Apparatus, system and method for facilitating tracking of consumable pharmaceutical articles

Abstract

Embodiments of an apparatus, system and method for facilitating the tracking of consumable pharmaceutical articles are disclosed. A marking apparatus is configured to apply unique indelible identifiers to pharmaceutical articles at the point-of-sale. The indelible identifiers on the articles are visually or electronically readable to allow each respective article to be traced with respect to its manufacturer, prescribing physician, patient to whom it was prescribed, dispensing location, expiration date, dosage, or some combination thereof. An associated system and method may involve the provision of a remote database element configured to be in network communication between the marking apparatus, manufacturer, distributor, prescriber, dispensing location, scanning tool, or some combination thereof. The indelible identifier may initially be generated by the apparatus and then obtained and recorded by the remote database element. Alternative, the indelible identifier may initially be generated and recorded by the remote database element, then provided to the marking apparatus.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.