Remote Prescription Fill Verification Using Pharmacy Product Imaging
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Solution Overview
Problem
In traditional pharmacy settings, pharmacists are often not physically present when technicians fill prescriptions, leading to potential verification errors and inefficiencies in the process.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing digitized images and networked computer systems allows pharmacists to remotely verify and approve dispensed pharmaceutical products by capturing and reviewing images of the filled prescriptions from a different location.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a pharmacist is physically present at the same location as the technician to verify filled prescriptions, then verification accuracy is improved, but operational efficiency and resource utilization deteriorate due to restricted pharmacist mobility and increased verification time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates digital copies (images) of the filled prescription and pharmaceutical product, allowing the pharmacist to review these copies remotely rather than requiring physical presence. The image capture device captures images of the filled prescription, and these images are transmitted to a remote computing device for verification, eliminating the need for the pharmacist to be physically present at the technician's location.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary system consisting of image capture devices, computing devices, and communication networks that mediate between the technician's filling process and the pharmacist's verification process. This intermediary digital communication system enables remote verification while maintaining verification accuracy, resolving the contradiction between presence-based accuracy and mobility-based efficiency.
2Reliability
If a pharmacist remains at a fixed location to perform verification, then verification thoroughness is improved, but system adaptability and pharmacist versatility deteriorate due to limited mobility
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions the verification process from a single physical location to multiple dimensions by enabling remote access through digital networks. The pharmacist can verify prescriptions from any location with internet connectivity, adding the dimension of spatial freedom while maintaining verification thoroughness through the digital image review process.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes the pharmacist's verification capability universal by enabling access from multiple locations and devices. The pharmacist is no longer constrained to a single fixed location but can perform verification tasks from anywhere in the network, increasing versatility while maintaining reliability through consistent verification protocols.
3Ease of operation
If traditional in-person verification process is used, then process simplicity is maintained, but device complexity and system infrastructure requirements increase when implementing remote verification
Solution Approach 1:
The system is designed to be self-service in that the image capture device automatically captures images of the filled prescription, and the system automatically transmits and displays these images to the pharmacist. This automation reduces the operational complexity for users while the backend infrastructure handles the complexity of remote communication and image management.
Data Source
AI summary
Image based and network controlled, security systems and methods are disclosed herein for securely dispensing pharmaceutical products onsite at a physical location. A server receives scanned prescription image corresponding to a prescription of a user and determines a pharmaceutical product and a pharmaceutical product amount of the pharmaceutical product. The server receives, from a pharmaceutical product imaging device positioned within a physically secured pharmacy area, images of the pharmaceutical product, and then transmits, to a visualization user interface application executing on a network computer positioned outside the physically secured pharmacy area, a visual confirmation of the pharmaceutical product and the pharmaceutical product amount. The server receives, from the visualization user interface application, a verification of the visual confirmation, and updates, based on the verification, the user account with a ready state corresponding to the prescription, wherein the ready state indicates that the user may receive the pharmaceutical product.