Method for need-based order-picking of medicine portions in dispensing packs

A method for need-based commissioning of medicament portions in dispensing packs, comprising:

• providing an automated storage facility and chaotically storing a plurality of different medicament packs under optimal utilization of space on storage surfaces of level shelves or slanted chutes;
• placing onto or removing from the storage surfaces the medicament packs with the aid of at least one computer-controlled operating device;
• (a) identifying and storing, in the automated storage facility, blister packs of various dimensions, each containing several medicament portions of a certain kind in several reception chambers, arranging the several reception chambers in a case of the blister packs in various ways so that the automated storage facility will contain blister packs in addition to the medicament packs, and saving data identifying individual blister packs in relationship to identifications of respective storage sites of the individual blister packs;
• (a1) transporting a medicament pack containing at least one blister pack in an outer package to a repackaging station;
• (a2) extracting the at least one blister pack from the outer package;
• (a3) taking and storing identifying information of the medicament pack as identifying data of the at least one extracted blister pack;
• (a4) storing the at least one blister pack into the automated storage facility, and relating the identifying information stored as identifying data to the identifications of the storage sites;
• (b) providing at least one dispensing pack to be filled at an automated filling station and filling the at least dispensing pack as required for each type of the medicament portions to be filled into the dispensing packs;
• (b1) removing a blister pack containing a type of medicament to be filled from the automated storage facility by means of the operating device or of one of the operating devices and transporting the blister pack to the filling station;
• (b2) removing at least one individual medicament portion from the blister pack or separating at least one individual medicament portion from the blister pack by a device for the separation of medicament portions, and identifying the number of medicament portions remaining in the blister pack;
• (b3) filling the at least one removed or separated medicament portion into at least one predetermined reception chamber of the dispensing pack;
• (b4) returning the blister pack into the automated storage facility if at least a predetermined number of medicament portions remains in the blister pack;
• (c) returning the filled dispensing pack to a same or a different automated storage facility if the filled dispensing pack is not to be released yet;
• recording the number and arrangement of the medicament portions contained in the blister pack when the blister pack is being detected in step (a) and are saved in relationship to the identifying data and/or detecting the number and arrangement of the medicament portions contained in the blister pack following the removal of the blister pack in step (b1) and prior to the removal or, respectively, the separation of the at least one medicament portion in step (b2);
• and
• storing at least one blister pack in the automated storage facility by attaching the at least one blister pack to a carrier or placing the at least one blister pack upon a carrier, and forming the carrier in such a way that the operating device can grasp and transport the carrier together with the at least one blister pack.