal 170. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may monitor the medication needs of multiple patients and determine the amount and expiration of medication dispensed for each patient in a patient population. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may include a routing and planning system for the transportable dispensers and the supply containers. The medical facility data system, the client device, and the interactive clinical data terminal 170 may modify the actions taken by the robotic drug delivery system 110. For example, a pharmacy worker may send a message through a client device 160 to have the routing of an out-of-stock transportable dispenser expedited to the pharmacy. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may prioritize movements of the out-of-stock transportable dispenser over movements of other transportable dispensers to expedite the refill and replenishing of the out-of-stock transportable dispenser.

[0060] The robotic drug delivery system 110 may be configured to transmit messages to the robotic drug delivery system 110 to the medical facility data system, the client device, and the clinical data terminal 170. For example, the robotic drug delivery system 110 may determine that a transportable dispenser is out of stock. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may notify a pharmacy information system that the transportable dispenser has arrived at a pharmacy terminal through the medical facility data system 130. In another example, the robotic drug delivery system 110 may also send an estimated delivery time to the clinical data terminal 170 to a caregiver at a patient room in response to a transportable dispenser dispensing a medication into a supply container.

[0061] The client device 160 may be a mobile device such as, for example, a smartphone, a tablet computer, a wearable apparatus, and / or the like. However, it should be appreciated that the client device 160 may be any processor-based device including, for example, a desktop computer, a laptop or mobile computer, a workstation, and / or the like. Forexample, via the client device 160, the user may be able to configure certain parameters of the robotic drug delivery system 110, such as the location of a patient, a request of a medication, a drug schedule, and the like. Additionally, in some examples, via the client device 160, the user may configure barcodes, re-label barcodes, scan a barcode, scan an identification badge, print labels for unused or partially used medication, and / or the like.

[0062] The client device 160 may also be used by caregivers to receive notification that medications are available for administration for their assigned patient(s) and as an alternative user interface for caregivers to command the clinical data terminal 170 to return items to the pharmacy.

[0063] The clinical data terminal 170 may form a part of the robotic drug delivery system 110 or may be separately coupled as part of the client device 160. The clinical data terminal 170 may also include a user interface. The user interface may form a part of a display screen of the clinical data terminal 170 that presents information to the user (e.g., a clinician, a patient, or caregiver for the patient) and / or the user interface may be separate from the clinical data terminal 170. For example, the user interface may be one or more buttons, or portions of the clinical data terminal 170 that is configured to receive an entry from the user.

[0064] The medical facility data system 130 may include one or more databases, providing physical data storage within a dedicated facility and / or being locally stored on the medical facility server, the robotic drug delivery system 110, and / or the client device 160. Additionally or alternatively, the medical facility data system 130 may include cloud-based systems providing remote storage of data in, for example, a multi-tenant computing environment and / or the like. The medical facility data system 130 may also include non- transitory computer-readable media.

[0065] The medical facility data system 130 may include a medical record system 145, and a pharmacy information system 135. The medical record system 145 may include an inventory or dispensing system, a patient care system, and an administrative system The medical record system 145 may store a plurality of electronic medical records, each of which include the patient’s medical history, one or more patient parameters (including prescriptions and prescription schedules), one or more medication delivery protocols (including one or more medication dosages), and / or the like. The pharmacy information system 135 may include a medication library, which stores a list of available medications, and / or medication namesassociated with recommended dosages and dose limits that have been established or adopted by a healthcare facility. In some embodiments, the pharmacy information system 135 is accessible to a clinician at the healthcare facility and / or to a pharmacist at another facility, such as a pharmacy. In most instances, the pharmacy information system is a module within, and integrated into the medical record system. In some embodiments, the medical record system 145 and the pharmacy information system 135 are the same system. In some embodiments, the functions of the medical record system 145 may be performed by the pharmacy information system 135. In some embodiments, the functions and features of the pharmacy information system 135 are performed by the medical record system 145.

[0066] The medical facility data system 130 may include and / or be coupled to a medical facility server 126, which may be a server coupled to a network, a cloud server, and / or the like. The robotic drug delivery system 110, and / or the client device 160 may wirelessly communicate with the medical facility server 131. The medical facility server 131, which may include a cloud-based server, may provide and / or receive data and / or instructions from the medical facility data system 130 to the robotic drug delivery system 110 and / or the client device 160, to implement one or more features of the patient monitoring system 100 consistent with embodiments of the current subject matter. Additionally or alternatively, the medical facility server 126 may receive data (e.g., patient information, information characterizing a health condition of a patient, medication information, and / or the like) from the robotic drug delivery system 110, and / or the client device 160.

[0067] Referring to FIG. 2, illustrated is an example of a mapping of a robotic drug delivery system 110 at a medical facility. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may include two transit systems: a pharmacy transit system 220 and a local transit system 230. The pharmacy transit system 220 may provide transportation between a pharmacy terminal 215 at the medical facility to a local storage 232. The local transit system 230 may provide transportation between the local storage 232 and a patient terminal 240. Transportable dispensers may be exchanged between the pharmacy terminal 215 and the local storage 232. The transportable dispensers are configured to house medication and dispense doses of the medication.

[0068] The pharmacy terminal 215 may be configured with one or more actuators to receive, position, and transfer a transportable dispenser between the pharmacy and the pharmacy transit system 200. The pharmacy terminal 215 may include one or more sensors,such as a camera, wireless scanner, optical scanner, or a load cell, to identify transportable dispensers passing via the pharmacy terminal 215. The identification can enable additional processing related to the transportable dispenser. One additional processing may be verification. The verification may include scanning a barcode on the transportable dispenser and generating a log entry to track the location of the transportable dispenser. The verification may include weighing the transportable dispenser to confirm the expected volume is present in the transportable dispenser. Another additional processing may include routing. The pharmacy terminal 215 may include a turntable or other routing hardware to create a path on the pharmacy transit system for a transportable dispenser. When the pharmacy terminal 215 identifies the transportable dispenser, it may be configured to dynamically identify the location of highest need for the contents of the transportable dispenser. In response to identifying the location, the pharmacy terminal 215 may activate the turntable or other guiding device to direct the transportable dispenser on an efficient route through the pharmacy transit system 220. The routing may also consider “traffic conditions” to account for other transportable dispensers that may be in the pharmacy transit system and select a route to avoid busy paths or take a more circuitous path to leave transit space for any later arriving, high-priority transportable dispensers.

[0069] The pharmacy transit system 220 may transport the transportable dispensers between the pharmacy terminal 215 and the local storage 232. The pharmacy transit system 220 may include a pharmacy transit track 225 that extends between the pharmacy and the local transit system 230. In some embodiments, the pharmacy transit track 225 may be a pharmacy transit passageway. In some embodiments, the pharmacy transit system 220 may have two separate tracks or passageways that run between the pharmacy terminal 215 and the local transit system 230. In some embodiments, each track of the two separate tracks may be unidirectional. In some embodiments, each passageway of the two separate passageways may be unidirectional. The pharmacy transit track 225 of the pharmacy transit system 220 may have multiple stations where each station is either a local storage 232 or the pharmacy terminal 215. Each station along the pharmacy transit track 225 may include one or more connecting tracks to load or offload the transportable dispensers. In some embodiments, the pharmacy transit system 220 may transport the transportable dispensers through the various stations until the robotic drug delivery system 110 determines that transportable dispenser is to be offloaded from the track. To load or offload a transportable dispenser from the local transit track 235, thepharmacy transit system 220 may be required to scan one or more of a station identification barcode or the transportable dispenser or identify it by interacting with its microprocessor.

[0070] The pharmacy transit system 220 may be configured to transport the transportable dispensers at the local storage 232 to the pharmacy terminal 215 for replenishment. For example, the pharmacy transit system 220 may transport empty transportable dispensers from the local storage 232 terminal to the pharmacy terminal 215 via the pharmacy transit track 225. In another example, the pharmacy transit system 220 may transport replenished transportable dispensers from the pharmacy terminal 215 to the local storage 232 via the pharmacy transit track 225. The pharmacy transit system 220 may be configured to exchange transportable dispensers with the local transit system 230. In some embodiments, the pharmacy transit system 220 may dock or install the transportable dispensers at the local storage 232. In some embodiments, the local transit system 230 may dock or install the transportable dispensers at the local storage 232 system. The pharmacy transit system 220 may dock or install the transportable dispensers at the pharmacy terminal 215.

[0071] The pharmacy transit system 220 may be coupled to a plurality of local storage 232 via the pharmacy transit track 225. The pharmacy transit system 220 may be configured to store a plurality of transportable dispensers received from the pharmacy transit system 220 at the pharmacy terminal 215. The pharmacy transit system 220 may be situated in a utility storage proximate to the ceiling of the medical facility. The pharmacy transit system 220 may minimize occupying floor space by having the pharmacy transit track 225 pass through the ducts, above or below the ceiling, and the utility space above and below the ceiling. The pharmacy transit system 220 may be connected to the local storage 232 via the pharmacy transit track 225 passing through the ducts, above or below the ceiling, and the utility space above and below the ceiling.

[0072] The local storage 232 may be configured to store a plurality of transportable dispensers received from the pharmacy transit system 220. At the local storage, the transportable dispensers may be configured to deposit doses of medication into a supply container. The supply containers may hold medications dispensed from the transportable dispensers that are delivered to individual patient terminals. The supply container may be moved from the local storage 232 to the patient terminal 240 via the local transit system 230. The local storage 232 may be housed at the utility space proximate to the ceiling. In some embodiments, the utility space above the ceiling may be sufficiently large to house thepassageways and the local storage 232. The pharmacy storage may include a refrigerator and freezer in which the refrigerator and the freezer being configured to maintain medications below a temperature threshold. The local storage 232 may be remotely located from the pharmacy terminal 215.

[0073] Still referring to FIG. 2, the local transit system 230 may transport supply containers between the local storage 232 and the patient terminals. The local transit system 230 may include a local transit track 235 that extends between the local storage 232 and a patient terminal 240. In some embodiments, the local transit track 235 may be a local transit passageway. In some embodiments, the local transit system 230 may have two separate tracks that run between the local storage 232 and the patient terminal 240. In some embodiments, each track of the two separate tracks may be unidirectional. The local transit track 235 may have multiple stations where each station is either a local storage 232 or a patient terminal 240.

[0074] The station at the local storage 232 may include one or more connecting tracks to load or offload the supply containers. The local transit system 230 may be connected to a plurality of patient terminals and the pharmacy terminal 215 via the local transit track 235. The local transit system 230 may be connected to the local transit track 235, which is configured to make a stop at a patient terminal 240 at a patient room. To access a supply container from the local transit track 235, a healthcare worker may be required to scan one or more of an identification badge or the supply container.

[0075] In some embodiments, the local transit system 230 may transport the transportable dispensers between the local storage 232 and the patient terminals. The local transit system 230 may transport the transportable dispensers through the various stations until the robotic drug delivery system 110 determines that transportable dispenser is to be offloaded from the track. To access a transportable dispenser from the local transit track 235, a healthcare worker may be required to scan one or more of an identification badge or the transportable dispenser.

[0076] The local transit track 235 and the pharmacy transit track 225 may include a moving platform or a carousel. The moving platform or carousel may continuously circulate or may circulate in response to detecting a transportable dispenser being placed on the track. The track may include a railroad, a monorail, or any other railing to which a vehicle configured to carry the transportable dispenser may be attached. The passageway may be configured to allowa wheeled robot to pass through the passageway. The wheeled vehicle may be configured to carry the transportable dispenser. The wheeled vehicle may be programmed to may visit each station along the passageway or may be programmed to visit only select stations requiring the transfer of the transportable dispenser.

[0077] The patient terminal 240 may be configured to receive the supply container holding the medications needed for that patient. The patient terminal 240 may be an in-room receiving station from which a caregiver may retrieve the supply container having the assembled medication supply for administration to the patient. In some embodiments, the patient terminal 240 may be configured to hold multi-dose containers for administering multiple medications to the patient. The supply containers and the multi-dose containers may be removable from the receiving station. Additionally, the in-room receiving system may be configured to return supply containers containing waste and other detritus. The dose containers may also be used to send partially used medications back to the pharmacy terminal 215 in response to the patient being discharged. The medical worker may be able to input information or scan a barcode to identify the partially used medications and the patient discharge status at the nurse workstation or at the dose container. The medical worker may be able to input information or scan a barcode to identify the medications that were sent home with the discharged patient. Compound doses may be delivered straight to the patient terminal 240.

[0078] Referring to FIG. 3, illustrated is an example of a block diagram of a monitoring and control system for a robotic drug delivery system 110. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may include instructions configured to be run on a programmable processor to control the pharmacy transit system 220 and the local transit system 230. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may be communicatively coupled to the pharmacy transit system 220 and the local transit system 230 to route medication to its intended destination.

[0079] The robotic drug delivery system 110 may monitor the location of the transportable dispensers and the dose containers. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may track the administration of the doses to keep detailed logs of the ordered medication and patient history with the prescribed medication. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may retrieve information from the medical record system 145 to determine the medications prescribed for each patient. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may retrieve information from the pharmacy on a frequent or real-time basis to determine when drug orders have changed. Based on the updates to the drug orders, the robotic drug delivery system 110 may take proactivemeasures to increase the likelihood that the ordered medications are available at the requested times. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may forecast the depletion of the transportable dispensers and may schedule replenishment of the transportable dispensers to increase the likelihood that the ordered medications are available for delivery at various requested times. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may maintain its own log of patients and their corresponding medications to know what is currently ordered for each patient. Based on the log of patients and corresponding medications, the robotic drug delivery system 110 may coordinate the dispensing and refilling of the transportable containers. In some embodiments, the medical record system 145 and the pharmacy information system 135 are the same system. In some embodiments, the functions of the medical record system 145 may be performed by the pharmacy information system 135. In some embodiments, the functions and features of the pharmacy information system 135 are performed by the medical record system 145.

[0080] The robotic drug delivery system 110 may update the medical record system 145 in response to delivering a drug at the patient terminal 240 and detecting that the supply container no longer includes the drug. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may be configured to receive confirmation of the medication administered to the patient through the medical record system 145. In some embodiments, the robotic drug delivery system 110 may be configured to update the medical record system 145 in response to scanning a barcode at the patient terminal 240. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may be configured to record any unused medications and update the pharmacy system 135 and / or the medical record system 145 accordingly. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may update the medical record system 145 to indicate that the partially used prescriptions or unused prescriptions are placed back into the supply container are to be marked as waste.

[0081] The robotic drug delivery system 110 may be configured to deliver instructions to medical workers via the clinical data terminal 170. For example, in response to determining that not all of the supplied medications were administered, the robotic drug delivery system 110 may prompt a nurse to place the unused medication inside a supply container. After receiving the partially used medication or unused medication, the robotic drug delivery system 110 may deliver the unused medication to the pharmacy terminal 215. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may prompt a pharmacy worker to destroy or dispose of the remaining medication via another clinical data terminal 170. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may prompt the pharmacy worker to confirm that the partially used medication or theunused medication was disposed or destroyed via the clinical data terminal 170. In some cases, the robotic drug delivery system 110 may prompt the pharmacy worker to input the identity of the controlled substance and its potency. In some cases, the robotic drug delivery system 110 may prompt the pharmacy worker to document the amount of waste. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may update the medical record system 145 with a detailed log relating the actions taken by the nurse or the pharmacy worker, and that the controlled substance was destroyed. The detailed log may include timestamps for each of the actions, identification of the patient, identification of the medical workers, the identity of the medication and its potency, and document the amount of medication destroyed or disposed. The detailed log may also note any discrepancies between what the caregiver placed in the supply container and what the pharmacy received for disposal.

[0082] The robotic drug delivery system 110 may maintain a patient location mapping 310 showing the identifications of each of the patients and the locations at which the patients are located. Using the patient location mapping 310, the robotic drug delivery system 110 may be configured to determine which local transit system 230 is to carry out a drug delivery to a patient room. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may be configured to determine where the inventory is located for the requested medication based on the requested medication. In some embodiments, the robotic drug delivery system 110 may be configured to receive messages from the pharmacy information system 135 and the medical record system 145 to update the patient location mapping 310. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may generate and receive messages containing information about patients, medications for the patients, and locations of the patients using the patient location mapping 310.

[0083] Still referring to FIG. 3, the robotic drug delivery system 110 may maintain a transportable dispenser mapping 320 of the location of each transportable dispenser. The transportable dispenser mapping 320 may assign a physical location to the transportable dispenser. For example, the transportable dispenser mapping 320 may assign a local storage 232 unit to the transportable dispense. The transportable dispenser mapping 320 may be updated in response to transporting the transportable dispenser to a new location. For example, the robotic drug delivery system 110 may update the transportable dispenser mapping 320 to show that a transportable dispenser has been moved from a local storage 232 to a patient terminal 240. In another example, the robotic drug delivery system 110 may update thetransportable dispenser mapping 320 to show that a transportable dispenser has been moved from a patient terminal 240 to the pharmacy terminal 215.

[0084] The robotic drug delivery system 110 may maintain a supply container mapping 330 of the location of each supply container. The supply container mapping 330 may assign a physical location to the supply container. For example, the supply container mapping 330 may assign a local storage 232 unit to the transportable dispense. The supply container mapping 330 may be updated in response to transporting the supply container to a new location. For example, the robotic drug delivery system 110 may update the supply container mapping 330 to show that a transportable dispenser has been moved from a local storage 232 to a patient terminal 240.

[0085] The pharmacy information system 135 and the medical record system 145 may transmit a request to the robotic drug delivery system 110 to deliver a prescription to a patient terminal 240. In some embodiments, a pharmacy workstation may be configured to transmit the message identifying the patient, the medication, and the location where the patient is located. Additionally, and / or alternatively, a nurse workstation may be configured to transmit the message identifying the patient, the medications, and the location along with the request for the medication. In some embodiments, the robotic drug delivery system 110 may receive the message in response to a medical worker scanning their identification badge, logging into a workstation computer, or scanning a barcode at the patient terminal 240. In some embodiments, the medical record system 145 and the pharmacy information system 135 are the same system. In some embodiments, the functions of the medical record system 145 may be performed by the pharmacy information system 135. In some embodiments, the functions and features of the pharmacy information system 135 are performed by the medical record system 145.

[0086] The robotic drug delivery system 110 may be configured to transmit instructions to the pharmacy transit system 220 to mobilize a transportable dispenser to the local storage 232 configured to service a patient requesting a medication in response to determining that the transportable dispenser is located at the pharmacy (e.g., via the transportable dispenser mapping 320) and that the transportable dispenser contains the necessary medication. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may be configured to transmit instructions to the pharmacy transit system 220 to replenish a transportable dispenser in response to determining that the transportable dispenser is located at the local storage 232 (e.g.,via the transportable dispenser mapping 320) and that the transportable dispenser does not contain sufficient requested medication and the requested medication is needed.

[0087] The robotic drug delivery system 110 may be configured to transmit instructions to mobilize a transportable dispenser to the pharmacy transit system 220 in response to the robotic drug delivery system 110 determining that the patient has changed locations (e.g., the patient location mapping 310) and that the transportable dispenser containing a requested drug is to be moved to a different local storage (e.g., via the transportable dispenser mapping 320). The robotic drug delivery system 110 may be configured to transmit instructions to mobilize the transportable dispenser to the pharmacy transit system 220 in response to determining that the transportable dispenser containing the drug is no longer needed at the local storage 232 (e.g., via the transportable dispenser mapping 320) based on the message indicating the patient has been discharged (e.g., the patient location mapping 310).

[0088] Still referring to FIG. 3, the robotic drug delivery system 110 may determine which local transit system 230 is to receive the instructions based on the patient location mapping 310 and the supply container mapping 330. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may be configured to transmit instructions to the local transit system 230 to mobilize a supply container to a patient terminal 240 corresponding to a patient requesting a medication in response to the robotic drug delivery system 110 determining that the supply container is located at the local storage 232 (e.g., via the supply container mapping 330) and that the supply container contains the necessary medication. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may be configured to transmit instructions to the local transit system 230 to replenish a supply container in response to the robotic drug delivery system 110 determining that the supply container is located at the patient terminal 240 (e.g., via the supply container mapping 330) and that the supply container does not contain sufficient requested medication and the requested medication is needed.

[0089] The robotic drug delivery system 110 may be configured to transmit instructions to mobilize a supply container to the local transit system 230 in response to the robotic drug delivery system 110 determining that the patient has changed locations (e.g., via the patient location mapping 310) and that the supply container containing a requested drug is to be moved from a patient terminal 240 to the local storage 232 (e.g., via the supply container mapping 330). The robotic drug delivery system 110 may be configured to transmit instructions to mobilize a supply container to the local transit system 230 in response to the robotic drugdelivery system 110 determining that the patient has changed locations, which are both serviced by the same local storage (e.g., via the patient location mapping 310)and that the supply container containing a requested drug is to be moved from a patient terminal 240 to another patient terminal 240 (e.g., via the supply container mapping 330). The robotic drug delivery system 110 may be configured to transmit instructions to mobilize the supply container to the local transit system 230 in response to determining that the supply container containing the drug is no longer needed at the patient terminal 240 based on the message indicating the patient has been discharged (e.g., via the patient location mapping 310). The robotic drug delivery system 110 may be configured to mobilize a drug to skip over the local storage 232 for delivery directly to the patient terminal 240.

[0090] The robotic drug delivery system 110 may determine which local transit system 230 is to receive the instructions based on the patient location mapping 310 and the transportable dispenser mapping 320. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may be configured to transmit instructions to the local transit system 230 to mobilize a transportable dispenser to a patient terminal 240 corresponding to a patient requesting a medication in response to the robotic drug delivery system 110 determining that the transportable dispenser is located at the local storage 232 (e.g., via the transportable dispenser mapping 320) and that the transportable dispenser contains the necessary medication. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may be configured to transmit instructions to the local transit system 230 to replenish a transportable dispenser in response to the robotic drug delivery system 110 determining that the transportable dispenser is located at the patient terminal 240 (e.g., via the transportable dispenser mapping 320) and that the transportable dispenser does not contain sufficient requested medication and the requested medication is needed.

[0091] The robotic drug delivery system 110 may be configured to transmit instructions to mobilize a transportable dispenser to the local transit system 230 in response to the robotic drug delivery system 110 determining that the patient has changed locations (e.g., via the patient location mapping 310) and that the transportable dispenser containing a requested drug is to be moved from a patient terminal 240 to the local storage 232 (e.g., via the transportable dispenser mapping 320). The robotic drug delivery system 110 may be configured to transmit instructions to mobilize a supply container to the local transit system 230 in response to the robotic drug delivery system 110 determining that the patient has changed locations which are both serviced by the same local storage (e.g., via the patient locationmapping 310) and that the supply container containing a requested drug is to be moved from a patient terminal 240 to another patient terminal 240 (e.g., via the transportable dispenser mapping 320). The robotic drug delivery system 110 may be configured to transmit instructions to mobilize the transportable dispenser to the local transit system 230 in response to determining that the transportable dispenser containing the drug is no longer needed at the patient terminal 240 based on the message indicating the patient has been discharged (e.g., via the patient location mapping 310).

[0092] The robotic drug delivery system 110 may issue a “critical low” warning and prompt for a refill to occur. Based on the information at hand, a medical professional, such as the pharmacy courier, may refill the transportable dispenser. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may anticipate when the robotic drug delivery system 110 may proactively determine when a transportable dispenser might reach a “critical low” threshold and proactively take steps to refill the transportable dispenser before reaching the threshold. This prevents the robotic drug delivery system 110 from allowing the transportable dispenser to become out of stock for a particular medication.

[0093] Still referring to FIG. 3, the transportable dispenser mapping 320 may be configured to log and track the expiration dates of the medications in the transportable dispensers. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may be configured to determine transportable dispensers that include at least one of expired medication or medication set to expire within a time threshold. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may be configured to transport the transportable dispenser to the pharmacy terminal 215 to have the medication removed. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may be configured to have the transportable dispenser replenished with medication having an expiration date satisfying an extended time threshold. In some embodiments, the time threshold may be shorter than the extended time threshold. The transportable containers may be configured to dispense medication on a first-expired-first-out basis. In some embodiments, the transportable containers may be loaded on a first expired- first-in basis.

[0094] The local transit system 230 may be configured to receive a message along with a request for medication. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may be configured to dynamically maintain an image or a trajectory of medication demand for each of the local storages based on the pharmacy information system 135. Using the trajectory or the image, the robotic drug delivery system 110 may monitor the availability of medication and supplies andproactively replenish the supplies and medications before they are depleted. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may continually refresh communication with the pharmacy information system 135.

[0095] The robotic drug delivery system 110 may eliminate gaps in record keeping. In other systems, no mechanism exists for documenting ad hoc trips. The scheduled trips in other systems do not generate records other than the transaction records generated at the dispensing cabinet. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may not only reduce the need for unplanned trips taken by couriers. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may annotate and store the trip and trip type information in association with the delivery. In this way, the robotic drug delivery system 110 provides valuable annotations to the delivery data that is available to other hospital information systems.

[0096] Referring to FIG. 4, illustrated is an example of a block diagram of a routing and planning system for the robotic drug delivery system 110. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may be configured to route the prescribed medication to the proper destination. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may be communicatively coupled to the pharmacy transit system 220 and the local transit system 230.

[0097] In some embodiments, the local transit system 230 may include a delivery scheduler 410. The delivery scheduler 410 may be configured to review the ordered medications or the likely medications to be ordered to determine the order in which medications are to be delivered to the patient terminals. The delivery scheduler 410 may be configured to order the delivery of the medications by the location of the patients, the urgency of the delivery, or the least amount of time or the least amount of trips needed to deliver the medications. The delivery scheduler 410 may be configured to determine the mix of medications ordered or likely to be ordered over a time period. The time period may be anywhere from one hour to forty-eight hours. The delivery scheduler 410 may determine that medication is expired or set to expire within a time threshold in a transportable container. The delivery scheduler 410 may prompt the robotic drug delivery system 110 to refill the transportable dispenser with fresh medication prior to the medication expiring in the transportable dispenser.

[0098] Additionally, the delivery scheduler 410 may determine the time and / or time intervals at which medication is to be administered to the patient. In response to determining a drug is to be administered to the patient, the delivery scheduler 410 may transmit the messageto the local transit system 230 that the next dose of medication is to be administered. The delivery scheduler 410 may take proactive measures and send instructions to proactively ensure that the robotic drug delivery system 110 has the medication ready and delivered at a prescribed time. For example, the delivery scheduler 410 may determine that a medication is to be ready for a patient at 9 AM. The delivery scheduler 410 may send the message to the robotic delivery system to mobilize the supply container towards the plurality of transportable dispensers in the local storage 232 at 8:45 AM to ensure a timely delivery by 9:00 AM. In another example, the delivery scheduler 410 may determine that the transportable dispenser may be depleted at the time the delivery is scheduled. The delivery scheduler 410 may instruct the robotic delivery system to mobilize the transportable dispenser toward the pharmacy terminal 215 ahead of the delivery. For example, the delivery scheduler 410 may instruct the robotic delivery system to mobilize the transportable dispenser to the pharmacy terminal 215 in the local storage 232 at 8:00 AM to ensure a timely delivery by 11 :00 AM. The delivery scheduler 410 may compute and maintain the medication administration schedule. The delivery scheduler 410 may request and / or receive the medication administration schedule from the medical record system 145. Either the delivery scheduler 410 or the medical record system 145 may compute the medication administration schedule. The delivery scheduler 410 or the medical record system 145 may determine the scheduling based on the frequency and scheduling terminology in the medication order.

[0099] Still referring to FIG. 4, the robotic drug delivery system 110 may update the requested prescription. The delivery scheduler 410 may be configured to plan the timing of the delivery of the prescription based on an expected arrival, the current supplies that are needed, and determine whether the local storage 232 has sufficient supplies to fulfill the new order and to determine whether ordering additional supplies is necessary. The delivery scheduler 410 may be configured to calculate an estimated time of arrival based on the current supplies that are needed and whether the local storage 232 has sufficient supplies needed to fulfill the new order. The delivery scheduler 410 may be configured to send a notification to one of the displays at the patient terminal 240, the medical record system, or a client device 160 in response to determining an estimated time of arrival.

[0100] In some implementations, the delivery scheduler 410 may include or use machine learning or other artificial intelligence to plan the timing of the delivery of prescriptions. For example, a model may be trained using historical medication usage dataincluding date, care area, usage, waste, inventory levels, and other clinical information. The model may accept, as an input, one or more clinical values such as date, care area, or the like. In response, the model may provide an output indicating the anticipated usage levels of specific medications. Using the anticipated usage levels, the delivery scheduler 410 can identify locations where the current supply would be insufficient to meet the anticipated usage level and schedule a delivery prior to the need arising.

[0101] The delivery scheduler 410 may determine whether a multiple-dose supply container is needed to fulfill the prescription. The delivery scheduler 410 may determine whether two or more medications are needed and instruct the local transit system 230 to select a multi-dose storage container to accommodate the two or more requested prescriptions. In some embodiments, the delivery scheduler 410 may determine that two different types of prescriptions are needed to be taken together. The delivery scheduler 410 may coordinate the delivery of the different types of prescriptions to arrive at the same time for placement in a multiple dose container. For example, the delivery scheduler 410 may have a respiratory inhaler and a bottle of oral liquid delivered at the same time into a multiple dose container. The delivery scheduler 410 may determine the medications that are needed at different times and collect all of the medication for delivery at the appointed time. In some embodiments, the delivery scheduler 410 may determine the number of ordered doses remaining in the prescription or the duration of the prescription. In response to determining that two or more number of ordered doses remain or that the prescription is multi-dose, the delivery scheduler 410 may schedule the timing of the next dose or prescription refill if the multi-dose will be empty. In response to determining that only one dose remains on a given prescription, the delivery scheduler 410 may direct the local transit system 230 to select only a single-dose supply container. In response to determining that only one dose remains on a given prescription, the delivery scheduler 410 may send a notification to one of the displays at the patient terminal 240, the medical record system, or a client device 160 in response to determining whether an additional prescription needs to be requested.

[0102] The robotic drug delivery system 110 may include a route planner 420 for determining a route for the supply container between the local storage 232 at the patient terminal 240. The route planner 420 may also determine a route between the transportable container and the local storage 232. The route planner 420 may determine the local storage 232 that corresponds to the location of the patient. The local storage 232 may correspond to a patientif the local storage 232 is closer to the patient than all the other local storages and if the local storage 232 includes the ordered prescriptions. In some embodiments, the local storage 232 corresponds to the patient if the local storage 232 is on the same floor as the patient. In some embodiments, if the storage closer to the patient than all the other local storages does not include one or more of the ordered medications, then a different local storage may supply that (those) medication(s) to the patient. In some embodiments, the local storage 232 may correspond to the patient if the local storage 232 is the least congested or can deliver the ordered prescriptions in a more efficient manner (e.g., less time or less effort) than the remaining local storages.

[0103] In some embodiments, the route planner 420 may assign more than one local storage to a patient to fulfill two or more ordered prescriptions into the same supply container. The route planner 420 may calculate a path for a supply container to take in order to gather the two or more ordered prescriptions from at least a first local storage and a second local storage. Using the route planner 420, the robotic drug delivery system 110 may instruct each of the first local storage and the second local storage to place the requested prescriptions into the supply container. Using the route planner 420, the robotic drug delivery system 110 may instruct the first local storage and the second local storage to mark the supply container in which the prescribed medication is placed and the destination to where it is headed. The first local storage and the second local storage may mark the supply containers using the identity of the patient, the location of the patient, and the list of medications for the patient.

[0104] The robotic drug delivery system 110 may be configured to transport the supply container through various tracks using the markings on the container. For example, the pharmacy transit system 220 and the local transit system 230 may have an optical image recognition system that allows the markings on the container to be identifiable and change the route of the supply container based on a marking on a supply container indicating that the supply container may be delivered to the patient along a different route. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may be configured to generate an alert when the supply container is en route to the patient terminal 240. The alert may be on of a chime at a receiving station, a text or message at the client device, a text or a message at a handheld device, or a message delivered through the medical record system 145. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may be configured to generate an alert to provide other updates, including when the supply container is delayed, when it has arrived at the patient terminal 240, and / or the like.

[0105] Still referring to FIG. 4, the route planner 420 may maximize the value of the scheduled trips, minimize the number of ad hoc trips, and to distinguish between the types of trips for more efficient planning. The route planner 420 may help to determine efficient medical workflows, trip planning, and route planning during trips, saving time, resources, and expense for the pharmacy and / or medical facility, while improving the ability for caregivers to provide better care for patients.

[0106] The robotic drug delivery system 110 may gather and provide information relating to the individual trips, such as the type of trip (e.g., scheduled or ad hoc), when the trips are taken, the duration of the trip, the deliveries performed during the trip, and the types of deliveries performed during the trip. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may apply artificial intelligence and machine learning to maximize the efficiency of medical workflows and trip planning. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may measure the impact of improvements in medication inventory optimization. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may implement an analytics engine, which may apply one or more statistical analysis techniques and / or machine learning models trained to distinguish and identify between scheduled and ad hoc trips, and / or determine the approximate times at which scheduled trips occur. Thus, the robotic drug delivery system 110 may provide better, real-time information for improving trip planning and medical workflow efficiency.

[0107] Referring to FIG. 5A, illustrated is an example of a cross-section of a packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500 configured to be transported in the robotic drug delivery system 110. The packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500 may have a programmable memory that is configured to store identifying information and a transaction log having records related to the actions and movements of the packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500. The packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500 may be configured to deliver individual medications to a supply container or other location associated with the patient. The pharmacy transit system 220 may be configured to transport the packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500 to replenish the medication and to remove expired medication. In some embodiments, the local transit system 230 may be configured to transport the packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500 to the supply container or the patient terminal 240 such as for wasting or because the patient refused a dose.

[0108] The packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500 may be configured to singulate the doses. That is, the packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500 may be configured to dispenseand deliver a single dose of medication. The single-dose medication may be a packaged pill. In some embodiments, the packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500 may be configured to deliver one and only one dose of the medication. The packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500 may be adjustable for different sizes of packaging. That is, the packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500 may be sized or fitted to particular unit-dose drug packages. The packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500 may deliver the required number of doses including situations in which only one dose is required. The packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500 may be able to dispense a single dose of medication even if the dose is the final dose in the packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500. The packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500 may be adapted to accommodate the geometry of the unit-dose packaging.

[0109] The packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500 may be configured to house strips of packaged pills. The strips of packaged pills may be stacked on top of each other. Each strip of packaged pills may have blisters containing the pills. The packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500 may have an opening on the front side through which a strip of packaged pills may pass through. A cutter 510 situated above the opening on the front side may be configured to cut the strip to dispense the required number of pills even if the requirement is for a single blister containing the pill (singulate the pill). The cutter 510 may be configured to singulate a packaged pill from the other pills for delivering a single pill package into the supply container or the patient terminal 240. In response to dispensing a single blister containing the pill, the packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500 may be configured to push the strip forward through the opening to allow the next blister to be cut. The packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500 may be configured to push the strips up towards the opening or allow the strips to fall down towards the opening in response to depleting the medication along the strip.

[0110] Referring to FIG. 5B, illustrated is an example of a front view of a packaged- pill transportable dispenser 500. The packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500 may be configured to have a cutter 510, an opening, a barcode, and a barcode scanner 520. In some embodiments, the packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500 may be configured to contain medication from a single lot from a single manufacturer. In some embodiments, the packaged- pill transportable dispenser 500 may be re-loaded with medication from only a single lot of a single manufacturer.[OHl] The packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500 may be configured to have a cutter 510 adjacent to the opening for cutting the blisters from the strip of medication. Thecutter 510 may be configured to receive instructions to cut the strip in response to instructions from the robotic drug delivery system 110 received via the bus or a near-field communication. In some embodiments, the packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500 may have the strips reloaded through the opening. Additionally, and / or alternatively, the packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500 may have the strips re-loaded through the sides or top of the transportable dispenser. In some embodiments, the cutter 510 may be configured to pop out the pill and drop the pill into the supply container for delivery.

[0112] The packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500 may be configured to have a unique identifier and a barcode that is associated with the transaction log that identifies the locations at which each drug dispensing was made. The barcode may also be associated with information describing the medication contained within the packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500 and the current quantity of the medication inside of the packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500. The unique identifier may be associated with the barcode and the transaction log. The barcode may be any one of a serial number, a QR code, and / or the like. In some embodiments, the barcode may be replaced with an RFID tag or similar near-field communication system protocol.

[0113] Since the dispenser is intended to have a bus connector by which it connects to the local storage system and to any system used for refilling it, the dispense is essentially self-identifying to any portion of the robotic system to which it is attached. External markings would only be required to assist in routing the container to its appropriate destination.

[0114] The packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500 may also include a barcode scanner 520 to facilitate scanning of the barcode on the dispensed medication. In some embodiments, the barcode scanner 520 may be configured to capture the National Drug Code (NDC) and the lot number of the single dose of the medication being cut from the strip using the barcode scanner 520. In some embodiments, the barcode scanner 520 may be configured to capture the expiration date and the manufacturer of the single dose of the medication being cut from the strip using the barcode scanner 520.

[0115] Referring to FIG. 5C, illustrated is an example of a back view of a packaged- pill transportable dispenser 500. The packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500 may be configured to have an electronic interface 540 and a hanger 550. The electronic interface 540 may be a bus connector. The pharmacy transit system 220 and the intermediate storage systemmay be configured to query the packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500 and upload new information to the packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500 via a bus when the dispense is attached to the bus connector.

[0116] The packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500 may include an electronic interface 540 at a backside of the packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500. The electronic interface 540 may be configured to communicatively couple to the bus at the pharmacy and / or the local storage 232. Via the bus, the pharmacy transit system 220 and the local transit system 230 may be configured to determine the medication contained within the packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500 and the current quantity of the medication inside of the packaged- pill transportable dispenser 500. In some embodiments, detecting an RFID tag or other near- field communication system protocol may verify that the packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500 is communicatively coupled to the bus. The bus may be located at the pharmacy and / or the local storage 232 and may be configured to accept the electronic interface 540 of the packaged- pill transportable dispenser 500. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may be configured to know the location of the transportable dispensers. For example, the transportable dispenser may be communicatively coupled to a bus at a local storage 232. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may maintain a mapping to know the patients that are associated with which local storages. The transaction log may also have a new entry added each time the pharmacy transit system 220 or the local transit system 230 is communicatively coupled to the packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500.

[0117] The pharmacy transit system 220 and the intermediate storage system may be configured to query the packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500 via the bus in response to detecting the packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500 is communicatively coupled to the bus. The query may include prompting the packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500 for the identification of the medication contained therein and the amount of medication contained therein. The query may also be able to obtain and track the NDC, the lot, and the expiration date of each item contained in the packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500. By querying the transportable dispensers, the robotic drug delivery system 110 may be configured to ascertain the NDC, the lot, and the expiration date of each item throughout the entire system.

[0118] The pharmacy transit system 220 may be configured to load new information to the packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500 via the bus in response to replenishing the packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500 or repurposing the packaged-pill transportabledispenser 500. The new information may include updating the identification of the medication contained in the packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500 and the amount of medication contained in the packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500. The new information may also update the NDC, the lot, and the expiration date of each item contained in the packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500.

[0119] The packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500 may also include a hanger 550. The hanger 550 may be configured to selectively couple to a rack at the local storage 232 or at the pharmacy. The hanger 550 may include a lip that is configured to slide over a receiving rack. The packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500 may also be configured to selectively couple to a track that may transport the packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500 between the pharmacy terminal 215 and the local storage 232. In some embodiments, the hanger 550 may be configured to selectively couple to a rack at a patient terminal 240 for singulating the medication. The packaged-pill transportable dispenser 500 may also be configured to selectively mounted to or connected to the local storage 232.

[0120] Referring to FIG. 6A, illustrated is an example of a cross-section of a transportable pouch dispenser 600 configured to be transported in the robotic drug delivery system 110. The transportable pouch dispenser 600 may have a programmable memory that is configured to store identifying information and a transaction log having records related to the actions and movements of the transportable pouch dispenser 600. The transportable pouch dispenser 600 may be configured to deliver individual medications to a supply container or a patient terminal 240. The pharmacy transit system 220 may be configured to transport the transportable pouch dispenser 600 to replenish the medication and remove expired medication. In some embodiments, the local transit system 230 may be configured to transport the transportable pouch dispenser 600 to the supply container or the patient terminal 240.

[0121] The transportable pouch dispenser 600 may be configured to singulate the doses. That is, the transportable pouch dispenser 600 may be configured to dispense and deliver a single dose of medication. The single-dose medication may contained within a pouch. In some embodiments, the transportable pouch dispenser 600 may be configured to deliver one and only one dose of the medication. The transportable pouch dispenser 600 may be adjustable for different sizes of packaging. That is, the transportable pouch dispenser 600 may be sized or fitted to particular unit-dose drug packages. The transportable pouch dispenser 600 may deliver the required number of doses including situations in which only one dose is required. Thetransportable pouch dispenser 600 may be able to dispense a single dose of medication even if the dose is the final dose in the transportable pouch dispenser 600. The transportable pouch dispenser 600 may be adapted to accommodate the geometry of the unit-dose packaging.

[0122] The transportable pouch dispenser 600 may be configured to house a roll of pouches holding medication. The roller of pouches may be centered within the transportable pouch dispenser 600 and may be supported by a peg or rod. The roller of pouches may wind and be layered on top of each other around the peg or rod. In some embodiments, the peg or rod may spin. The transportable pouch dispenser 600 may have an opening on the front side through which a pouch may pass through. A cutter 510 situated above the opening on the front side may be configured to cut the pouch to dispense the medication contained within the pouch. The cutter 510 may be configured to singulate a pouch from the other pouches for delivering a pouch into the supply container or the patient terminal 240. In response to dispensing a pouch, the transportable pouch dispenser 600 may be configured to roll the roller through the opening to allow the next pouch to be cut.

[0123] Referring to FIG. 6B, illustrated is an example of a front view of a transportable pouch dispenser 600 configured to be transported in the robotic drug delivery system 110. The transportable pouch dispenser 600 may be configured to have a cutter 510, an opening, a barcode, and a barcode scanner 520. In some embodiments, the transportable pouch dispenser 600 may be configured to contain medication from a single lot from a single manufacturer. In some embodiments, the transportable pouch dispenser 600 may be re-loaded with medication from only a single lot of a single manufacturer.

[0124] The transportable pouch dispenser 600 may be configured to have a cutter 510 adjacent to the opening for cutting the pouches from the roller. The cutter 510 may be configured to receive instructions to cut the pouches in response to instructions from the robotic drug delivery system 110 received via the bus or a near-field communication. The transportable pouch dispenser 600 may have the pouches re-loaded through the sides of the transportable pouch dispenser 600. In some embodiments, the cutter 510 may be configured to pierce the pouch and drop the pierced pouch into the supply container for delivery.

[0125] The transportable pouch dispenser 600 may be configured to have a unique identifier and a barcode that is associated with the transaction log that identifies the locations at which each drug dispensing was made. The barcode may also be associated with informationdescribing the medication contained within the transportable pouch dispenser 600 and the current quantity of the medication inside of the transportable pouch dispenser 600. The unique identifier may be associated with the barcode and the transaction log. The barcode may be any one of a serial number, a QR code, and / or the like. In some embodiments, the barcode may be replaced with an RFID tag or similar near-field communication system protocol.

[0126] The transportable pouch dispenser 600 may also include a barcode scanner 520 to facilitate scanning of the barcode. In some embodiments, the barcode scanner 520 may be configured to capture the National Drug Code (NDC) and the lot number of the single dose of the medication being cut from the roller using the barcode scanner 520. In some embodiments, the barcode scanner 520 may be configured to capture the expiration date and the manufacturer of the single dose of the medication being cut from the roller using the barcode scanner 520.

[0127] Referring to FIG. 6C, illustrated is an example of a back view of a transportable pouch dispenser 600 configured to be transported in the robotic drug delivery system 110. The transportable pouch dispenser 600 may be configured to have an electronic interface 540 and a hanger 550. The electronic interface 540 may be a bus connector. The pharmacy transit system 220 and the intermediate storage system may be configured to query the transportable pouch dispenser 600 and upload new information to the transportable pouch dispenser 600 via a bus.

[0128] The transportable pouch dispenser 600 may include an electronic interface 540 at a backside of the transportable pouch dispenser 600. The electronic interface 540 may be configured to communicatively couple to the bus at the pharmacy and / or the local storage 232. Via the bus, the pharmacy transit system 220 and the local transit system 230 may be configured to determine the medication contained within the transportable pouch dispenser 600 and the current quantity of the medication inside the transportable pouch dispenser 600. In some embodiments, detecting an RFID tag or other near-field communication system protocol may verify that the transportable pouch dispenser 600 is communicatively coupled to the bus. The bus may be located at the pharmacy and / or the local storage 232 and may be configured to accept the electronic interface 540 of the transportable pouch dispenser 600. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may be configured to know the location of the transportable pouch dispensers. For example, the transportable pouch dispenser 600 may be communicatively coupled to a bus at a local storage 232. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may maintain amapping to know the patients that are associated with which local storages. The transaction log may also have a new entry added each time the pharmacy transit system 220 or the local transit system 230 is communicatively coupled to the transportable pouch dispenser 600.

[0129] The pharmacy transit system 220 and the intermediate storage system may be configured to query the transportable pouch dispenser 600 via the bus in response to detecting the transportable pouch dispenser 600 is communicatively coupled to the bus. The query may include prompting the transportable pouch dispenser 600 for the identification of the medication contained therein and the amount of medication contained therein. The query may also be able to obtain and track the NDC, the lot, and the expiration date of each item contained in the transportable pouch dispenser 600. By querying the transportable pouch dispensers, the robotic drug delivery system 110 may be configured to ascertain the NDC, the lot, and the expiration date of each item throughout the entire system.

[0130] The pharmacy transit system 220 may be configured to load new information to the transportable pouch dispenser 600 via the bus in response to replenishing the transportable pouch dispenser 600 or repurposing the transportable pouch dispenser 600. The new information may include updating the identification of the medication contained in the transportable pouch dispenser 600 and the amount of medication contained in the transportable pouch dispenser 600. The new information may also update the NDC, the lot, and the expiration date of each item contained in the transportable pouch dispenser 600.

[0131] The transportable pouch dispenser 600 may also include a hanger 550. The hanger 550 may be configured to selectively couple to a rack at the local storage 232 or at the pharmacy. The hanger 550 may include a lip that is configured to slide over a receiving rack. The transportable pouch dispenser 600 may also be configured to selectively couple to a track that may transport the transportable pouch dispenser 600 between the pharmacy and the local storage 232. In some embodiments, the hanger 550 may be configured to selectively couple to a rack at a patient terminal 240 for singulating the medication. The transportable pouch dispenser 600 may also be configured to selectively mounted to or connected to the local storage 232.

[0132] Referring to FIG. 7A, illustrated is an example of a cross-section of a transportable cup dispenser 700 configured to be transported in the robotic drug delivery system 110. The transportable cup dispenser 700 may have a programmable memory that isconfigured to store identifying information and a transaction log having records related to the actions and movements of the transportable cup dispenser 700. The transportable cup dispenser 700 may be configured to deliver individual medications to a supply container or a patient terminal 240. The pharmacy transit system 220 may be configured to transport the transportable cup dispenser 700 to replenish the medication and remove expired medication. In some embodiments, the local transit system 230 may be configured to transport the transportable cup dispenser 700 to the supply container or the patient terminal 240.

[0133] The transportable cup dispenser 700 may be configured to singulate the doses. That is, the transportable cup dispenser 700 may be configured to dispense and deliver a single dose of medication. The single-dose medication may be in a cup. In some embodiments, the transportable cup dispenser 700 may be configured to deliver one and only one dose of the medication. The transportable cup dispenser 700 may be adjustable for different sizes of packaging. That is, the transportable cup dispenser 700 may be sized or fitted to particular unitdose drug packages. The transportable cup dispenser 700 may deliver the required number of doses including situations in which only one dose is required. The transportable cup dispenser 700 may be able to dispense a single dose of medication even if the dose is the final dose in the transportable cup dispenser 700. The transportable cup dispenser 700 may be adapted to accommodate the geometry of the unit-dose packaging.

[0134] The transportable cup dispenser 700 may be configured to house cups of packaged medication. The cups of packaged pills may be stacked on top of each other. The transportable cup dispenser 700 may have an opening on the front side through which a cup may pass through. An actuator 780 situated within the transportable cup dispenser 700 may be configured to extend to push out a cup near the opening. In some embodiments, the opening and the actuator 780 may be located at a bottom portion of the transportable cup dispenser 700. The actuator 780 may be configured to push the cup to dispense a cup containing the medication. The actuator 780 may be configured to singulate a packaged cup from the other cups for delivering a single cup into the supply container or the patient terminal 240. In response to dispensing a single cup, the transportable cup dispenser 700 may be configured to actuate a finger to allow the next cup to fall to the bottom portion of the transportable cup dispenser 700. The finger may sustain the upper cups until the actuator 780 has dispensed the cup.

[0135] The actuator 780 may be configured to push the cup in response to instructions from the robotic drug delivery system 110 received via the bus or near-field communication. In some embodiments, the transportable cup dispenser 700 may have the cups re-loaded through the opening. Additionally, and / or alternatively, the transportable cup dispenser 700 may have the cups re-loaded through the sides of the transportable cup dispenser 700.

[0136] Referring to FIG. 7B, illustrated is an example of a front view of a transportable cup dispenser 700 configured to be transported in the robotic drug delivery system 110. The transportable cup dispenser 700 may be configured to have an opening, a barcode, and a barcode scanner 520. In some embodiments, the transportable cup dispenser 700 may be configured to contain medication from a single lot from a single manufacturer. In some embodiments, the transportable cup dispenser 700 may be re-loaded with medication from only a single lot of a single manufacturer.

[0137] The transportable cup dispenser 700 may be configured to have a unique identifier and a barcode that is associated with the transaction log that identifies the locations at which each drug dispensing was made. The barcode may also be associated with information describing the medication contained within the transportable cup dispenser 700 and the current quantity of the medication inside of the transportable cup dispenser 700. The unique identifier may be associated with the barcode and the transaction log. The barcode may be any one of a serial number, a QR code, and / or the like. In some embodiments, the barcode may be replaced with an RFID tag or similar near-field communication system protocol.

[0138] The transportable cup dispenser 700 may also include a barcode scanner 520 to facilitate scanning of the barcode. In some embodiments, the barcode scanner 520 may be configured to capture the National Drug Code (NDC) and the lot number of the single dose of the medication being pushed out the opening using the barcode scanner 520. In some embodiments, the barcode scanner 520 may be configured to capture the expiration date and the manufacturer of the single dose of the medication being pushed out the opening using the barcode scanner 520.

[0139] Referring to FIG. 7C, illustrated is an example of a back view of a transportable cup dispenser 700 configured to be transported in the robotic drug delivery system 110. The transportable cup dispenser 700 may be configured to have an electronic interface 540 and a hanger 550. The electronic interface 540 may be a bus connector. Thepharmacy transit system 220 and the intermediate storage system may be configured to query the transportable cup dispenser 700 and upload new information to the transportable cup dispenser 700 via a bus.

[0140] The transportable cup dispenser 700 may include an electronic interface 540 at a backside of the transportable cup dispenser 700. The electronic interface 540 may be configured to communicatively couple to the bus at the pharmacy and / or the local storage 232. Via the bus, the pharmacy transit system 220 and the local transit system 230 may be configured to determine the medication contained within the transportable cup dispenser 700 and the current quantity of the medication inside of the transportable cup dispenser 700. In some embodiments, detecting an RFID tag or other near-field communication system protocol may verify that the transportable cup dispenser 700 is communicatively coupled to the bus. The bus may be located at the pharmacy and / or the local storage 232 and may be configured to accept the electronic interface 540 of the transportable cup dispenser 700. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may be configured to know the location of the transportable cup dispensers. For example, the transportable cup dispenser 700 may be communicatively coupled to a bus at a local storage 232. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may maintain a mapping to know the patients that are associated with which local storages. The transaction log may also have a new entry added each time the pharmacy transit system 220 or the local transit system 230 is communicatively coupled to the transportable cup dispenser 700.

[0141] The pharmacy transit system 220 and the intermediate storage system may be configured to query the transportable cup dispenser 700 via the bus in response to detecting the transportable cup dispenser 700 is communicatively coupled to the bus. The query may include prompting the transportable cup dispenser 700 for the identification of the medication contained therein and the amount of medication contained therein. The query may also be able to obtain and track the NDC, the lot, and the expiration date of each item contained in the transportable cup dispenser 700. By querying the transportable cup dispensers, the robotic drug delivery system 110 may be configured to ascertain the NDC, the lot, and the expiration date of each item throughout the entire system.

[0142] The pharmacy transit system 220 may be configured to load new information to the transportable cup dispenser 700 via the bus in response to replenishing the transportable cup dispenser 700 or repurposing the transportable cup dispenser 700. The new information may include updating the identification of the medication contained in the transportable cupdispenser 700 and the amount of medication contained in the transportable cup dispenser 700. The new information may also update the NDC, the lot, and the expiration date of each item contained in the transportable cup dispenser 700.

[0143] The transportable cup dispenser 700 may also include a hanger 550. The hanger 550 may be configured to selectively couple to a rack at the local storage 232 or at the pharmacy. The hanger 550 may include a lip that is configured to slide over a receiving rack. The transportable cup dispenser 700 may also be configured to selectively couple to a track that may transport the transportable cup dispenser 700 between the pharmacy and the local storage 232. In some embodiments, the hanger 550 may be configured to selectively couple to a rack at a patient terminal 240 for singulating the medication. The transportable cup dispenser 700 may also be configured to selectively mounted to or connected to the local storage 232.

[0144] Referring to FIG. 8A, illustrated is an example of a cross-section of a transportable vial dispenser 800 configured to be transported in the robotic drug delivery system 110. The transportable vial dispenser 800 may have a programmable memory that is configured to store identifying information and a transaction log having records related to the actions and movements of the transportable vial dispenser 800. The transportable vial dispenser 800 may be configured to deliver individual medications to a supply container or a patient terminal 240. The pharmacy transit system 220 may be configured to transport the transportable vial dispenser 800 to replenish the medication and remove expired medication. In some embodiments, the local transit system 230 may be configured to transport the transportable vial dispenser 800 to the supply container or the patient terminal 240.

[0145] The transportable vial dispenser 800 may be configured to singulate the doses. That is, the transportable vial dispenser 800 may be configured to dispense and deliver a single dose of medication. The single-dose medication may be a vial. In some embodiments, the transportable vial dispenser 800 may be configured to deliver one and only one dose of the medication. The transportable vial dispenser 800 may be adjustable for different sizes of packaging. That is, the transportable vial dispenser 800 may be sized or fitted to particular unitdose drug packages. The transportable vial dispenser 800 may deliver the required number of doses including situations in which only one dose is required. The transportable vial dispenser 800 may be able to dispense a single dose of medication even if the dose is the final dose in the transportable vial dispenser 800. The transportable vial dispenser 800 may be adapted to accommodate the geometry of the unit-dose packaging.

[0146] The transportable vial dispenser 800 may be configured to house vials of packaged medication. The vials of packaged medication may be stacked on top of each other. The transportable vial dispenser 800 may have an opening on the front side through which a vial of packaged pills may pass through. A rotating actuator 810 situated within the transportable vial dispenser 800 may be configured to rotate and extend to push out a vial near the opening. In some embodiments, the opening and the rotating actuator 810 may be located at a bottom portion of the transportable vial dispenser 800. The rotating actuator 810 may be configured to push the vial to dispense a vial containing the medication. The rotating actuator 810 may be configured to singulate a packaged vial from the other vials for delivering a single vial into the supply container or the patient terminal 240. In response to dispensing a single vial, the transportable vial dispenser 800 may be configured to receive the next vial and move the vial to the bottom portion of the transportable vial dispenser 800. The rotating actuator 810 may sustain the upper vials until the rotating actuator 810 has dispensed the vial.

[0147] The rotating actuator 810 may be configured to dispense the vial in response to instructions from the robotic drug delivery system 110 received via the bus or a near-field communication. In some embodiments, the transportable vial dispenser 800 may have the vials re-loaded through the opening. Additionally, and / or alternatively, the transportable vial dispenser 800 may have the vials re-loaded through the sides of the transportable vial dispenser 800.

[0148] Referring to FIG. 8B, illustrated is an example of a cross-section of a transportable vial dispenser 800 configured to be transported in the robotic drug delivery system 110. The transportable vial dispenser 800 may be configured to have an opening, a barcode, and a barcode scanner 520. In some embodiments, the transportable vial dispenser 800 may be configured to contain medication from a single lot from a single manufacturer. In some embodiments, the transportable vial dispenser 800 may be re-loaded with medication from only a single lot of a single manufacturer.

[0149] The transportable vial dispenser 800 may be configured to have a unique identifier and a barcode that is associated with the transaction log that identifies the locations at which each drug dispensing was made. The barcode may also be associated with information describing the medication contained within the transportable vial dispenser 800 and the current quantity of the medication inside of the transportable vial dispenser 800. The unique identifier may be associated with the barcode and the transaction log. The barcode may be any one of aserial number, a QR code, and / or the like. In some embodiments, the barcode may be replaced with an RFID tag or similar near-field communication system protocol.

[0150] The transportable vial dispenser 800 may also include a barcode scanner 520 to facilitate scanning of the barcode. In some embodiments, the barcode scanner 520 may be configured to capture the National Drug Code (NDC) and the lot number of the single dose of the medication being dispensed using the barcode scanner 520. In some embodiments, the barcode scanner 520 may be configured to capture the expiration date and the manufacturer of the single dose of the medication being dispensed using the barcode scanner 520.

[0151] Referring to FIG. 8C, illustrated is an example of a cross-section of a transportable vial dispenser 800 configured to be transported in the robotic drug delivery system 110. The transportable vial dispenser 800 may be configured to have an electronic interface 540 and a hanger 550. The electronic interface 540 may be a bus connector. The pharmacy transit system 220 and the intermediate storage system may be configured to query the transportable vial dispenser 800 and upload new information to the transportable vial dispenser 800 via a bus.

[0152] The transportable vial dispenser 800 may include an electronic interface 540 at a backside of the transportable vial dispenser 800. The electronic interface 540 may be configured to communicatively couple to the bus at the pharmacy and / or the local storage 232. Via the bus, the pharmacy transit system 220 and the local transit system 230 may be configured to determine the medication contained within the transportable vial dispenser 800 and the current quantity of the medication inside of the transportable vial dispenser 800. In some embodiments, detecting an RFID tag or other near-field communication system protocol may verify that the transportable vial dispenser 800 is communicatively coupled to the bus. The bus may be located at the pharmacy and / or the local storage 232 and may be configured to accept the electronic interface 540 of the transportable vial dispenser 800. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may be configured to know the location of the transportable vial dispensers. For example, the transportable vial dispenser 800 may be communicatively coupled to a bus at a local storage 232. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may maintain a mapping to know the patients that are associated with which local storages. The transaction log may also have a new entry added each time the pharmacy transit system 220 or the local transit system 230 is communicatively coupled to the transportable vial dispenser 800.

[0153] The pharmacy transit system 220 and the intermediate storage system may be configured to query the transportable vial dispenser 800 via the bus in response to detecting the transportable vial dispenser 800 is communicatively coupled to the bus. The query may include prompting the transportable vial dispenser 800 for the identification of the medication contained therein and the amount of medication contained therein. The query may also be able to obtain and track the NDC, the lot, and the expiration date of each item contained in the transportable vial dispenser 800. By querying the transportable vial dispensers, the robotic drug delivery system 110 may be configured to ascertain the NDC, the lot, and the expiration date of each item throughout the entire system.

[0154] The pharmacy transit system 220 may be configured to load new information to the transportable vial dispenser 800 via the bus in response to replenishing the transportable vial dispenser 800 or repurposing the transportable vial dispenser 800. The new information may include updating the identification of the medication contained in the transportable vial dispenser 800 and the amount of medication contained in the transportable vial dispenser 800. The new information may also update the NDC, the lot, and the expiration date of each item contained in the transportable vial dispenser 800.

[0155] The transportable vial dispenser 800 may also include a hanger 550. The hanger 550 may be configured to selectively couple to a rack at the local storage 232 or at the pharmacy. The hanger 550 may include a lip that is configured to slide over a receiving rack. The transportable vial dispenser 800 may also be configured to selectively couple to a track that may transport the transportable vial dispenser 800 between the pharmacy and the local storage 232. In some embodiments, the hanger 550 may be configured to selectively couple to a rack at a patient terminal 240 for singulating the medication. The transportable vial dispenser 800 may also be configured to selectively mounted to or connected to the local storage 232.

[0156] Referring to FIG. 9A, illustrated is an example of a cross-section of a transportable box dispenser 900 configured to be transported in the robotic drug delivery system 110. The transportable box dispenser 900 may have a programmable memory that is configured to store identifying information and a transaction log having records related to the actions and movements of the transportable box dispenser 900. The transportable box dispenser 900 may be configured to deliver individual medications to a supply container or a patient terminal 240. The pharmacy transit system 220 may be configured to transport the transportable box dispenser 900 to replenish the medication and remove expired medication. In someembodiments, the local transit system 230 may be configured to transport the transportable box dispenser 900 to the supply container or the patient terminal 240.

[0157] The transportable box dispenser 900 may be configured to singulate the doses. That is, the transportable box dispenser 900 may be configured to dispense and deliver a single dose of medication. The single-dose medication may be a box. In some embodiments, the transportable box dispenser 900 may be configured to deliver one and only one dose of the medication. The transportable box dispenser 900 may be adjustable for different sizes of packaging. That is, the transportable box dispenser 900 may be sized or fitted to particular unitdose drug packages. The transportable box dispenser 900 may deliver the required number of doses including situations in which only one dose is required. The transportable box dispenser 900 may be able to dispense a single dose of medication even if the dose is the final dose in the transportable box dispenser 900. The transportable box dispenser 900 may be adapted to accommodate the geometry of the unit-dose packaging.

[0158] The transportable box dispenser 900 may be configured to house boxes of packaged medication. The boxes of packaged pills may be stacked on top of each other. The transportable box dispenser 900 may have an opening on the front side through which a box may pass through. An actuator 780 situated within the transportable box dispenser 900 may be configured to extend to push out a box near the opening. In some embodiments, the opening and the actuator 780 may be located at a bottom portion of the transportable box dispenser 900. The actuator 780 may be configured to push the box to dispense a box containing the medication. The actuator 780 may be configured to singulate a packaged box from the other boxes for delivering a single box into the supply container or the patient terminal 240. In response to dispensing a single box, the transportable box dispenser 900 may be configured to actuate a finger to allow the next box to fall to the bottom portion of the transportable box dispenser 900. The finger may sustain the upper boxes until the actuator 780 has dispensed the box.

[0159] The actuator 780 may be configured to push the box in response to instructions from the robotic drug delivery system 110 received via the bus or a near-field communication. In some embodiments, the transportable box dispenser 900 may have the boxes re-loaded through the opening. Additionally, and / or alternatively, the transportable box dispenser 900 may have the boxes re-loaded through the sides of the transportable box dispenser 900.

[0160] Referring to FIG. 9B, illustrated is an example of a transportable box dispenser 900 configured to be transported in the robotic drug delivery system 110. The transportable box dispenser 900 may be configured to have a cutter 510, an opening, a barcode, and a barcode scanner 520. In some embodiments, the transportable box dispenser 900 may be configured to contain medication from a single lot from a single manufacturer. In some embodiments, the transportable box dispenser 900 may be re-loaded with medication from only a single lot of a single manufacturer.

[0161] The transportable box dispenser 900 may be configured to have a unique identifier and a barcode that is associated with the transaction log that identifies the locations at which each drug dispensing was made. The barcode may also be associated with information describing the medication contained within the transportable box dispenser 900 and the current quantity of the medication inside of the transportable box dispenser 900. The unique identifier may be associated with the barcode and the transaction log. The barcode may be any one of a serial number, a QR code, and / or the like. In some embodiments, the barcode may be replaced with an RFID tag or similar near-field communication system protocol.

[0162] The transportable box dispenser 900 may also include a barcode scanner 520 to facilitate scanning of the barcode. In some embodiments, the barcode scanner 520 may be configured to capture the National Drug Code (NDC) and the lot number of the single dose of the medication being dispensed using the barcode scanner 520. In some embodiments, the barcode scanner 520 may be configured to capture the expiration date and the manufacturer of the single dose of the medication being dispensed using the barcode scanner 520. The transportable box dispenser 900 may include moveable rails 990 to adjust the opening through which the box may pass through.

[0163] Referring to FIG. 9C, illustrated is an example of a transportable box dispenser 900 configured to be transported in the robotic drug delivery system 110. The transportable box dispenser 900 may be configured to have an electronic interface 540 and a hanger 550. The electronic interface 540 may be a bus connector. The pharmacy transit system 220 and the intermediate storage system may be configured to query the transportable box dispenser 900 and upload new information to the transportable box dispenser 900 via a bus.

[0164] The transportable box dispenser 900 may include an electronic interface 540 at a backside of the transportable box dispenser 900. The electronic interface 540 may beconfigured to communicatively couple to the bus at the pharmacy and / or the local storage 232. Via the bus, the pharmacy transit system 220 and the local transit system 230 may be configured to determine the medication contained within the transportable box dispenser 900 and the current quantity of the medication inside of the transportable box dispenser 900. In some embodiments, detecting an RFID tag or other near-field communication system protocol may verify that the transportable box dispenser 900 is communicatively coupled to the bus. The bus may be located at the pharmacy and / or the local storage 232 and may be configured to accept the electronic interface 540 of the transportable box dispenser 900. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may be configured to know the location of the transportable vial dispensers. For example, the transportable vial dispenser 800 may be communicatively coupled to a bus at a local storage 232. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may maintain a mapping to know the patients that are associated with which local storages. The transaction log may also have a new entry added each time the pharmacy transit system 220 or the local transit system 230 is communicatively coupled to the transportable box dispenser 900.

[0165] The pharmacy transit system 220 and the intermediate storage system may be configured to query the transportable box dispenser 900 via the bus in response to detecting the transportable box dispenser 900 is communicatively coupled to the bus. The query may include prompting the transportable box dispenser 900 for the identification of the medication contained therein and the amount of medication contained therein. The query may also be able to obtain and track the NDC, the lot, and the expiration date of each item contained in the transportable box dispenser 900. By querying the transportable box dispensers, the robotic drug delivery system 110 may be configured to ascertain the NDC, the lot, and the expiration date of each item throughout the entire system.

[0166] The pharmacy transit system 220 may be configured to load new information to the transportable box dispenser 900 via the bus in response to replenishing the transportable box dispenser 900 or repurposing the transportable box dispenser 900. The new information may include updating the identification of the medication contained in the transportable box dispenser 900 and the amount of medication contained in the transportable box dispenser 900. The new information may also update the NDC, the lot, and the expiration date of each item contained in the transportable box dispenser 900.

[0167] The transportable box dispenser 900 may also include a hanger 550. The hanger 550 may be configured to selectively couple to a rack at the local storage 232 or at thepharmacy. The hanger 550 may include a lip that is configured to slide over a receiving rack. The transportable box dispenser 900 may also be configured to selectively couple to a track that may transport the transportable box dispenser 900 between the pharmacy and the local storage 232. In some embodiments, the hanger 550 may be configured to selectively couple to a rack at a patient terminal 240 for singulating the medication. The transportable box dispenser 900 may also be configured to selectively mounted to or connected to the local storage 232.

[0168] Referring to FIG. 10, illustrated is an example of a flowchart for refilling a transportable dispenser at a remote site using the robotic drug delivery system 110. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may include at least one of an overhead track or an overhead passageway situated overhead of a floor space at a medical facility, the at least one of the overhead track or the overhead passageway extending between a patient terminal 240 at the medical facility and a remote site at the medical facility. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may include at least one of a motorized platform, a motorized carousel, or a motorized cart configured to travel along the at least one of the overhead track or the overhead passageway. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may include at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one of the motorized platform, the motorized carousel, or the motorized cart. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may include at least one of a local overhead track or a local overhead passageway situated overhead of the floor space at the medical facility. The at least one of the local overhead track or the local overhead passageway may extend between a patient terminal 240 at the medical facility and the remote site at the medical facility. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may include a medical facility data system 130 configured to receive an alert notifying of a delivery of the supply container containing the medication and communicatively coupled to the at least one processor. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may further include at least one of a client device 160 communicatively coupled to the medical facility data system 130.

[0169] At 1002, the robotic drug delivery system 110 may instruct the at least one of the motorized platform, the motorized carousel, or the motorized cart to move a transportable dispenser from the remote site to the pharmacy terminal 215 along the at least one of the overhead track or the overhead passageway in response to determining that a quantity of medication in the transportable dispenser satisfies a low quantity threshold or the medication is expired. The pharmacy terminal 215 may be configured to receive the transportable dispenser. The transportable dispenser may be configured to dispense the medication at theremote site at the medical facility. Prior to the removal of the transportable dispenser satisfying the low quantity threshold, the local storage 232 may receive an additional transportable dispenser with the same medication as the transportable dispenser. In some embodiments, the additional transportable dispenser is received at the local storage 232 in response to the first transportable dispenser satisfying the low quantity threshold.

[0170] At 1004, the robotic drug delivery system 110 may instruct the at least one of the motorized platform, the motorized carousel, or the motorized cart to move the transportable dispenser to the local storage 232 along the at least one of the overhead track or the overhead passageway in response to determining the quantity of medication in the transportable dispenser satisfies a high quantity threshold. The high quantity threshold may also be a percentage. For example, the high quantity threshold may be 75%. The second additional transportable dispenser may dispense medication while the first transportable dispenser is being refilled at the pharmacy.

[0171] At 1006, the robotic drug delivery system 110 may instruct, using the at least one processor, the at least one of the motorized platform, the motorized carousel, or the motorized cart to move a supply container from the remote site to the patient terminal 240 along the at least one of the local overhead track or the local overhead passageway in response to the transportable dispenser dispensing a dose of medication into the supply container. The transportable dispenser may be configured to dispense the medication at the remote site at the medical facility. The patient terminal 240 may be configured to receive the supply container.

[0172] At 1008, the robotic drug delivery system 110 may transmit the alert notifying of the delivery of the supply container containing the medication to the medical facility data system 130. The robotic drug delivery system 110 may transmit the alert in response to determining that the supply container is en route to the patient terminal 240 or has arrived at the patient terminal 240. In some embodiment, the alerts may include messages containing information about patients, medications for the patients, and locations of the patients.

[0173] At 1010, the alert is configured to be displayed on the at least one of the client device 160 to alert a medical facility worker of the delivery of the supply container. For example, the robotic drug delivery system 110 may also send an alert to the interactive clinical data terminal 170 at a nurse’s phone associated to the patient in response to a transportable dispenser dispensing a medication into a supply container.

[0174] The robotic drug delivery system 110 may eliminate the need for dispensing cabinets. Dispensing cabinets deliver medications to nurses or other caregivers as they are needed to medicate patients. Generally, maintaining the dispensing cabinets is laborious and may include refilling current medication supplies, adding new medication supplies, removing medication supplies that are no longer needed, performing inventory count verifications, checking for expired medications, removing expired medications, relocating soon-to-expire medications to areas where they are more likely to be consumed before they expire, and so on. Instead of pharmacy personnel or nurses performing these functions, the robotic drug delivery system 110 may perform all of these functions.

[0175] The robotic drug delivery system 110 may eliminate the need for nurses and other pharmacy couriers to make unplanned trips to the dispensing cabinets. As part of their daily routine, pharmacy couriers make trips from pharmacies to patient care areas to perform deliveries at multiple dispensing cabinets. Unique medications are stored in pockets of the dispensing cabinets, whose inventory quantities are governed by minimum and maximum values that, among other things, stimulate requests for refill. To maintain the dispensing cabinets, pharmacy couriers may take one or more trips from a pharmacy to the dispensing cabinets to perform one or more maintenance deliveries at the dispensing cabinets, and return to the pharmacy. For example, a transaction may include adding a new medication to a dispensing cabinet (e.g., loading), removing medication that is no longer used from the dispensing cabinet (e.g., unloading), removing medication from one dispensing cabinet and transferring the medication to another dispensing cabinet (e.g., destocking), taking inventory of pockets in the dispensing cabinet (e.g., inventory), refilling a pocket of the dispensing cabinet (e.g., restocking), emptying a return bin of the dispensing cabinet, removing expired medications from the dispensing cabinet, and / or the like. Some medical facilities generate tens or hundreds of thousands of transaction records per month when deliveries are performed at the dispensing cabinets. Instead of pharmacy couriers, the robotic drug delivery system 110 may perform each of these deliveries using a combination of local storage 232 systems and transportable dispensers that run along a pharmacy transit system 220 and the local transit system 230.

[0176] Referring to FIG. 11, the computing system 1100 may include a processor 1110, a memory 1120, a storage device 1130, and an input / output device 1140. The processor 1110, the memory 1120, the storage device 1130, and the input / output device 1140 may beinterconnected via a system bus 1150. The processor 1110 is capable of processing instructions for execution within the computing system 1100. Such executed instructions may implement one or more components of, for example, hardware for robotic drug delivery systems in medical facilities. In some exemplary embodiments, the processor 1110 may be a singlethreaded processor. Alternately, the processor 1110 may be a multi -threaded processor. The processor 1110 is capable of processing instructions stored in the memory 1120 and / or on the storage device 1130 to display graphical information for a user interface provided via the input / output device 1140.

[0177] The memory 1120 is a non-transitory computer-readable medium that stores information within the computing system 1100. The memory 1120 may be configured to store data structures representing configuration object databases, for example. The storage device 1130 is capable of providing persistent storage for the computing system 1100. The storage device 1130 may be a floppy disk device, a hard disk device, an optical disk device, or a tape device, or other suitable persistent storage means. The input / output device 1140 provides input / output operations for the computing system 1100. In some exemplary embodiments, the input / output device 1140 includes a keyboard and / or pointing device. In various implementations, the input / output device 1140 includes a display unit for displaying graphical user interfaces.

[0178] According to some exemplary embodiments, the input / output device 1140 may provide input / output operations for a network device. For example, the input / output device 1140 may include Ethernet ports or other networking ports to communicate with one or more wired and / or wireless networks (e.g., a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), the Internet, a public land mobile network (PLMN), and / or the like).

[0179] In some exemplary embodiments, the computing system 1100 may be used to execute various interactive computer software applications that may be used for organization, analysis, and / or storage of data in various formats. Alternatively, the computing system 1100 may be used to execute any type of software applications. These applications may be used to perform various functionalities, e.g., planning functionalities (e.g., generating, managing, editing of spreadsheet documents, word processing documents, and / or any other objects, etc.), computing functionalities, communications functionalities, etc. The applications may include various add-in functionalities or may be standalone computing items and / or functionalities. Upon activation within the applications, the functionalities may be used to generate the userinterface provided via the input / output device 1140. The user interface may be generated and presented to a user by the computing system 1100 (e.g., on a computer screen monitor, etc.).

[0180] Terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises" and / or "comprising," when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof. As used herein, the term “and / or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0181] Unless specifically stated or obvious from context, as used herein, the term “about” is understood as within a range of normal tolerance in the art, for example within 2 standard deviations of the mean. “About” may be understood as within 10%, 9%, 8%, 7%, 6%, 5%, 4%, 3%, 2%, 1%, 0.5%, 0.1%, 0.05%, or 0.01% of the stated value. Unless otherwise clear from the context, all numerical values provided herein are modified by the term “about.”

[0182] The many features and advantages of the disclosure are apparent from the detailed specification, and thus, it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such features and advantages of the disclosure which fall within the true spirit and scope of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and variations will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation illustrated and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure.

[0183] In the descriptions above and in the claims, phrases such as “at least one of’ or “one or more of’ may occur followed by a conjunctive list of elements or features. The term “and / or” may also occur in a list of two or more elements or features. Unless otherwise implicitly or explicitly contradicted by the context in which it is used, such a phrase is intended to mean any of the listed elements or features individually or any of the recited elements or features in combination with any of the other recited elements or features. For example, the phrases “at least one of A and B;” “one or more of A and B;” and “A and / or B” are each intended to mean “A alone, B alone, or A and B together.” A similar interpretation is alsointended for lists including three or more items. For example, the phrases “at least one of A, B, and C;” “one or more of A, B, and C;” and “A, B, and / or C” are each intended to mean “A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, or A and B and C together.” Use of the term “based on,” above and in the claims is intended to mean, “based at least in part on,” such that an unrecited feature or element is also permissible.

[0184] The implementations set forth in the foregoing description do not represent all implementations consistent with the subject matter described herein. Instead, they are merely some examples consistent with aspects related to the described subject matter. Although a few variations have been described in detail herein, other modifications or additions are possible. In particular, further features and / or variations can be provided in addition to those set forth herein. For example, the implementations described above can be directed to various combinations and sub-combinations of the disclosed features and / or combinations and subcombinations of one or more features further to those disclosed herein. In addition, the logic flows depicted in the accompanying figures and / or described herein do not necessarily require the particular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve desirable results. The scope of the following claims may include other implementations or embodiments.

[0185] The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to allow the reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, it can be seen that various features are grouped together in a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment.

[0186] While the foregoing is directed to implementations of the present disclosure, other and further implementations of the disclosure may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof, and the scope thereof is determined by the claims that follow.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A system comprising: at least one of an overhead track or an overhead passageway situated overhead of a floor space at a medical facility, the at least one of the overhead track or the overhead passageway extending between a pharmacy terminal at the medical facility and a remote site at the medical facility; at least one of a motorized platform, a motorized carousel, or a motorized cart configured to travel along the at least one of the overhead track or the overhead passageway; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one of the motorized platform, the motorized carousel, or the motorized cart, the at least one processor configured to: instruct, using the at least one processor, the at least one of the motorized platform, the motorized carousel, or the motorized cart to move a transportable dispenser from the remote site to the pharmacy terminal along the at least one of the overhead track or the overhead passageway in response to determining that a quantity of medication in the transportable dispenser satisfies a low quantity threshold, the pharmacy terminal configured to receive the transportable dispenser, the transportable dispenser configured to dispense the medication at the remote site at the medical facility.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: instruct, using the at least one processor, the at least one of the motorized platform, the motorized carousel, or the motorized cart to move the transportable dispenser from the pharmacy terminal to at least one of the remote site or another remote site along the at least one of the overhead track or the overhead passageway in response to determining the quantity of medication in the transportable dispenser satisfies a high quantity threshold.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: record, using the at least one processor, an expiration date of the medication in the transportable dispenser;determine, using the at least one processor, that the medication in the transportable dispenser satisfying the high quantity threshold is expired or expires within a time threshold based on the recording of the expiration date; and instruct, using the at least one processor, the at least one of the motorized platform, the motorized carousel, or the motorized cart to move the transportable dispenser from the remote site to the pharmacy terminal along the at least one of the overhead track or the overhead passageway in response to determining that the medication in the transportable dispenser satisfying the high quantity threshold is expired or expires within the time threshold for removal of the medication.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: generate, using the at least one processor, a first estimated time in which the transportable dispenser is expected to satisfy the low quantity threshold in response to determining an amount of medication needed to service patients at the remote site over a period of time; generate, using the at least one processor, a second estimated time to obtain a second transportable dispenser satisfying a high quantity threshold; and instruct, using the at least one processor, the at least one of the motorized platform, the motorized carousel, or the motorized cart to move the second transportable dispenser along the at least one of the overhead track or the overhead passageway based on the difference between the first estimated time and the second estimated time satisfying a time buffer threshold.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: determine, using the at least one processor, that the quantity of medication in the transportable dispenser satisfies the low quantity threshold; and instruct, using the at least one processor, the at least one of the motorized platform, the motorized carousel, or the motorized cart to move a second transportable dispenser along the at least one of the overhead track or the overhead passageway to the remote site in response to the quantity of medication in the transportable dispenser satisfying the low quantity threshold.

6. The system of claim 2, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to instruct, using the at least one processor, the at least one of the motorized platform, themotorized carousel, or the motorized cart to move the transportable dispenser satisfying the high quantity threshold to a different remote site in response to determining that a second transportable dispenser is situated at the remote site, the second transportable dispenser having the medication that was requested by a patient.

7. The system of claim 2, wherein the remote site is a patient terminal and wherein the transportable dispenser is configured to dispense a dose of the medication at the patient terminal.

8. The system of claim 2, further comprising: at least one of a local overhead track or a local overhead passageway situated overhead of the floor space at the medical facility, the at least one of the local overhead track or the local overhead passageway extending between a patient terminal at the medical facility and the remote site at the medical facility, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: cause, using the at least one processor, a supply container to be transported from the remote site to the patient terminal along the at least one of the local overhead track or the local overhead passageway in response to the transportable dispenser dispensing a dose of the medication into the supply container, the patient terminal configured to receive the supply container containing the medication.

9. The system of claim 8, further comprising: a medical facility data system configured to receive an alert notifying of a delivery of the supply container containing the medication and communicatively coupled to the at least one processor, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: determine, using the at least one processor, that the supply container has arrived at the patient terminal; and transmit, using the at least one processor, the alert notifying of the delivery of the supply container containing the medication to the medical facility data system.

10. The system of claim 9, further comprising at least one of a client device communicatively coupled to the medical facility data system,wherein the alert is configured to be displayed on the at least one of the client device to alert a medical facility worker of the delivery of the supply container.

11. A system comprising: at least one of an overhead track or an overhead passageway situated overhead of a floor space at a medical facility, the at least one of the overhead track or the overhead passageway extending between a patient terminal at the medical facility and a remote site at the medical facility; at least one of a motorized platform, a motorized carousel, or a motorized cart configured to travel along the at least one of the overhead track or the overhead passageway; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one of the motorized platform, the motorized carousel, or the motorized cart, the at least one processor configured to: instruct, using the at least one processor, the at least one of the motorized platform, the motorized carousel, or the motorized cart to move a supply container from the remote site to the patient terminal along the at least one of the overhead track or the overhead passageway in response to a transportable dispenser dispensing a dose of medication into the supply container, the transportable dispenser configured to dispense the medication at the remote site at the medical facility, the patient terminal configured to receive the supply container.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: instruct, using the at least one processor, the at least one of the motorized platform, the motorized carousel, or the motorized cart to move the supply container from the patient terminal to the remote site along the at least one of the overhead track or the overhead passageway in response to determining the dose of medication in the supply container has been withdrawn.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein at least one processor is further configured to: instruct, using the at least one processor, the at least one of the motorized platform, the motorized carousel, or the motorized cart to move the supply container tothe remote site along the at least one of the overhead track or the overhead passageway in response to determining that the medication in the supply container was at least one of partially used, unused, or is to be destroyed.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: generate, using the at least one processor, an estimated time in which the transportable dispenser is configured to dispense a medication into the supply container and in which the at least one of the motorized platform, the motorized carousel, or the motorized cart takes to move the supply container from the remote site to the patient terminal; determine, using the at least one processor, a time remaining to a scheduled time at which the medication in the supply container is to be delivered to the patient terminal; and instruct, using the at least one processor, the at least one of the motorized platform, the motorized carousel, or the motorized cart to move the supply container from the remote site to the patient terminal along the at least one of the overhead track or the overhead passageway to deliver the medication based on a difference between the estimated time and the time remaining to the scheduled time satisfying a time buffer threshold.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to instruct, using the at least one processor, the at least one of the motorized platform, the motorized carousel, or the motorized cart to move the supply container to a different patient terminal in response to determining that a patient has changed locations and that the supply container includes a medication that was requested for the patient.

16. The system of claim 11, further comprising: a medical facility data system configured to receive an alert notifying of a delivery of the supply container containing the medication and communicatively coupled to the at least one processor, wherein the at least one processor is configured to:determine, using the at least one processor, that the supply container has arrived at the patient terminal; and transmit, using the at least one processor, the alert notifying of the delivery of the supply container containing the medication to the medical facility data system.

17. The system of claim 16, further comprising at least one of a client device communicatively coupled to the medical facility data system, wherein the alert is configured to be displayed on the at least one of the client device to alert a medical facility worker of the delivery of the supply container.

18. The system of claim 11, further comprising: at least one of a pharmacy overhead track or a pharmacy overhead passageway situated overhead of the floor space at the medical facility, the at least one of the pharmacy overhead track or the pharmacy overhead passageway extending between the patient terminal at the medical facility and the remote site at the medical facility, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: cause, using the at least one processor, the transportable dispenser to be transported from the remote site to a pharmacy terminal situated in the medical facility along the at least one of the overhead track or the overhead passageway in response to determining that a quantity of medication in the transportable dispenser satisfies a low quantity threshold, the pharmacy terminal configured to receive the transportable dispenser.

19. A system comprising: at least one of an overhead track or an overhead passageway situated overhead of a floor space at a medical facility, the at least one of the overhead track or the overhead passageway extending between a pharmacy terminal at the medical facility and a remote site at the medical facility; and at least one processor, the at least one processor configured to: cause, using the at least one processor, a transportable dispenser to be transported from the remote site to the pharmacy terminal situated in the medical facility along the at least one of the overhead track or the overhead passageway in response to determining that the transportable dispenser needs to be moved from thepharmacy terminal to the remote site, the pharmacy terminal configured to receive the transportable dispenser, the transportable dispenser configured to dispense the medication at the remote site at the medical facility.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: cause, using the at least one processor, the transportable dispenser to be transported to the remote site the at least one of the overhead track or the overhead passageway in response to determining the quantity of medication in the transportable dispenser satisfies a high quantity threshold, the transportable dispenser configured to dispense the medication at the remote site at the medical facility.

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