Handling of patient's own medicine systems, methods, and devices

A method of managing a patient's own medication, the method comprising:

• receiving a set of data identifying medication brought to a healthcare facility by the patient;
• designating the medication as the patient's own medication;
• automatically retaining the designation for the medication when the medication is transferred from a first one of a plurality of dispensing devices to a second one of the plurality of dispensing devices at the healthcare facility;
• and
• automatically identifying the designated medication as an item to be returned to the patient when the patient is discharged from the healthcare facility, the identification based at least in part on the designation.

A method of managing a patient's own medication, the method comprising:

• receiving a set of data identifying medication brought to a healthcare facility by the patient;
• designating the medication as the patient's own medication;
• receiving notice of a patient transfer from a first location to a second location at the healthcare facility;
• transmitting, in response to the notice, data directing the move of the designated medication from a first dispensing device associated with the first location to a second dispensing device associated with the second location;
• and
• automatically retaining the designation for the designated medication during the move.

A method of managing a patient's own medication, the method comprising:

• receiving a set of data identifying medication brought to a healthcare facility by the patient;
• designating the medication as the patient's own medication;
• associate the patient with a selected one of a plurality of dispensing devices, the selected dispensing device including a first set of one or more patient-specific bins assigned for exclusive use of the patient for medication stocked from the healthcare facility;
• assign a second set of one or more patient-specific bins at the selected dispensing device to the patient for the designated medication, the second set distinct from the first set;
• receiving notice of a patient discharge from the healthcare facility;
• and
• transmitting, in response to the notice, data to the selected dispensing device directing return of the designated medication to the patient.