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Secure access distribution machines and methods for distributing a plurality of medical items to an authorized user. The distribution machine includes a housing enclosing a plurality of bins for storing medical items mounted on carousels. Once the distribution machine has been provided with user ide

Secure access distribution machines and methods for distributing a plurality of medical items to an authorized user. The distribution machine includes a housing enclosing a plurality of bins for storing medical items mounted on carousels. Once the distribution machine has been provided with user identification data, patient identification data, and an item selection, the plurality of carousels is actuated to move a bin holding a selected medical item to a location behind an access door in the housing. The user can then reach into the housing to manually retrieve and then verify the removal of the selected medical item. Only one access door into the housing is opened at any time, thereby preventing unauthorized removal of medical items stored in any other bins within the housing.

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1. A method for selectively distributing a plurality of medical items stored in a secure access distribution machine including a housing enclosing a plurality of bins behind at least one access door and a controller with a processor and a memory, the method comprising: receiving first identification

1. A method for selectively distributing a plurality of medical items stored in a secure access distribution machine including a housing enclosing a plurality of bins behind at least one access door and a controller with a processor and a memory, the method comprising: receiving first identification data associated with a user from an input device located at the distribution machine;in response to receiving the first identification data, comparing with the processor the first identification data with information stored in the memory to confirm that the user is authorized to distribute medical items from the distribution machine;receiving second identification data associated with a patient from the input device;in response to receiving the second identification data, displaying a patient record stored in the memory and associated with the patient on a display located at the distribution machine, the patient record including a list of medical items previously prescribed or approved for distribution to the patient;receiving item selection data from the input device that identifies, from the list of medical items previously prescribed or approved, at least one medical item that is selected for distribution to the user and administration to the patient;in response to receiving the item selection data, distributing a first medical item identified in the item selection data by rotating a bin holding the first medical item to a position behind a corresponding one of the access doors and unlocking the corresponding access door so that the access door opens and provides access for the user to reach into the bin to manually retrieve the first medical item from the bin;verifying with the processor that the user received the first medical item that was identified in the item selection data after the first medical item has been manually retrieved from the bin;repeating the distributing and verifying steps for each other medical item identified in the item selection data such that the user is provided access to the at least one medical item individually on an bin-by-bin basis; andupdating the patient record to assign to the patient the at least one medical item that has been distributed to the user for administration to the patient,wherein the plurality of bins is mounted on a plurality of carousels mounted on carousel drive axles collectively centered at a central drive axle, and distributing the first medical item to the user further comprises:rotating all of the plurality of carousels around the central drive axle with a first motor to move the carousel having the bin holding the first medical item to a position adjacent the access door; androtating each of the plurality of carousels simultaneously around their carousel drive axles with a second motor to move the bin holding the first medical item into the position behind the corresponding access door. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the distribution machine includes a plurality of access doors stacked on top of each other in the housing, and distributing the first medical item to the user further comprises: blocking access to all bins within the housing except for the bin holding the first medical item by keeping all of the plurality of access doors locked and closed except for the corresponding access door, thereby limiting the user to manual retrieval of only the first medical item. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein at least some of the access doors include stationary blocking baffles rigidly mounted to the housing adjacent to the access door so as to reduce the size of an opening provided into the housing when the access door is opened, and blocking access to all bins except for the bin holding the first medical item further comprises: blocking manual access to bins located adjacent to the bin holding the first medical item with the stationary blocking baffles. 4. The method of claim 1, wherein verifying that the user received the first medical item further comprises: in response to manually retrieving the first medical item from the bin, prompting the user to scan a machine readable indicia associated with the first medical item with a scanner;receiving output from the scanner at the processor; anddetermining with the processor whether the first medical item that has been scanned matches the item selection data. 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the housing also includes a return receptacle with a one-way door providing access to insert, but not remove, rejected medical items, and the method further comprises: prompting the user to insert the first medical item into the return receptacle when the first medical item is not determined to match the item selection data or when the distribution process is interrupted. 6. The method of claim 4, wherein the access door further includes a camera, and verifying that the user received the first medical item further comprises: capturing image data using the camera, wherein the image data corresponds to the bin that was holding the first medical item; andanalyzing the image data with the processor to confirm whether the first medical item has been removed from the bin. 7. The method of claim 6, wherein analyzing the image data with the processor further comprises: retrieving from the memory a stored pixilated digital image associated with the bin holding the first medical item, the stored pixilated digital image having been taken when the first medical item was placed into the bin; andcomparing the captured image data with the stored pixilated digital image to determine whether enough pixels have changed to verify the removal of the first medical item from the bin. 8. The method of claim 6, wherein a plurality of the bins enclosed in the housing may be rotated into position adjacent to the camera, and the method further comprises: capturing a digital image of each bin that can rotate to a position adjacent to the camera while the housing and access door is closed; andstoring each of the captured digital images in memory for use in later verification that a first medical item has been removed from one of the bins. 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising: prior to distributing the first medical item to the user: determining with the processor whether the first medical item is a controlled sub stance;if the first medical item is a controlled substance, determining with the processor whether the user is authorized to receive a controlled substance;if the user is authorized to receive a controlled substance, prompting a witness to input third identification data via the input device;in response to receiving the third identification data, determining with the processor whether the witness is authorized to witness distribution of a controlled substance; andallowing the distribution of the first medical item to the user only if the user is authorized to receive a controlled substance and the witness is authorized to witness the distribution of a controlled substance. 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising: prior to distributing the first medical item to the user: prompting a witness to input third identification data via the input device when any of the following conditions are satisfied: (i) when the first medical item is a controlled substance;(ii) when the first medical item exceeds a threshold schedule level;(iii) when the first medical item is not on the list of medical items in the patient record; or(iv) when a distribution is canceled during retrieval of the first medical item. 11. The method of claim 1, wherein at least some of the plurality of bins contain a plurality of medical items that may be stored in multiples within a single bin, and verifying that the user received the first medical item further comprises: updating a bin record stored in memory for the bin holding the first medical item to decrement a “bin quantity on hand” variable stored in the memory by one. 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the distribution machine includes an outer camera mounted on the housing, and the method further comprises: capturing still or moving images of the user at the distribution machine with the outer camera during the receiving item selection data, distributing, and verifying steps; andstoring the captured still or moving images with a transaction record in the memory when the patient record is updated. 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the distribution machine includes a document scanner, and the method further comprises: receiving a scanned image of a prescription document from the document scanner;in response to receiving the scanned image of the prescription document, transmitting the scanned image of the prescription document to a remote location for approval by a pharmacist; andupdating the list of medical items in the patient record that have been approved for the patient to include any medical items on the prescription document after approval by the pharmacist. 14. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving additional item selection data from the input device that identifies a second medical item that is selected for distribution to the user and administration to the patient, the second medical item not being included in the list of medical items on the patient record; andin response to receiving the additional item selection data, distributing the second medical item identified in the item selection data to the user. 15. A secure access distribution machine for distributing a plurality of medical items, comprising: a housing enclosing an interior and including at least one access door and an input device;a plurality of carousels located within the interior, wherein each carousel includes a plurality of bins for storing the plurality of medical items;a drive mechanism configured to rotate each of the plurality of carousels such that each of the plurality of bins may be positioned adjacent to the at least one access door; anda controller including a processor and a memory, the controller operatively coupled to the access door, the input device, and the drive mechanism, and the controller configured to perform a series of operations to distribute medical items from the housing including (i) determining that an user is an authorized user permitted to distribute medical items, (ii) display a patient record stored in the memory, the patient record including a list of medical items previously prescribed or approved for distribution to the patient, (iii) receive item selection data which identifies from the list of medical items previously prescribed or approved a first medical item that is selected for distribution, (iv) identifying a bin holding the first medical item that is selected for distribution to the user from the list of pre-approved or prescribed medical items associated with a patient record, (v) actuating the drive mechanism to move the bin holding the first medical item to a position behind a corresponding access door, (vi) unlocking and opening the corresponding access door to enable the user to reach into the bin and manually retrieve the first medical item, (vii) verifying that the first medical item that was selected for distribution was removed by the user, and (viii) updating the patient record to assign to the patient the first medical item that has been distributed,wherein the plurality of carousels are mounted on carousel drive axles collectively centered at a central drive axle, and the drive mechanism further comprises: a first motor that rotates all of the plurality of carousels around the central drive axle in order to move the carousel having the bin holding the first medical item to a position adjacent the access door; anda second motor that rotates each of the plurality of carousels simultaneously around their carousel drive axles in order to move the bin holding the first medical item into the position behind the corresponding access door. 16. A method for selectively distributing a plurality of medical items stored in a secure access distribution machine including a housing enclosing a plurality of bins behind at least one access door and a controller with a processor and a memory, the method comprising: receiving first identification data associated with a user from an input device located at the distribution machine;in response to receiving the first identification data, comparing with the processor the first identification data with information stored in the memory to confirm that the user is authorized to distribute medical items from the distribution machine;receiving second identification data associated with a patient from the input device;in response to receiving the second identification data, displaying a patient record stored in the memory and associated with the patient on a display located at the distribution machine, the patient record including a list of medical items previously prescribed or approved for distribution to the patient;receiving item selection data from the input device that identifies, from the list of medical items previously prescribed or approved, at least one medical item that is selected for distribution to the user and administration to the patient;in response to receiving the item selection data, distributing a first medical item identified in the item selection data by rotating a bin holding the first medical item to a position behind a corresponding one of the access doors and unlocking the corresponding access door so that the access door opens and provides access for the user to reach into the bin to manually retrieve the first medical item from the bin;verifying with the processor that the user received the first medical item that was identified in the item selection data after the first medical item has been manually retrieved from the bin;repeating the distributing and verifying steps for each other medical item identified in the item selection data such that the user is provided access to the at least one medical item individually on an bin-by-bin basis;updating the patient record to assign to the patient the at least one medical item that has been distributed to the user for administration to the patient; andduring a restocking process for the distribution machine, receiving a scan of a machine readable indicia on a purchase or shipping order with a scanner located at the housing, the purchase or shipping order being associated with a plurality of medical items to be stocked inside the housing;receiving a verification scan of machine readable indicia on a first item to be stocked;rotating a first available bin configured to receive the first item to a position adjacent one of the access doors;unlocking and opening the one of the access doors to provide the user access to manually place the first item in the first available bin;locking the one of the access doors in a closed position when the one of the access doors is closed by the user;capturing an image of the first available bin to verify the manual placement of the first item into the first available bin; andrepeating the receiving a verification scan, rotating, opening, locking, and scanning steps for each other item associated with the purchase or shipping order. 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the restocking process further comprises: in response to receiving the scan of the purchase or shipping order, automatically updating an inventory record stored in memory to include various information about each of the plurality of medical items to be stocked, including a lot number, an expiration date, a National Drug Code, and a UPC, thereby not requiring separate manual entry of these items of information for each of the plurality of medical items to be stocked.