Methods and apparatus for filling of packagings with medications

A method for filling packagings with at least one medication, each packaging including a body with a plurality of separated compartments for separately holding different medications, the method comprising:

• producing filling instructions for an order, including an allocation of medications to separated compartments in a plurality of the packagings, each packaging adapted to receive only the medication to be taken by a patient at a specified medicine pass time or as needed;
• operating a packaging station to fill the plurality of the packagings with the at least one medication according to the filling instructions, by placing different medications into different separated compartments of the packagings for specified medicine pass times requiring multiple medications;
• verifying that each of the plurality of the packagings have been accurately filled according to the filling instructions at a verification station,
• wherein the packagings are filled in a drug packaging system that includes a plurality of packaging stations, and the method further comprises:
• assigning an order to be filled at one of the packaging stations only when the packaging station includes sufficient inventory of medications to fill the plurality of packagings to be filled for the order;
• and
• managing the inventory of the plurality of packaging stations to enable optimization of filling of orders by the drug packaging system.

A method for filling packagings with at least one medication, each packaging including a body with a plurality of separated compartments for separately holding different medications, the method comprising:

• producing filling instructions for an order, including an allocation of medications to separated compartments in a plurality of the packagings, each packaging adapted to receive only the medication to be taken by a patient at a specified medicine pass time or as needed;
• operating a packaging station to fill the plurality of the packagings with the at least one medication according to the filling instructions, by placing different medications into different separated compartments of the packagings for specified medicine pass times requiring multiple medications;
• verifying that each of the plurality of the packagings have been accurately filled according to the filling instructions at a verification station,
• wherein the packaging station is a manual packaging station including at least one storage carousel containing canisters of medications, a staging bar configured to temporarily retain the canisters, a counting mechanism for dispensing a desired quantity of the medication from the canisters, and a loading table for holding a tray with a plurality of the packagings, and operating the packaging station further comprises:
• delivering the filling instructions to an operator at the manual packaging station, the filling instructions including directions on how the operator should manually move canisters between the at least one storage carousel, the staging bar, and the counting mechanism and how the operator should manually fill the separated compartments of each packaging in the tray at the loading table, with only one medication at a time being handled by the operator;
• and
• prompting the operator for barcode scans and manual input to verify proper movements of canisters and medications from the storage carousels to the loading table and into the separated compartments of the plurality of packagings.

A method for filling packagings with at least one medication, each packaging including a body with a plurality of separated compartments for separately holding different medications, the method comprising:

• producing filling instructions for an order, including an allocation of medications to separated compartments in a plurality of the packagings, each packaging adapted to receive only the medication to be taken by a patient at a specified medicine pass time or as needed;
• operating a packaging station to fill the plurality of the packagings with the at least one medication according to the filling instructions, by placing different medications into different separated compartments of the packagings for specified medicine pass times requiring multiple medications;
• verifying that each of the plurality of the packagings have been accurately filled according to the filling instructions at a verification station,
• wherein the verification station is a manual verification station including a loading table having a shutter assembly for holding a tray of the packagings, the shutter assembly includes a shutter located above each of the packagings with an opening adapted to provide access to only one of the compartments of each packaging, and verifying that each of the plurality of the packagings has been accurately filled further comprises:
• scanning a tray inserted into the shutter assembly;
• retrieving information about the medications that should be filling the compartments of the packagings on the tray;
• actuating the shutters so that only a first compartment of each packaging is open for inspection;
• activating a light emitting diode located below each first compartment that is to be inspected;
• displaying the information about the medications that should be filling the compartments to the operator;
• prompting the operator to correct any discrepancies between the displayed information and the actual packagings;
• waiting for confirmation from the operator that all of the first compartments have been filled as displayed in the information;
• and
• repeating the actuation of shutters and light emitting diodes, the display of information, the prompt to correct discrepancies, and the confirmation for each other compartment of the packagings that was filled with medications.