US 5,314,243 · Granted 1994-05-24
The 1994 Locked Medicine Cabinet That Changed Hospital Drug Delivery
Imagine a filing cabinet with multiple drawers, each one locked and assigned to a specific patient. A nurse types in a code, and only the right drawer unlocks to reveal that patient's medicines. Every time a nurse gives medicine, the machine records it automatically—no more guessing what drugs were given.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers a portable housing with multiple patient-specific drawers that lock and unlock electronically based on nurse access codes, combined with a system that records and transmits patient treatment information wirelessly. What's protected here is the specific arrangement of selective locking mechanisms tied to patient identity, plus the data transmission component that logs each medication dispensing event.
Why it matters
This patent addresses a real hospital safety problem: medication errors and unauthorized access to controlled drugs. By locking medicines to specific patients and automatically logging every dose, the design reduces mistakes and creates an audit trail. The wireless data transmission component was novel for 1992, connecting point-of-care medication delivery to a centralized record system before electronic health records became standard.
Real-world use
When a nurse needs to give a patient their afternoon medication, she enters the patient's ID into the cabinet, one drawer pops open automatically, and the system logs exactly what was taken and when—preventing both accidental overdoses and drug theft.
Original USPTO abstract
A portable nursing center has a plurality of selectively locked patient drawers carried in a housing. Each of said drawers are movable between a given open position and a closed position each drawer sized and configured for holding pharmaceutical items which have been prescribed for a specific patient. At least one on demand drawer is also carried by the housing, movable between an open position and a closed position and being sized and configured to hold pharmaceutical and other nursing items used on an as needed basis. A nurse enters a predetermined access data and other data, causing the unit to selectively unlock the appropriate patient drawer or on demand drawer while maintaining other drawers in a locked condition. Whenever the patient is given medicine or otherwise treated the nurse enters or receives information pertinent to that treatment. The unit has a transmitter/receiver to transmit and receive such patient information.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 5,314,243
- Filing date
- 1992-12-04
- Grant date
- 1994-05-24
- Assignee
- Automated Healthcare, Inc.
- Inventor(s)
- MCDONALD; SEAN C., MCDONALD; ROBERT H., LUNAK; RICHARD R., ZINI; ALDO
- CPC class
- G07F11/62
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