Central fill facility and associated drug dispensing system and method

US11386390B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• McKesson Corporation · US

Inventors

• Bradley Stump · Atlanta, US
• Anujit Sen · Planada, US
• Terese Baugh · Fort Worth, US
• Shubhangi Joshi · Alpharetta, US
• Richard Selby · Atlanta, US
• Seth Phillips · Atlanta, US
• Steve Maxwell · Sunnyvale, US
• Andrew Maurer · New York, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Mar 31, 2017
• Grant date: Jul 12, 2022
• Expiry date: Apr 18, 2039

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G16H20/13
• WIPO field: IT methods for management
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

A central fill facility, drug dispensing system and method are provided in order to efficiently and accurately dispense a plurality of different drugs. The drug dispensing system includes a storage system configured to store a plurality of different drugs including a co-located inventory of a respective drug having both a first portion of the inventory of the respective drug to be dispensed pursuant to a predefined program and a second portion of the inventory of the respective drug that is not to be dispensed pursuant to the predefined program. The drug dispensing system also includes the dispensing station and dispensing control circuitry. The dispensing control circuitry is configured to control the dispensing station such that the first portion of the respective predefined program eligible drug is dispensed prior to dispensing the second portion of the respective predefined program ineligible drug.