Secure Medication Container with Sloped Top and Dual Locks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Healthcare facilities face challenges in securely storing and tracking medications, particularly in large settings where frequent access and auditing are difficult, leading to issues like theft, loss, and improper administration.
Innovation Solution
A compact, transparent medication storage container with a sloped top and dual locking mechanism, including a key and touchpad combination lock, designed to fit on service carts and allow secure access while preventing theft and loss, with features like securement apertures for attaching to carts and tracking options.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If medications are stored in secure locked containers in central locations, then medication security and theft prevention are improved, but access time and convenience for medical personnel deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the medication storage system into multiple distributed secure containers placed at various locations (nurses' stations, patient rooms, service carts) rather than one central secure location. Each container is independently lockable and can be accessed by authorized personnel at its location, eliminating the need to travel to a central secure storage area for each medication retrieval.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces secure container units as intermediary storage devices between the central pharmacy/medication supply and the point-of-use locations. These containers act as distributed caches that hold medications securely while being easily accessible to medical personnel at multiple locations throughout the facility.
2Ease of operation
If medications are carried on service carts for easy access during patient rounds, then accessibility and convenience are improved, but medication security and risk of theft/loss deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges the functions of a service cart and a secure storage container into a single integrated unit. The secure container is designed to attach to or be part of the service cart structure, providing both the mobility needed for patient rounds and the security needed to protect medications. The container includes its own locking mechanism that secures medications while allowing quick access by authorized personnel.
3Ease of operation
If medications are stored in patients' rooms for convenience during administration, then accessibility is improved, but risk of loss, theft, and patient self-dosing deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The invention introduces a secure container as an intermediary storage device that can be placed in patient rooms. This container provides a locked, controlled-access storage space for medications during administration, preventing patient access while allowing quick retrieval by authorized nursing staff. The secure container acts as a mediator between the need for medication availability and the need to prevent patient self-dosing.
4Reliability
If frequent audits and tracking of medications are performed to prevent theft and loss, then medication security is improved, but operational complexity and time consumption deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The invention incorporates tracking mechanisms that provide feedback on medication location and access. Each secure container can be equipped with identifiers, RFID tags, or other tracking devices that allow the system to monitor where medications are stored and who accesses them. This feedback enables automated or simplified auditing processes that reduce manual tracking complexity while maintaining security.
Data Source
AI summary
A medication container is designed for secure storage of medications and other controlled substances. The container top has a sloped configuration which resists the stacking of medical files and other objects atop it (which might obscure view of the container), and it also includes a curved sliding front door allowing both a frontal and top view of medications within the container. The door is locked by use of two separate locks, one intended for a pharmacist or other medication control officer, and one by the personnel administering the medication to patients, whereby either of these parties may independently access the interior of the container. The container is also preferably designed to rapidly have a removable medication tray installed within or removed from its interior, and to rapidly be fixed to a medication cart, patient bedside table, or other structure.