Automatic prescription drug dispenser

A method comprising:

• providing a dispenser having a housing holding a plurality of therapeutic products in containers, wherein at least some of the containers are labeled with a first code indicating the product in the container;
• a user entering information into the dispenser to receive one of the therapeutic products;
• the dispenser verifying that a container is the proper container for the therapeutic product, wherein verifying includes scanning the first code while the therapeutic product is still in the housing;
• the dispenser labeling the verified container with a patient-specific label having at least one bar code printed in the dispenser, wherein the dispenser labels the verified container while it is still in the housing and wherein the patient-specific label includes patient-specific information;
• scanning the patient-specific label on the verified container to check the verified container prior to releasing the verified container from the housing, and rejecting the verified container so as to prevent the verified container from being released from the housing if the patient-specific label does not check correctly;
• and
• dispensing the labeled container to the user.

A method comprising:

• providing a dispenser having a housing holding a plurality of pre-packaged therapeutic products in containers, wherein at least some of the containers are labeled with a first code indicating the product in the container;
• a user entering input information into the dispenser to receive one of the plurality of therapeutic products;
• the dispenser retrieving a given container presumed to contain the selected therapeutic product;
• the dispenser verifying that the container is the proper container for the selected therapeutic product, wherein verifying includes scanning the first code while the therapeutic product is still in the housing;
• the dispenser labeling the verified container with a patient-specific label having at least one bar code printed in the dispenser, wherein the dispenser labels the verified container while it is still in the housing and wherein the patient-specific label includes patient-specific information;
• scanning the patient-specific label on the verified container to check the verified container prior to releasing the verified container from the housing, and rejecting the verified container so as to prevent the verified container from being released from the housing if the patient-specific label does not check correctly;
• and
• dispensing the labeled container to the user.

A method comprising:

• providing a dispenser having a housing having a plurality of rows, each row holding one or more containers of a single type of pre-packaged therapeutic product, wherein at least some of the containers are labeled with a first code indicating the product in the container;
• a user entering information into the dispenser to receive one of the therapeutic products;
• the dispenser retrieving a given container from a row which is presumed to hold containers having the therapeutic product;
• the dispenser verifying that the container retrieved is the proper container for the therapeutic product selectcd by the user, wherein verifying includes scanning the first code while the therapeutic product is still in the housing;
• the dispenser labeling the verified container with a patient-specific label having at least one bar code printed in the dispenser, wherein the dispenser labels the verified container while it is still in the housing and wherein the patient-specific label includes patient-specific information;
• scanning the patient-specific label on the verified container to check the verified container prior to releasing the verified container from the housing, and rejecting the verified container so as to prevent the verified container from being released from the housing if the patient-specific label does not check correctly;
• and
• dispensing the labeled container to the user.