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WO2011109862A1 - Header sheet control of a dispenser - Google Patents

Header sheet control of a dispenser Download PDF

Info

Publication number
WO2011109862A1
WO2011109862A1 PCT/AU2011/000256 AU2011000256W WO2011109862A1 WO 2011109862 A1 WO2011109862 A1 WO 2011109862A1 AU 2011000256 W AU2011000256 W AU 2011000256W WO 2011109862 A1 WO2011109862 A1 WO 2011109862A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
dispenser
blister
sheet
header
header card
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/AU2011/000256
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Gerard Stevens
Ian Stevens
Peter Stevens
Original Assignee
Manrex Pty. Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from AU2010901016A external-priority patent/AU2010901016A0/en
Application filed by Manrex Pty. Ltd filed Critical Manrex Pty. Ltd
Publication of WO2011109862A1 publication Critical patent/WO2011109862A1/en

Links

Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G16—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR SPECIFIC APPLICATION FIELDS
    • G16H—HEALTHCARE INFORMATICS, i.e. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR THE HANDLING OR PROCESSING OF MEDICAL OR HEALTHCARE DATA
    • G16H20/00—ICT specially adapted for therapies or health-improving plans, e.g. for handling prescriptions, for steering therapy or for monitoring patient compliance
    • G16H20/10—ICT specially adapted for therapies or health-improving plans, e.g. for handling prescriptions, for steering therapy or for monitoring patient compliance relating to drugs or medications, e.g. for ensuring correct administration to patients
    • G16H20/13—ICT specially adapted for therapies or health-improving plans, e.g. for handling prescriptions, for steering therapy or for monitoring patient compliance relating to drugs or medications, e.g. for ensuring correct administration to patients delivered from dispensers

Definitions

  • THIS INVENTION relates to the control of as dispenser which automates the loading of blisters of a blister sheet with doses of prescribed medication.
  • Dispensers have been proposed for reducing the time a pharmacist has to spend in loading prescribed doses of medication into the cavities of blisters of a blister sheet Each blister contains medication to be administered to a particular patient at a time and day denoted by the position of the blister on the blister sheet.
  • a foil or a header card is applied to the blister sheet by the pharmacist to seal the contents of the blisters into the blister cavities.
  • the sealed blister sheet commonly referred to as a 'blister package', is then passed to a patient or to a patient-care facility responsible for administering the medication doses to the patient.
  • the first is to print the header card with the appropriate patient and medication information; the second step is to place an unloaded blister sheet in the dispenser and to set it up to deliver in each of the blister cavities the5 medication doses required by a particular medical prescription; and the third step is to seal the header card to the blister sheet so that all of the blister cavities are hermetically closed by a frangible foil backing strip and the blister package has the printed header card attached.
  • An object of this invention is to reduce the risk of an error occurring in the assembly of a blister package.
  • a dispenser for loading the cavities of a blister sheet with prescribed medication doses has: a data-store or bar-code reading device for extracting from a printed header card coded information relating to the medication prescribed for a particular patient; first means to control the dispenser to load the blister cavities with the prescribed doses of medication provided by the coded information; and second means for facilitating the attachment of the header sheet to the loaded blister sheet after the header sheet has been checked to ensure it corresponds to that for whom the prescribed medication in the blister cavities are to be administered.
  • the coded information should at least positively identify the patient and the medication doses which should be contained in the individual cavities of the loaded blister sheet.
  • the header sheet is providing the required coded information from the data-store or bar-code to the dispenser it is held at a particular station until the loading of the blister cavities is completed.
  • This station may comprise a sealer for attaching the header sheet to the blister sheet after the blister cavities have been loaded and before either the blister sheet or the header sheet can be separately removed from the sealer by the pharmacist.
  • a final comparison check is carried out to ensure that the doses actually loaded into each of the blister cavities corresponds to that specified inthe data extracted from the store or the bar code.
  • the printer for producing the printed header sheet and sealer may be provided outside of a casing containing the other components of the dispenser.
  • the printer and the sealer may be components located within the casing of the dispenser.
  • FIGURE 1 shows one arrangement of components of a dispenser with a sealer and a printer contained within a casing of the dispenser;
  • FIGURE 2 shows a second arrangement in which a sealer and a printer are provided externally to a casing containing the other components of the dispenser of figure 1.
  • the block diagram of figure 1 shows a keyboard 1 enabling a pharmacist to transfer to a blank header card information concerning the positive identification of a patient who is to receive medication, and the medication doses which have been prescribed by a doctor to be administered to the patient at specified times on different days of the week. All of this information is printed by a printer 2 onto a blank header card obtained from a holder 3.
  • a printed header card 4 so produced provides sufficient visual information concerning the patient to enable a person entrusted with the responsibility of administering the prescribed medication doses, to check the patient's identity first.
  • the printer 2 also provides at a location 6 on the card 4 the coded data in the form of a binary code or other form of data store.
  • the printed card 4 is positioned at a code-reading station 5 forming part of a dose dispenser 7 shown within the broken outline, to enable the data store 6 to be read by a decoding device 8 which controls operation of a controller 9 and a ring of dose-storage containers 10.
  • Each of the storage containers 10 has a controlled bottom opening (not shown) through which one or more medication doses can be released in accordance with information provided by the decoder 8.
  • a specified type of medication dose identified by a further binary code on the outside of the container 10 enables the container contents to be checked for correctness when it is at a dose-discharge position and prior to it releasing a prescribed dose of medication.
  • Circuitry (not shown) is also provided for calculating the number of medication doses still remaining in the container 10 at any particular time during loading of medication doses into a blister cavity of a blister sheet. All of this information may be conveniently displayed with any other required information, on a screen 113 located on the dispenser 7 at a position in front of the operator.
  • One example of such other information is a warning that, according to information obtained from the code reader 5 or some other source, the patient has an allergic reaction to a particular medication.
  • the open blister sheet is transferred to a sealer 12 which also receives the printed header sheet 4 from the code reader 5.
  • the sealer 12 applies the printed header sheet 4 to the blister sheet to seal the medication doses into the cavities of the blisters in a manner known in the art to provide a sealed blister package can then be passed to the patient.
  • the movements of the blister sheet and the header card to the sealer 12 are automatically controlled so that there is no human intervention involved between the time the header card is printed and the time the hermetically sealed blister package emerges from the sealer 12.
  • the dispenser has the components providing the keyboard , the printer 2', a holder 3' for blank header cards, and a sealer 12' for attaching a printed header card to a loaded blister sheet, arranged outside a dispenser casing 7 ⁇ shown in broken outline, and containing the remaining components of the dispenser. Modifications to the above-described examples of the invention.
  • the arrangement of the containers in a ring rotatable in steps about its axis to bring a particular container to the dose-discharge position may be replaced by other arrangements of containers.
  • the containers may be stacked vertically above one another as is described in our Australian Patent No. 2001261921.
  • the containers may be arranged in a horizontal rectilinear formation and indexing mechanisms used to bring a particular container to a dose-discharge position.
  • the containers are stationery and the doses released from them are collected in a temporary holding chamber which may be ' moveable from container to container and only stopping beneath one of them when it is identified as holding a dose required by the cavity to be loaded.
  • the blister cavity which is to receive the doses is located at a dose-loading position at a level beneath the holding chamber in readiness to receive its held doses as soon as they have all been collected.

Landscapes

  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Bioinformatics & Cheminformatics (AREA)
  • Medicinal Chemistry (AREA)
  • Epidemiology (AREA)
  • General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Medical Informatics (AREA)
  • Primary Health Care (AREA)
  • Public Health (AREA)
  • Auxiliary Devices For And Details Of Packaging Control (AREA)

Abstract

A dispenser is provided with a casing (7) containing a number of components one of which is a printer (2) into which a pharmacist can insert from a keyboard (1) information relevant to a particular patient. The information relates to the patient's identity and to medication doses which are to be administered to the patient at particular times on particular days as prescribed by a doctor. A holder (3) for blank header cards is contained in the casing (7) and enables the printer (2) to produce a header card (4) containing all of the above information in the form of a bar code (6). The dispenser loads cavities of a blister sheet with the prescribed medication doses and when loading is completed the blister sheet with the loaded but open cavities is transferred to a sealer (12). The printed header card (4) is lo transferred to the sealer (12) and when the medication doses in the blister sheet have been checked for correctness the header card is attached to the blister sheet to complete the assembly of a sealed and loaded blister sheet with the header card (4) attached. The blister package, so-formed, can then be released by the dispenser. The advantage of the dispenser is that the pharmacist cannot intervene in the assembly of the blister package so that the risk of human error during the assembly is diminished or avoided altogether.

Description

HEADER SHEET CONTROL OF A DISPENSER Field of the invention
THIS INVENTION relates to the control of as dispenser which automates the loading of blisters of a blister sheet with doses of prescribed medication. State of the art
Dispensers have been proposed for reducing the time a pharmacist has to spend in loading prescribed doses of medication into the cavities of blisters of a blister sheet Each blister contains medication to be administered to a particular patient at a time and day denoted by the position of the blister on the blister sheet. When the blister cavities have been loaded, a foil or a header card is applied to the blister sheet by the pharmacist to seal the contents of the blisters into the blister cavities. The sealed blister sheet, commonly referred to as a 'blister package', is then passed to a patient or to a patient-care facility responsible for administering the medication doses to the patient.
Various ways have been proposed for positively identifying a patient who is to receive5 prescribed medication doses from the blister package before the medication is actually a<lministered, and for providing the person administering the doses with information relating to the nature and quantity of the doses in each of the blister cavities. This information may be copious and it is conveniently stored in a bar code or similar information store, printed or otherwise provided on the header card when it is preparedo for sealing to the blister sheet.
There are thus a minimum of three steps which have to be undertaken by a pharmacist when assembling a blister package. The first is to print the header card with the appropriate patient and medication information; the second step is to place an unloaded blister sheet in the dispenser and to set it up to deliver in each of the blister cavities the5 medication doses required by a particular medical prescription; and the third step is to seal the header card to the blister sheet so that all of the blister cavities are hermetically closed by a frangible foil backing strip and the blister package has the printed header card attached.
Object of the invention
An object of this invention is to reduce the risk of an error occurring in the assembly of a blister package.
The invention
In accordance with the present invention a dispenser for loading the cavities of a blister sheet with prescribed medication doses, has: a data-store or bar-code reading device for extracting from a printed header card coded information relating to the medication prescribed for a particular patient; first means to control the dispenser to load the blister cavities with the prescribed doses of medication provided by the coded information; and second means for facilitating the attachment of the header sheet to the loaded blister sheet after the header sheet has been checked to ensure it corresponds to that for whom the prescribed medication in the blister cavities are to be administered. The coded information should at least positively identify the patient and the medication doses which should be contained in the individual cavities of the loaded blister sheet.
Preferred features of the invention
Preferably when the header sheet is providing the required coded information from the data-store or bar-code to the dispenser it is held at a particular station until the loading of the blister cavities is completed. This station may comprise a sealer for attaching the header sheet to the blister sheet after the blister cavities have been loaded and before either the blister sheet or the header sheet can be separately removed from the sealer by the pharmacist. Conveniently a final comparison check is carried out to ensure that the doses actually loaded into each of the blister cavities corresponds to that specified inthe data extracted from the store or the bar code.
The printer for producing the printed header sheet and sealer may be provided outside of a casing containing the other components of the dispenser. Alternatively the printer and the sealer may be components located within the casing of the dispenser. Introduction to the drawing
The invention will now be described in more detail by way of examples, with reference to accompanying block schematic drawings, which respectively show, in a greatly simplified form, examples of how the invention may be put into effect, and in which: FIGURE 1 shows one arrangement of components of a dispenser with a sealer and a printer contained within a casing of the dispenser; and,
FIGURE 2 shows a second arrangement in which a sealer and a printer are provided externally to a casing containing the other components of the dispenser of figure 1.
Description of first example of the invention
The block diagram of figure 1 shows a keyboard 1 enabling a pharmacist to transfer to a blank header card information concerning the positive identification of a patient who is to receive medication, and the medication doses which have been prescribed by a doctor to be administered to the patient at specified times on different days of the week. All of this information is printed by a printer 2 onto a blank header card obtained from a holder 3. A printed header card 4 so produced provides sufficient visual information concerning the patient to enable a person entrusted with the responsibility of administering the prescribed medication doses, to check the patient's identity first. The printer 2 also provides at a location 6 on the card 4 the coded data in the form of a binary code or other form of data store. The printed card 4 is positioned at a code-reading station 5 forming part of a dose dispenser 7 shown within the broken outline, to enable the data store 6 to be read by a decoding device 8 which controls operation of a controller 9 and a ring of dose-storage containers 10.
Each of the storage containers 10 has a controlled bottom opening (not shown) through which one or more medication doses can be released in accordance with information provided by the decoder 8. A specified type of medication dose, identified by a further binary code on the outside of the container 10 enables the container contents to be checked for correctness when it is at a dose-discharge position and prior to it releasing a prescribed dose of medication. Circuitry (not shown) is also provided for calculating the number of medication doses still remaining in the container 10 at any particular time during loading of medication doses into a blister cavity of a blister sheet. All of this information may be conveniently displayed with any other required information, on a screen 113 located on the dispenser 7 at a position in front of the operator. One example of such other information is a warning that, according to information obtained from the code reader 5 or some other source, the patient has an allergic reaction to a particular medication.
When all of the blisters have been loaded with their prescribed medication doses, the open blister sheet is transferred to a sealer 12 which also receives the printed header sheet 4 from the code reader 5. The sealer 12 applies the printed header sheet 4 to the blister sheet to seal the medication doses into the cavities of the blisters in a manner known in the art to provide a sealed blister package can then be passed to the patient. The movements of the blister sheet and the header card to the sealer 12 are automatically controlled so that there is no human intervention involved between the time the header card is printed and the time the hermetically sealed blister package emerges from the sealer 12.
Second example of invention
The example of the invention shown in Figure 2 uses the same components as those shown in Figure 1 and these are identified with the same reference numerals. However the numerals are primed. This saves unnecessary repetition of description. In Figure 2 the dispenser has the components providing the keyboard , the printer 2', a holder 3' for blank header cards, and a sealer 12' for attaching a printed header card to a loaded blister sheet, arranged outside a dispenser casing 7\ shown in broken outline, and containing the remaining components of the dispenser. Modifications to the above-described examples of the invention.
The arrangement of the containers in a ring rotatable in steps about its axis to bring a particular container to the dose-discharge position, may be replaced by other arrangements of containers. For example, the containers may be stacked vertically above one another as is described in our Australian Patent No. 2001261921. Alternatively the containers may be arranged in a horizontal rectilinear formation and indexing mechanisms used to bring a particular container to a dose-discharge position. In yet another arrangement the containers are stationery and the doses released from them are collected in a temporary holding chamber which may be' moveable from container to container and only stopping beneath one of them when it is identified as holding a dose required by the cavity to be loaded. While all of the doses required for a particular blister cavity are being accumulated in the holding chamber, the blister cavity which is to receive the doses is located at a dose-loading position at a level beneath the holding chamber in readiness to receive its held doses as soon as they have all been collected.

Claims

1. A dispenser for loading the cavities of a blister sheet with prescribed medication doses, having: a reading device for extracting from a header card coded information relating to the medication prescribed for a particular patient; first means to control the dispenser to load the blister cavities with the prescribed doses of medication provided by the coded information; and, second means for attaching the header sheet to the loaded blister sheet after the header sheet has been checked to ensure it corresponds to that for whom the prescribed medication doses in the blister cavities are to be administered.
2. A dispenser as set forth in Claim 1, in which the reading device extracts the required information for operating the dispenser, while the header card is being held at a particular station and until the loading of the blister cavities is completed.
3. A dispenser as set forth in Claim 2, in which the station is located in a casing containing apparatus for sealing the header card to the blister sheet after the blister cavities have been loaded, and neither the blister sheet nor the header card can be separately removed by the pharmacist from the casing until the header card has been attached to the blister sheet.
4. A dispenser as claimed in a Claim 1 or Claim 2, in which the printer for the header card and a sealer used to attach the printed header card to the blister sheet are both located outside of a casing containing the other components of the dispenser.
PCT/AU2011/000256 2010-03-11 2011-03-08 Header sheet control of a dispenser WO2011109862A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AU2010901016 2010-03-11
AU2010901016A AU2010901016A0 (en) 2010-03-11 Header Sheet Control of Dispenser

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2011109862A1 true WO2011109862A1 (en) 2011-09-15

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ID=44562737

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/AU2011/000256 WO2011109862A1 (en) 2010-03-11 2011-03-08 Header sheet control of a dispenser

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Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2013016757A1 (en) * 2011-08-04 2013-02-07 Manrex Pty. Ltd. Improvements relating to printing

Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5963453A (en) * 1996-11-25 1999-10-05 Medication Management, Inc. System and method for processing prescription medications
US20010017817A1 (en) * 1997-03-28 2001-08-30 Carlos De La Huerga Product labeling method and apparatus
US6449921B1 (en) * 2001-04-16 2002-09-17 Jv Medi Co., Ltd. Tablet supplying and packaging apparatus having turntable and tablet cassettes
US20050131733A1 (en) * 2001-12-17 2005-06-16 Allen Lubow Sealable individual bar coded packets
WO2006055515A1 (en) * 2004-11-15 2006-05-26 The Escher Group, Ltd. System and method for dispensing, sorting and delivering prescription and non-prescription medications through the post office

Patent Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5963453A (en) * 1996-11-25 1999-10-05 Medication Management, Inc. System and method for processing prescription medications
US20010017817A1 (en) * 1997-03-28 2001-08-30 Carlos De La Huerga Product labeling method and apparatus
US6449921B1 (en) * 2001-04-16 2002-09-17 Jv Medi Co., Ltd. Tablet supplying and packaging apparatus having turntable and tablet cassettes
US20050131733A1 (en) * 2001-12-17 2005-06-16 Allen Lubow Sealable individual bar coded packets
WO2006055515A1 (en) * 2004-11-15 2006-05-26 The Escher Group, Ltd. System and method for dispensing, sorting and delivering prescription and non-prescription medications through the post office

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2013016757A1 (en) * 2011-08-04 2013-02-07 Manrex Pty. Ltd. Improvements relating to printing
US9308744B2 (en) 2011-08-04 2016-04-12 Manrex Pty Ltd. Blister package printer
AU2012289815B2 (en) * 2011-08-04 2017-08-03 Manrex Pty. Ltd. Improvements relating to printing

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