초록 ▼

The present invention relates to assisting patients in the taking of medication, and to assisting third parties in accumulating information regarding patient medication intake. The invention may be embodied a system including a portable medication monitor used in association with an instrumented med

The present invention relates to assisting patients in the taking of medication, and to assisting third parties in accumulating information regarding patient medication intake. The invention may be embodied a system including a portable medication monitor used in association with an instrumented medication package to provide intake data acquisition and patient support functions. The system may further be connected to a computer or computer network allowing information distribution between the medication monitor and third parties, such as physicians or pharmacists.

대표청구항 ▼

The invention claimed is: 1. A method for monitoring or tracking a package having a package integrity and an associated at least one condition, the method comprising: detecting the integrity of the package using an integrity sensor being integrated into the package, wherein the package comprises at

The invention claimed is: 1. A method for monitoring or tracking a package having a package integrity and an associated at least one condition, the method comprising: detecting the integrity of the package using an integrity sensor being integrated into the package, wherein the package comprises at least one sealed item, and the integrity sensor comprises at least one severable connector; detecting the at least one condition; transmitting data indicative of the detected package integrity and detected at least one condition; comparing at least a portion of the transmitted data to stored data, wherein the comparing verifies at least one of patient identification, prescription dosage, dosage form, intake schedule and drug identification; indicating approval of at least one action responsively to the comparing; detecting severance of the severable connector subsequent to the indicating approval; and transmitting data indicative of the detected severance from the package. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting is to at least one of a plurality of transitory receivers, and further comprising re-transmitting at least a portion of the transmitted data to a central monitor. 3. The method of claim 2, further comprising comparing at least a portion of the re-transmitted data to stored data, and transmitting data to at least one of the transitory receivers dependently upon the comparing. 4. The method of claim 2, further comprising presenting a representation of at least a portion of the transmitted data using at least one of the transitory receivers and central monitor. 5. The method of claim 1, wherein: the condition detecting uses a condition sensor being integrated into the package; the at least one condition comprises at least one environmental condition; and, the transmitting data indicative of the detected package integrity and detected at least one condition is from the package. 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the package contains a plurality of items each having at least one of integrated item integrity sensors and integrated item condition sensors, further comprising transmitting data indicative of detected item integrities and a detected at least one condition from the package upon package access. 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising selectively initiating at least one action responsively to the transmitting or lack thereof. 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the package comprises at least one sealed item, and the integrity sensor comprises at least one severable connector associated with the at least one sealed item. 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the at least one integrity sensor determines whether the at least one severable connector has been severed, and the method further comprises selectively initiating at least one action responsively to the determining. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the at least one condition comprises a location, and the selectively initiating is dependent on the determined location. 11. The method of claim 9, wherein the at least one action is to order at least one other package. 12. The method of claim 10, wherein the selectively initiated action comprises transmitting at least one alert. 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one condition comprises at least one of a temperature condition, a humidity condition, a light exposure condition, a location condition, a date condition and an access condition. 14. The method of claim 1, further comprising: comparing at least a portion of the transmitted data to stored data; transmitting data responsively to the comparing; and updating the package dependently upon the data transmitted responsively to the comparing. 15. The method of claim 1, wherein the detected condition is indicative of an occurrence of at least one predetermined event. 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the occurrence of the at least one predetermined event is the at least one condition exceeding a predetermined threshold. 17. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one condition comprises location, data indicative of which is transmitted via at least one satellite. 18. A method for monitoring or tracking a package having a package integrity and an associated at least one condition, the method comprising: providing a monitor; associating the monitor with at least one patient; associating the package with the monitor; detecting the integrity of the package using an integrity sensor integrated in the package; detecting the at least one condition; transmitting data indicative of the detected package integrity and detected at least one condition to the monitor; comparing at least a portion of the transmitted data to stored data, wherein the comparing verifies at least one of patient identification, prescription dosage, dosage form, intake schedule and drug identification; indicating approval of at least one action responsively to the comparing, whereby, medical care facility activities and the patient are coordinated. 19. The method of claim 18, further comprising: detecting a change in package integrity subsequent to the indicating approval; and transmitting data indicative of the detected change. 20. A monitoring system, comprising: a package having an integrity, the package including: an integrity sensor being integrated into the package; at least one condition sensor being integrated into the package; a radio frequency transmitter integrated into the package, the radio frequency transmitter configured to transmit data indicative of a detected package integrity from the package in response to receiving signals from integrity sensor; and a package monitor in signal communication with the package, the monitor configured to receive the data indicative of a detected package integrity, the monitor including a processor configured to: compare at least a portion of the transmitted data to stored data to verify at least one of patient identification, prescription dosage, dosage form, intake schedule and drug identification, and indicate approval of at least one action responsively to the comparing. 21. The system of claim 20, wherein the integrity sensor includes a plurality of severable conductors. 22. The monitoring system of claim 21, wherein the plurality of severable conductors function as switches for generating an identification signal. 23. A monitoring system, comprising: a plurality of packages, each of the plurality of packages including: a plurality of integrity sensors integrated into each of the packages; and a radio frequency (RF) transmitter integrated into each of the packages, each of the radio frequency transmitters configured to selectively transmit data in responsive to sensed changes in package integrity by one of the integrity sensors being integrated into a same corresponding one of the packages; and a package monitor configured to receive the data transmitted by each of the radio frequency transmitters, the package monitor including a processor and being associated with each of the plurality of packages, each of the plurality of packages being associated with at least one patient, the processor configured to: compare at least a portion of the transmitted data to verify at least one of patient identification, prescription dosage, dosage form, intake schedule and drug identification; and indicate approval of at least one action in response to the comparing. 24. The monitoring system of claim 23, wherein each of the plurality of integrity sensors includes a respective plurality of severable conductors. 25. The monitoring system of claim 24, wherein each respective plurality of severable conductors function as switches for generating an identification signal.