Secure prescription computer for generating prescriptions that can be authenticated and verified

1. A method for creating a document that allows for authenticating and verifying integrity of the document, the method comprising:

receiving, by a processing device, an image of the document having an area of interest containing information that varies from other documents of a same type;

segmenting, by the processing device, the area of interest on the document into a plurality of elements;

obtaining, by the processing device, an average gray scale of each element;

determining, by the processing device, a relative gray scale for each element by matching the average gray scale of each element of the area of interest to as closest element of a reference gradient strip having a plurality of gray scales;

generating, by the processing device, a gray scale profile of the area of interest based on the relative gray scale for each element;

inserting, by the processing device, the gray scale profile into an identifier; and

printing, by a printing device, the identifier and the gradient strip on the document.

2. The method claimed in claim 1 , further comprising:

generating, by the processing device, a digital signature; and

inserting the digital signature into the identifier.

3. The method claimed in claim 2 , further comprising verifying the document, wherein verifying the document comprises:

scanning, by a scanning device of a verification system, the document having the printed identifier and gradient strip thereon to obtain an image of the document;

obtaining, by a processing device of the verification system, contents of the identifier from the image including the gray scale profile;

obtaining, by the processing device of the verification system, the area of interest of the document from the image;

segmenting, by the processing device of the verification system, the area of interest obtained from the image into a plurality of elements;

obtaining, by the processing device of the verification system, an average gray scale of each element in the area of interest obtained from the image;

determining, by the processing device, a relative gray scale of each element in the area of interest obtained from the image by matching the average gray scale of each element of the area of interest to the closest element of the gradient strip;

generating, by the processing device, a gray scale profile of the area of interest obtained from the image;

comparing, by the processing device of the verification system, the gray scale profile of the area of interest obtained from the image with the corresponding gray scale profile that was inserted in the identifier; and

determining, by the processing device of the verification system, if the gray scale profile of the area of interest obtained from the image deviates from the gray scale profile that was inserted into the identifier.

4. The method claimed in claim 3 , further comprising:

verifying the digital signature contained in the identifier.

5. The method claimed in claim 3 , further comprising:

sending the identifier to a datacenter; and

verifying the digital signature contained in the identifier.

6. The method claimed in claim 3 , further comprising:

sending at least a portion of the identifier to a datacenter; and

comparing the at least a portion of the identifier to previously used identifiers stored at the database to determine if the document has already been verified.

7. The method claimed in claim 3 , wherein determining if the gray scale profile of the area of interest obtained from the image deviates from the gray scale profile that was inserted into the identifier further comprises:

calculating a distance between the gray scale profile of the area of interest obtained from the image and the gray scale profile inserted in the identifier; and

comparing the distance with a threshold.

8. The method claimed in claim 1 , further comprising:

assigning a value to each gray scale on the gradient strip.

9. The method claimed in claim 1 , wherein the document is a prescription for an item.

10. The method claimed in claim 9 , wherein the area of interest contains information about the item prescribed.

11. The method claimed in claim 9 , wherein the prescription is associated with a patient, and the area of interest contains information about the patient.

12. The method claimed in claim 9 , wherein the area of interest contains a prescriber's signature.

13. The method claimed in claim 1 , wherein the plurality of elements are rectangles.

14. The method claimed in claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the document is handwritten.

15. The method claimed in claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the document is generated by a computer.