Customized visual marking for medication labeling

1 . A method of marking a medication or other health-related product comprising:

establishing a visual identifier for a health-related substance designated for use by a particular patient, which visual identifier includes a primary recognizable symbolic aspect intended to facilitate identification of the particular patient; and

providing a display scheme for incorporating the visual identifier in close association with a substance dosage.

2 . The method of claim 1 further comprising:

maintaining a cross-reference to correlate one or more particular patients with their respective visual identifiers.

3 . The method of claim 2 wherein said maintaining the cross-reference includes:

maintaining the cross-reference in one or more of the following locations: database, patient ID tag, patient profile, medication list, patient chart, patient profile, pharmacy, nurse station, caretaker facility, caregiver instructions, healthcare regimen recommendations, product packaging, prescription document, prescription record, insurance record, user profile, and online profile.

4 . The method of claim 2 further comprising:

keeping the cross-reference in a location that is accessible to a family member or caregiver or medical personnel having responsibility for the particular patient.

5 . The method of claim 2 further comprising:

incorporating the cross-reference in human-readable form as part of packaging for the health-related substance.

6 . The method of claim 1 wherein said establishing the visual identifier includes:

providing one or more non-alphanumeric symbolic aspects.

7 . The method of claim 1 wherein said establishing the visual identifier includes:

providing the visual identifier with one or more of the following type of symbolic aspects: abbreviated alphanumeric, non-alphanumeric, graphical, image, icon and indicia.

8 . (canceled)

9 . (canceled)

10 . The method of claim 1 wherein said establishing the visual identifier includes:

providing a combination of an alphanumeric aspect and non-alphanumeric aspect.

11 . The method of claim 1 further comprising:

displaying a supplemental visual identifier in close association with the substance dosage, which supplemental visual identifier includes one or more specified recognizable symbolic aspects that are intended to suggest proper administration of the health-related substance.

12 . The method of claim 11 further comprising:

implementing specified recognizable symbolic aspects that are correlated to one or more of the following types of substance administration information: take internally, apply externally, dosage frequency, dosage amount, maximum dosage, substance storage environment, self-administered, caregiver administered, nurse administered, physician administered, keep securely locked away, maximum dosage, take with food, take with water, take with beverage, take before meal, take after meal, expiration, no refill, allowed refill, possible side effects, interactions, synergies, risk, warning, disclaimer, antidote, and ingredient.

13 . The method of claim 11 further comprising:

implementing specified recognizable symbolic aspects that are correlated to one or more of the following type of health-related issues: pain, fever, anxiety, fall, injury, accident, bite, bleeding, inflammation, infection, drowsiness, insomnia, discomfort, stress, grooming, appearance, capability, performance, improvement, enhancement, curtailment, wellbeing, vitality, vigor, disability, phobia, malady, psychosis, environmental extremes, environmental exposure, dysfunction, disease symptom, chronic condition, mental acuity, emotional behavior, physical prowess, addiction, obsession, therapy, remedy, behavior, nutrition, diet, exercise, immunization, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.

14 . The method of claim 11 further comprising:

maintaining a cross-reference information to correlate substance administration information or health-related issues with their respective specified recognizable symbolic aspects.

15 . The method of claim 14 further comprising:

displaying the cross-reference information in a location that is accessible to the particular patient.

16 . The method of claim 14 further comprising:

displaying the cross-reference information in a location that is accessible to a family member or caregiver or medical personnel having responsibility for the particular patient.

17 . (canceled)

18 . The method of claim 11 further comprising:

providing one or more primary recognizable symbolic aspects of the visual identifier that are distinguishable as compared to the specified recognizable symbolic aspects of the supplemental visual identifier.

19 . (canceled)

20 . (canceled)

21 . (canceled)

22 . The method of claim 1 wherein said providing the display scheme includes:

incorporating the visual identifier as part of packaging or labeling for the substance dosage.

23 . (canceled)

24 . The method of claim 1 wherein said providing the display scheme includes:

incorporating the visual identifier as an integral part of the substance dosage.

25 . The method of claim 24 wherein said incorporating the visual identifier includes:

incorporating the visual identifier as an integral part of the substance dosage that is administered internally to the particular patient.

26 . The method of claim 24 wherein said incorporating the visual identifier includes:

incorporating the visual identifier as an integral port of the substance dosage that is administered externally to the particular patient.

27 . The method of claim 1 wherein said providing the display scheme includes:

incorporating the visual identifier as part of one or more separate components of the substance dosage.

28 . (canceled)

29 . (canceled)

30 . (canceled)

31 . (canceled)

32 . (canceled)

33 . The method of claim 1 wherein said providing the display scheme includes:

incorporating one or more of the following types of visual identifier as an integral part of the health-related substance dosage: name abbreviation, name initials, nickname, gender, age, height, weight, patient photo, address, attending physician, prescribing physician, caregiver, alias, avatar, buddy icon, URL, ID, affiliation, alphanumeric, text, graphic, color, pattern, format, shape, texture, and indicia.

34 . (canceled)

35 . (canceled)

36 . (canceled)

37 . (canceled)

38 . The method of claim 1 further comprising:

implementing one or more of the following type of primary recognizable symbolic aspects of the visual identifier that are intended to facilitate identification of the particular patient: name abbreviation, name initials, nickname, gender, age, height, weight, patient photo, address, attending physician, prescribing physician, caregiver, alias, avatar, buddy icon, URL, ID, affiliation, alphanumeric, text, image, graphic, color, pattern, format, shape, texture, and indicia.

39 . The method of claim 1 wherein said method is incorporated in one or more computer program products with a carrier medium having program instructions encoded thereon.

40 . The method of claim 1 wherein said method is incorporated in one or more computer program products having program instructions encoded on a storage carrier medium.

41 . The method of claim 1 wherein said method is incorporated in one or more computer program products having program instructions encoded on a communication signal carrier medium.

42 . A medication or other health-related product comprising:

a health-related substance designated for use by a particular patient;

a visual identifier that includes one or more recognizable primary symbolic aspects intended to facilitate identification of the particular patient; and

a substance dosage to be administered internally or externally to the particular patient, which substance dosage incorporates the visual identifier as an integral display characteristic of the actual substance dosage and/or as a display element of a package or label in close association with the actual substance dosage.

43 . The product of claim 42 wherein said visual identifier further includes:

a recognizable primary symbolic aspect intended to facilitate identification of one or more particular patients with a given symptom or deficiency.

44 . The product of claim 42 wherein said visual identifier further includes:

one or more recognizable primary symbolic aspects intended to facilitate identification of one or more particular patients having a shared affiliation or grouping.

45 . (canceled)

46 . The product of claim 42 further comprising:

cross-reference data information for correlating one or more particular patients with their respective visual identifiers.

47 . The product of claim 46 wherein said cross-reference information includes:

cross-reference information accessible at one or more of the following locations: database, patient ID tag, patient profile, medication list, patient chart, patient profile, pharmacy, nurse station, caretaker facility, caregiver instructions, healthcare regimen recommendations, product packaging, prescription document, prescription record, insurance record, user profile, and online profile.

48 . The product of claim 42 wherein said substance dosage further includes:

a substance dosage that incorporates the visual identifier having a distinguishable shape or color or pattern or texture as an integral display characteristic of the actual substance dosage.

49 . (canceled)

50 . The product of claim 42 further comprising:

a supplemental visual identifier in close association with the actual substance dosage, which supplemental visual identifier includes one or more specified recognizable symbolic aspects that are intended to suggest proper administration of the health-related substance.

51 . The product of claim 42 wherein said health-related substance includes:

separate dosages of different health-related substances that each display one or more symbolic aspects of the visual identifier.

52 . The product of claim 42 wherein said health-related substance includes:

separate dosages of pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical products that each display one or more symbolic aspects of the visual identifier.

53 . The product of claim 42 further comprising:

one or more additional components for use in connection with administration of the medication or other health-related product, wherein such additional component displays one or more symbolic aspects of the visual identifier.

54 . A packaging system for medication or other health-related products, including:

a substance dosage designated for use by a particular patient;

a container for holding one or more substance dosages;

labeling that includes substance administration information;

a visual identifier that includes one or more recognizable primary symbolic aspects intended to facilitate identification of the particular patient; and

a display implementation for the visual identifier, which display implementation is in close association with the substance dosage.

55 . The packaging system of claim 54 wherein said display implementation includes;

a display implementation having one or more of the following type of distinguishable characteristics: color, shape, pattern, texture, format, graphic, image, text, alphanumeric, and indicia.

56 . The packaging system of claim 55 wherein said display implementation includes:

the display implementation incorporated as an integral part of the container.

57 . The packaging system of claim 55 wherein said display implementation includes:

the display implementation incorporated on the labeling.

58 . The packaging system of claim 55 wherein said display implementation includes:

the display implementation incorporated as an integral part of the substance dosage.

59 . The packaging system of claim 54 further comprising:

cross-reference data information for correlating one or more particular patients with their respective visual identifiers, which cross-reference data information is available to such one or more particular patients or to a family member or caregiver or medical personnel having responsibility for the particular patient.

60 . The packaging system of claim 59 further comprising:

a data record for the cross-reference data information, which data record is accessible at one or more of the following locations: database, patient ID tag, patient profile, medication list, patient chart, patient profile, pharmacy, nurse station, caretaker facility, caregiver instructions, healthcare regimen recommendations, product packaging, prescription document, prescription record, insurance record, user profile, and online profile.

61 . (canceled)

62 . (canceled)

63 . (canceled)

64 . (canceled)

65 . The packaging system of claim 54 further comprising:

a supplemental visual identifier in close association with the substance dosage, which supplemental visual identifier includes one or more specified recognizable symbolic aspects intended to suggest proper administration of the health-related substance.

66 . The packaging system of claim 65 wherein said visual identifier includes:

one or more primary recognizable symbolic aspects that are distinguishable as compared to the specified recognizable symbolic aspects of the supplemental visual identifier.

67 . The packaging system of claim 65 further comprising:

a cross-reference to correlate substance administration or health-related issues with their respective specified recognizable symbolic aspects.

68 . The packaging system of claim 54 wherein said display implementation for the visual identifier includes display elements that are capable of visual recognition without need of a scanner-like device.

69 . (canceled)

70 . (canceled)

71 . A computer program product having one or more programs operable to perform a process, wherein said process comprises:

establishing a visual identifier for a medication or other health-related product designated for use by a particular patient, which visual identifier includes a primary recognizable aspect intended to facilitate identification of the particular patient;

implementing a display scheme for incorporating a human-readable form of the visual identifier in close association with the medication or other health-related product; and

maintaining a cross-reference to correlate the particular patient with the visual identifier.

72 . The computer program product of claim 71 further comprising:

carrier media incorporating program instructions for executing said process, wherein said carrier media includes storage medium and/or communication medium.

73 . The computer program product of claim 71 wherein said maintaining the cross-reference includes:

maintaining the cross-reference in a location accessible to a particular patient, or to a family member or caregiver or medical personnel or other interested party.

74 . The computer program product of claim 71 wherein said maintaining the cross-reference includes:

maintaining the cross-reference at one or more of the following locations to be accessible to the particular patient or other interested party: database, patient ID tag, patient profile, medication list, patient chart, patient profile, pharmacy, nurse station, caretaker facility, caregiver instructions, healthcare regimen recommendations, product packaging, prescription document, prescription record, insurance record, user profile, and online profile.

75 . The computer program product of claim 71 wherein said implementing the display scheme for incorporating the human-readable form of the visual identifier includes:

implementing a display of the human-readable form of the visual identifier as part of one or more of the following aspects of the medication or health-related product:

package, label, container, component, and product dosage.

76 . The computer program product of claim 71 wherein said implementing the display scheme for incorporating the human-readable form of the visual identifier includes:

implementing a display of one or more of the following types of a symbolic visual identifier on packaging or labeling or substance dosage of the medication or health-related product: name abbreviation, name initials, nickname, gender, age, height, weight, patient photo, address, attending physician, prescribing physician, caregiver, alias, avatar, buddy icon, URL, ID, affiliation, alphanumeric, text, image, graphic, color, pattern, format, shape, texture, and indicia.

77 . The computer program product of claim 71 wherein the process further comprises:

implementing a display of a supplemental visual identifier in close association with the medication or other health-related product, which supplemental visual identifier includes one or more specified recognizable symbolic aspects that are intended to suggest proper administration of the health-related product.

78 . The computer program product of claim 77 wherein the process further comprises:

maintaining another cross-reference that correlates product administration information or other health-related issues with their respective recognizable symbolic aspects.