Network-connected containers having medication stored therein

A method performed by a container in which medication is stored, the method comprising:

• broadcasting, on a periodic basis, a signal to indicate a willingness to perform synchronization in accordance with a short-range communication protocol;
• and
• in response to receiving a response from an electronic device that is sufficiently proximate to the container to detect the signal,
• transmitting data that is deemed to be high priority to the electronic device via a wireless communication channel that is established in accordance with the short-range communication protocol;
• and
• concluding synchronization by terminating the wireless communication channel.

A non-transitory medium with instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

• receiving a plurality of signals that are locally broadcast by a container having medication stored therein over an interval of time;
• and
• for each of the plurality of signals,
• determining whether the signal indicates that new data regarding administrations of the medication is available for download from the container by parsing the signal to discover whether a flag is present that indicates new data regarding administrations of the medication has been generated since a most recent transmission of data regarding administrations of the medication from the container;
• and
• transmitting a request to initiate a wireless communication channel over which data is transferrable only if the signal indicates that new data is available.

A non-transitory medium with instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

• receiving a plurality of signals that are locally broadcast by a container having medication stored therein over an interval of time,
• wherein the plurality of signals are representative of advertising signals that are periodically broadcast by the container over a wireless personal area network;
• and
• for each of the plurality of signals,
• determining whether the signal indicates that new data regarding administrations of the medication is available for download from the container;
• and
• transmitting a request to initiate a wireless communication channel over which data is transferrable only if the signal indicates that new data is available.

A non-transitory medium with instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

• receiving a plurality of signals that are locally broadcast by a container having medication stored therein over an interval of time;
• and
• for each of the plurality of signals,
• determining whether the signal indicates that new data regarding administrations of the medication is available for download from the container,
• transmitting a request to initiate a wireless communication channel over which data is transferrable only if the signal indicates that new data is available, and
• registering an event indicating that synchronization occurred whenever one of the plurality of signals is received.

A container comprising:

• a structural body having a cavity defined therein for storing a bulk supply of medication;
• memory in which data having different levels of priority is stored, wherein the data includes high-priority data related to administrations of medication and low-priority data related to status of the container;
• communication circuitry that is configured to locally broadcast signals on a periodic basis to indicate willingness to perform synchronization;
• and
• a processor that is configured to, in response to receiving a response to one of the signals from an electronic device that is proximate to the container, cause transmission of at least some of the data to the electronic device.

A container comprising:

• a structural body having a cavity defined therein for storing a bulk supply of medication;
• memory in which data having different levels of priority is stored;
• communication circuitry that is configured to locally broadcast signals on a periodic basis to indicate willingness to perform synchronization;
• and
• a processor that is configured to:
• in response to receiving a response to one of the signals from an electronic device that is proximate to the container, cause transmission of at least some of the data to the electronic device, and
• assign measures indicative of priority to the data, so that the data is transmittable to the electronic device in decreasing order of priority.