Systems and methods for dispensing medications based on proximity to an electronic medication storage cabinet
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electronic medication storage cabinets in healthcare facilities can be inadvertently opened by authorized clinicians, leading to increased risks of theft and incorrect medication administration.
Innovation Solution
A system that uses location-based permissions to enable or disable medication administration functions on a computing device, ensuring that only authorized clinicians can perform specific functions near the relevant electronic medication storage cabinets, thereby enhancing security and reducing diversion and administration errors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If authorized clinicians are granted access to electronic medication storage cabinets, then medication administration functionality is improved, but security risk increases due to inadvertent opening and potential theft or wrong medication administration
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies different access permissions to different geographic locations. Clinicians can only perform medication administration functions when their computing device is within a predetermined distance of the electronic medication storage cabinet. This location-based permission system allows authorized access when needed while preventing unauthorized remote access, thus resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and security risk
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces a server as an intermediary that mediates between the computing device and the electronic medication storage cabinet. The server receives location information, determines whether the device is within the predetermined area, and controls whether medication administration functions are enabled. This intermediary layer adds a security checkpoint that prevents inadvertent opening and potential theft while maintaining legitimate access
2Object-affected harmful factors
If location-based permissioning is implemented to improve security, then security risk is reduced, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The server performs multiple functions: it receives location information from computing devices, determines whether devices are within predetermined areas, manages permissioning for multiple medication administration functions, and communicates with multiple electronic medication storage cabinets. By consolidating these security-related functions in a single multi-functional server, the system achieves enhanced security without proportionally increasing overall system complexity
Data Source
AI summary
A method includes providing, on a computing device, when a user of the device is authorized, a user interface including respective representations of first medication administration functions and second medication administration functions associated with storage of the one or more medications and, in response to determining that the computing device is within the first predetermined area, enabling the computing device to perform the one or more first medication administration functions associated with the first predetermined area to cause, responsive to a selection of a displayed representation of the one or more first medication administration functions, a respective electronic medication storage cabinet associated with the selected displayed representation to perform an operation regarding a physical storage of a medication associated with a patient of the one or more patients, and preventing the computing device from performing the one or more second medication administration functions not associated with the first predetermined area.