Adaptive pharmaceutical product management methods and system
View Patent ↗Methods and systems for adaptive storage and management of pharmaceutical product containers at a pharmacy are described. Pharmaceutical product containers are managed so that the containers for more-frequently-used pharmaceutical products are stored among plural storage locations more-efficiently accessible to a pharmacy workstation. Containers for less-frequently- used pharmaceutical products are managed so that the containers for such products are stored among the storage locations which are less-accessible to the pharmacy workstation. As the frequency of pharmaceutical product usage changes, the inventory of pharmaceutical product containers is managed adaptively so that the containers used most frequently are stored at locations more-easily accessible to the pharmacy workstation, thereby facilitating fulfillment of prescriptions by pharmacy personnel. Further efficiencies may be achieved through use of an optical positioning system providing directed placing and picking of pharmaceutical product containers. The methods and system have particular application to management of partially-full pharmaceutical product containers which may be repeatedly taken from and returned to inventory.
1. A method for adaptive storage of pharmaceutical products within a pharmacy at plural pharmaceutical product storage locations having rankings based on relative ease-of-accessibility to a pharmacy workstation so that more frequently used products are more easily accessible to a human user working from the pharmacy workstation based on updated product usage frequency rankings, the method comprising:
placing plural pharmaceutical product containers into storage locations each having an ease-of-accessibility ranking, there being an excess of storage locations to permit adaptive placement of containers into the storage locations;
creating with a processing device a database record of the storage location of each container;
automatically visually indicating the storage location of a container for a pharmaceutical product required for prescription fulfillment with a visible indicator proximate the storage location which guides the user to the storage location;
picking the container from the indicated storage location;
fulfilling the prescription at the workstation with product from the container;
updating with the processing device the database to indicate use of the product;
determining with the processing device a usage frequency ranking of the product;
determining with the processing device an updated storage location for the container if product remains in the container or for a further container of the product based on the usage frequency ranking of the product, the updated storage location having an ease-of-accessibility ranking commensurate with the usage frequency ranking of the product;
automatically visually indicating the updated storage location with a visible indicator proximate the updated storage location which guides the user to the updated storage location; and
placing the container at the indicated updated storage location.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the storage location ease-of-accessibility rankings are based on time required for a human to access the storage locations from the workstation.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the storage location ease-of-accessibility rankings are based on relative distance of the storage locations from the workstation.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the storage locations are in drawers and the storage location ease-of-accessibility rankings are based on relative distance of the storage locations from a drawer front.
5. The method of claim 4 wherein the drawers are stacked and the storage location ease-of-accessibility rankings are further based on the relative distance of the storage locations from a mid-point of the drawer stack.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein the storage locations are grouped into subsets based on storage location, size, or type and the storage location ease-of-accessibility rankings are determined within each subset.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein creating a database record of the storage location of each container further includes associating a code on the container with a code of the indicated storage location.
8. The method of claim 7 wherein associating includes:
reading a barcode on the container;
reading a barcode of the storage location; and
associating information from the barcodes.
9. The method of claim 1 wherein automatically visually indicating includes energizing a visual indicator indicating the storage location.
10. The method of claim 1 wherein automatically visually indicating includes energizing at least one lamp of the visual indicator indicating the storage location.
11. The method of claim 10 wherein the at least one lamp outputs a color selected from a plurality of colors and automatically visually indicating further includes energizing the at least one lamp to emit a color associated with a user of a group of concurrent users to direct the user to the storage location.
12. The method of claim 1 wherein determining the updated storage location further includes a time constraint so that the updated storage location is the same as the storage location into which the container was placed if the time since the last change of storage location is less than a predetermined time period, thereby slowing the rate at which the storage location of the container for the pharmaceutical product is changed.
13. The method of claim 1 wherein determining the usage frequency ranking of the product further includes anticipating increased usage frequency for a seasonal product.
14. The method of claim 13 wherein anticipating increased usage further includes determining the usage frequency ranking based on seasonal data only.
15. The method of claim 1 further including, after fulfilling the prescription, placing the container in a restocking bin to await placement back into a storage location.
16. The method of claim 1 wherein determining the usage frequency ranking of the product includes determining usage during a moving-window time period.
17. The method of claim 1 wherein determining the updated storage location further includes distributing the excess storage locations throughout a group of storage locations.
18. The method of claim 17 wherein distributing the excess storage locations further includes maintaining at least a minimum number of empty storage locations in each of a group of storage locations.
19. The method of claim 1 wherein creating the database record of the storage location of each container further includes creating a database record of the expiration date of the pharmaceutical product in the container.
20. The method of claim 19 wherein the storage locations hold plural containers of the same product and automatically visually indicating the storage location of the container includes indicating the storage location of the container having an earlier expiration date.
21. The method of claim 1 wherein creating the database record of the storage location of each container further includes creating a database record of the lot number of the pharmaceutical product in the container.
22. The method of claim 1 further including securing the containers against theft by placing each of the containers at a different storage location after each use.