| CPC A61J 7/0069 (2013.01) [G16H 20/13 (2018.01); A61J 2200/70 (2013.01); A61J 2205/60 (2013.01); G06Q 10/087 (2013.01)] | 16 Claims |
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1. A method of dispensing medications and medical items from a medications cart or cabinet at a patient treatment site wherein the medications and medical items are identified automatically without scanning when selected and removed, and wherein an inventory of the contents of the medication cart of cabinet is automatically updated when the medication or medical item is taken, comprising
placing a tray onto a shelf at a loading station, the tray having a floor and dividing walls forming a plurality of open-top compartments in said tray in a predetermined pattern; said compartments each being provided without a lid or cover and being configured to accept and hold a medication or medical item, said floor closing off each said compartment and having respective transparent windows therein at locations of said compartments and said tray having a unique identifying code thereon, and said shelf including a plurality of optical presence sensors positioned at respective locations of said windows when said at least one tray is positioned on said at least one shelf;
each said optical presence sensor detecting only the presence or absence of a medication or medical item in the respective one of said compartments;
recording a unique identifying code for said tray; and
loading selected medications and medical items into said tray, including the steps of:
selecting medications and medical items to be placed into respective compartments in the tray, and for each said medication and medical item, entering an identity of the selected medication or medical item into a digitally stored inventory for said tray, and placing the medication or medical item into a respective one of said compartments of the tray, whereupon the presence detector associated with the respective compartment produces a signal to associate the location of said compartment in said tray with the identity of such medication or medical item in said inventory; and repeating the above-recited steps of selecting, entering, placing and associating for the remaining medications and medical items to be placed into said tray.
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