CA1330656C - Container system for dispensing pharmaceutical prescriptions to visually or medically impaired users - Google Patents

Abstract

"A CONTAINER SYSTEM FOR DISPENSING PHARMACEUTICAL
PRESCRIPTIONS TO VISUALLY OR MEDICALLY IMPAIRED USERS"
Abstract of the Disclosure A system for use by a pharmacist for dispensing pharmaceutical prescription drugs to visually or medically impaired users employing a plurality of sets of containers for receiving prescription drugs therein, each container having on the external surface a visual and tactile indicia in the form of at least one raised symbol, there being one raised symbol for each dosage requirement, the symbols being spaced apart whereby the number of symbols is easily tactilely and visually discernable and the shape of each raised symbol in each set being uniform and distinctive, the shape of each symbol in each set being correlatable with a specific prescription drug and each set including containers having from one to "n" raised symbols thereon where "n" is the maximum dosage rate.

Description

`~ 13306~6 ., nA CONTAINER SYSTEM POR DISPENSING PHARNACEUTICAL
.
PRESCRIPTIONS TO VISUALLY OR MEDICALLY INPAIRED USERS"
Summary of the Invention A major problem in the dispensation of prescription drugs is that a high portion of such drugs are consumed by patients who tend to be either visually or medically impaired or both. It is well-known even outside of the medical profession that for maximum effectiveness, in fact sometimes crucial to effectiveness, prescription drugs must be taken as directed; that is, at a specific dosage rate such as one per day, one ~ith each meal, one with each meal and at bed time, one every four hours, etc. In addition, users of prescription drugs sre frequently required to take more than one prescription; and normally the dosage rates for the different prescriptions vary.
For the mentally and visually astute, follo~ing directions on prescription bottles is not difficult, but for a large nwmber of prescription medicine users it is a serious problem.
The present invention is directed towards a ~gstem allowing a pharmacist to dispense drugs in containers in a manner to apprise the visually and/or medically imp~ired of the ditference between drugs and the difference between the dosage requirements. In àddition, the system of this invention provide~ a convenient manner ~or the pharmacist to record the type of container in ~hich particular prescriptlon drugs are provided to users so as to assist the user in proper use of prescription drugs.
The system employ~ a plurality of cont~iners for use in dispensing prescription pharmaceuticals. The containers may be of the plastic iojection molded cylindrical type, each with a bottom and a cylindrical sidewall and an open top closed by a lid. Each container has thereon at least one visual and tactile indicia in the form of a raised symbol. The raised symbol is of a type -a- ~

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wherein the shape is easily determined by feel and/or sight. The symbol may be a circle, a square, horizontal bar, c vertical bar, etc.
The raised symbol is repeated in spaced apart arrangement on the container a number of times, which number is indicative of the prescribed dossge rate.
In the preferred arrangement, each container has, as supplied by the manufacturer, a removable gummed label indicating the shape of the s~nbol and the number of symbols on the container.
The containers are preferably supplied to a pharmacist as a system consisting of a series of sets of container~. Each set of containers includes a selected symbol and each container in the set has thereon a different number of such selected symbol~. ~or inætance, a typical set would include four containers each having a symbol in the form of a raised circle thereon. The ~irst contsiner has one raised circle; the second container, two spaced apart raised circles; the third container, three spaced apart raised circles; and the fourth container, four spaced apart raised circles. The raised symbols are configured so that they are Yisually easily discernable and are preferably brightly colored so a~ to contrast with the background color of the container. Tbe symbols are of a size and height to be tactilely easily discernible so that a user can feel of the container and easily recognize two features. The first feature that the user recognizes is the shape of the s~mbol such as, a square, a circle, a vertical bar, a horizontal bar, etc. This imparts to the user information as to the type of prescription drug contained in the container. Next, the user can readily see and/or feel the number of such symbols. This {mparts to the user the dosage rate for the particular prescription drug contained therein. As an example, if the drug is to be taken one per day, then one such s~mbol . . . .~. . , , '~
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will be employed. If the dosage rate is one in the morning and one at bed time, two of such symbol~ will be employed. If the dosage rate is one before each meal, three of such symbols will be employed. If the dosage rate is one at each meal and one at bed time, four of such symbols will be employed.
Thus, the user can easily see and/or feel indicia differentiating one drug from another and also the dosage rate. For instance, suppose a user is taking prescription A and prescription B -- prescription A whlch must be taken one per day and prescription B must be taken four times per day. The pharmacist will always dispense prescription ~A" in a container having a certain symbol, such as a circle, and prescription "B" in a container having a different symbol, such QS a square. More specifically, the pharmacist will alway3, for this user, place prescription A in a container having one circle thereon and prescription B in a container having four squares thereon. The user then learns to correlate each symbol with each speci~lc medication and is reminded Or the different dosage rates by the number of symbol~ on the containers.
The individual containers are preferably supplied to the pharmacist in sets, there being one set for each symbol, and the number Or containers in each set being from 1 to "nn, ~n" bein~ the maximurn prescription rate for the specific system. ~or instance, if the system is designed to employ a do~age rate reminder o~ from one to four then each set will contain four containers. A
typical complete set for use by a pharmacist would contain, as an example, a dispensing tray complete with color tabs distinct to each color symbol and sixteen containers for dispensing prescription pharmaceuticals.
When a user purchases a pharmaceutical, the pharmacist selects a symbol to correlate with the particular .; . .. . .

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prescription drug, such as a circle. The pharmacist then selects the container having the number of circle~
indicative of the prescription rate. The pharmacist can than explain to the user that the circle indicates a certain drug. For instance, if a user is provided with a blood thinner medication, the pharmacist can explain to the user that a container with A Ci rcle means that the prescription is the blood thinner. Ii the same user is also under a prescription for a anti-depressant drug the ~harmacist can explain to the user that the anti-depressant drug employs a different symbol, such as a horizontal bar. Each time the pharmacist refllls the prescription for this user, a container employing the symbol correlating with the drug i3 selected; and the container which indicates the prescription rate is selected.
To assist the pharmacist in correlating the use Or the container system, each container is preferably supplied by the manu-acturer with a removable gummed label thereon indicating the shape of the symbol and the number thereo~. The pharmacist can then remo~e the gummed label from the container before it is handed to the user; and the gumned label can be attached directly to the record kept by the pharmacist. In this way, the pharmacist can always dispense each drug used by a customer with the same symbol; and can utilize containers having the appropriate symbol and the number of symbols thereon corresponding to the dosage rate.
Others have suggested the importance o~ indicating prescriptions and dosage requirements on the exterior Or containers and for reference to suggestions by others as to how this problem may be solved, reference may be had to the following United States patents found in a prior art search: 2,066,183; 2,456,155; 2,587,147; 2,713,845;
a,817,451; 3,446,179; 3,537,422; 3,648,647; 4,208,983.
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Of the patents found in the search No. 4,208,983 to Buckley et al. issued June 24, 1980 for "Container F~r Symbolically Indicating Pharmaceutical Prescription" is perhaps the closest known prior art. This patent covers the concept of containers having indicia on the exterior thereof which is tactilely discernible, however, the concept revealed in the patent is rather complex and requires the pharmacist to cut away projections extending from the exterior of the container. The system of thi~
patent is, therefore, rather unhandy to utilize and is susceptible to error and mistake. The present invention represents an improvement over the previously known methods of attempting to aid the user of pharmaceutical prescriptions by providing a simple, inexpensive and expedient system for dispensing prescription pharmaceuticals in 8 way to provide the maximum information to the user in the least complicated manner.
A better understanding of the invention will be had by reference to the following description and claims, taken in conjunction with the attached drawings.

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Description of the Drawings Figure 1 is an external isometric view of a container for dispensing prescriptlon pharmaceuticals employing the principles of this invention.
Figure 2 is a rear view of the container of Figure 1 without the lid showing the employment of a removable gumned tag thereon.
Figures 3A, 3B, 3C and 3D show fragmentary portions of the exterior of the cylindrical wall of containers showing the emplo~nent of a raised square symbol as a visual and tactile indicia with 1, a~ 3, and 4 such symbols being utilized.
~ igures 4A - 4D show the employment of 1, 2, 3, and 4 circles as raised symbols.
~ igures 5A, 5B, 5C and SD illustrate the employment of 1, 2, 3, and 4 vertical bars as raised symbols.
~ igures 6A, 6B, 6C and 6D show the employment of 1, a, 3, and 4 horizontal bars as raised symbols.
~ igure 7 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along the line 7-7 of ~igure 4A, showing the raised symbol ~on the exterior surface of the container.
¦~igure 8 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of the ¦wall of 8 container as taken along the line 8-8 of ~igure 3B showing a squsre as used as the raised symbol.
~ igure 9 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along the line 9-9 of ~igure 5A, showing the use of a single vertical bar as a raised symbol.
Figure 10 is a fra~nentary cross-sectional view o~
the wall of a container showing the use of three horizontal bars as the raised symbols.

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Descri~tion of the Preferred Embodiment Referring to Figure 1, a container employing the principles of thls invention is generally indicated by the numeral 10. The container is in the usual shape of a prescription container as typically formed of plastic.
The container is an open top type having a bottom 12 and a cylindrical sidewall 14. The container is closed by a cover or lid 16. Figure 2 shows the container 10 without the lid revealing the opened top 18. The container having elements 12-18 is preferable of the typical type commonly employed for dispensing prescription pharmaceuticals.
Thi~ invention provides means of modifying the container so as to impart visual and tactile in~ormation to the user to reduce the likelihood that a user who is visually and/or medically impaired misuses the prescription sold to him in the container 10.
For this purpose, the container 10 has on the external thereof, and preferably on the external surface 14A of the sidewall an integral, raised, visual and tactilely discernible indicia or symbol generally indicsted by the numeral 20. Pigure 1 shows three raised symbols ao each in the ~orm of a square. A pharmacist would dispense medicine in a container 10 o~ ~igure 1 to a user. The symbol 20, which is in the form of a raised square, is indicative to the user of a particular prescription drug. In ehis situation, the symbol, a raised square, would indicate to the user a drug for a specific purpose which may be, as an example, a blood thinner. By this system, the user will be instructed that any container 10 having a raised square symbol thereon contains his prescribed drug thinner medication, and, therefore, both visuallg and tactilely the user will learn to readily identify his drug thinner medicine.
The number of raised symbols is indicative of the dosage rate. ~igure 1 shows three such raised squares '~

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which indicate a dosage rate correlatable with the number 3; such as three times per day or, with each meal, or before each mesl, or the like.
The symbols utilized may vary. ~igures 3A - 3D are fragmentary external views of portions of the external sidewall surface 14A of a container showing the use o~ one symbol in Figure 3A, two symbols in Figure 3B, three symbols in ~igure 3C and four symbols in Yigure 3D. The s~nbols are spaced apart from each other and are of a size, height, and spacing so as to enable the user to easily identify the shape and number, either by sight or feel. To further aid the visually impaired, each of the raised symbols 20 may be colored with a color contrasting with that of the background color of the container. The colors may be very bright and fluorescent.
Various symbols may be employed. ~or instances, ~igures 4A - 4D show the use of 1, 2, 3, and 4 circles aa. Each of the circles may be formed ~ith a hole or nonraised area 22A therein to augment the identification by feel ot the symbol. Further types of symbols may be such as vertical bars 24, as shown in ~igures SA, SB, SC
and 5D or horizontal bars 26 shown in ~igures 6A, 6B, 6C
and 6D.
The drawings thus illustrate four different s~nbols which may be employed, and it is easily seen that a larger number may be used if necessary. It is believed, however, that in the employment o~ the system of this invention, normally sets of containers employing four different s~nbols will suffice for the reason that most user~ of prescription medicines do not take more than four different kinds of medicines at a time. In addition, the nurnber of indicators of dosage rates is shown to be 1-4.
It can be seen tbat the number may be from 1 to "n", with "n" being the highest dosage rate; however, it is believed that in the typical situation in which pharmaceuticals are _ g _ .

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dispensed that the proper dosage rate can be indicated to the user by 1 to 4 separate symbols.
Figure a shows the rearward side of the container 10 and shows, on the external cylinder surface 14A thereof, a removable gummed tag 28. The tag 28 has a shape or information thereon indicating the symbol which is integrally formed on the container to which it is attached and the number of such symbols. ~or instance, the tag can be square when used with square symbols 20 or round when used with round symbols 22. When used with the vertical bars 24 or horizontal bars 26, the syrnbol can be square with the bars formed thereon either vertically or horizontally and with the number of bars corresponding with the nwnber embossed on the container. The number of symbols can be printed on tag 28, such as the numeral "3 shown thereon indicating that container 10 has 3 square~
embossed on the cylindrical sidewall.
The containers of the present invention are preferably sold in sets to pharmacists. A typical complete system would include four sets, with each set containing four containers, for a total of sixteen containers. The pharmaci~t then selects one of the sixteen containers to dispense a particular drug to a user and assigns a symbol for that drug to that user. The phsrmacist explains to the user that th~t symbol will always indicate to him a particular drug and will explain to the user that the number of the symbols indicate the dosage rate. He then pulls the tag 28 from the container before handing it to the user and places the tag on his record which the pharmacist keeps to indicate the sale o~
the prescription to the user. In addition, as is the usual practice, the pharmacist will attach a label to the container identifying the patient's name, the drug and the dosage rate. Tag 28 is placed so that it must be removed to provide space for the pharmacist's usual typed label.

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In this way, each time a user comes to the pharmacist to replace his prescription, the pharmacist will always provide the same drug to the user in a container having the same symbol, and if the dosage rate is the ssme, the same nwmber of symbols on the container. However, if the dosage rate has been changed by the prescribing physician, a container is selected with the same symbol but with a different number symbols.
There are many thousands of different prescriptions on the market today, but it is not necessary to have a different symbol for each prescription being marketed. It is onl~y necessary to have a limited number of symbols to correspond with the number of prescriptions any one user normally consume~ at any one time.
The invention has been illustrated and described in which the raised symbols are integrally formed on the container exterior sidewall surface 14A. This is the preferred embodiment of the invention. The raised symbols could, instead, be placed on lid 16; however, this arrangement is not preferred since the user may inadvertently switch a lid from one container to another (having a different prescription therein). The user is much less likely to change prescriptions from one container to another, therefore, placing the tactile and visual indicia on the container sidewall is much preferred.
The invention has also been illustrated and described in which the raised symbols are integrally ~or~ed on the container. Another means of practicing the invention includes affixing the ~mbols to the container, either sidewall or lid, but preferably sidewall, by use of adhesively applied symbols. Raised and preferably also brightly colored symbols may be made of plastic, or thin metal, with adhesive backing. The adhesive is preferably of the type which, when once applied, makes the symbol ,, . .. ... .. . , . . , . . . . ; ........ . ... ..
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very difficult to remove, as contrasted with the easily removed tag 28 previously described.
The claims and the specification describe the invention presented and the terms that are employed in the claims draw their meaning from the use of such terms in the specification. The same terms employed in the prior art may be broader in meaning than specifically employed herein. Whenever there is a question between the broader definition of such terms used in the prior art and the more specific use of the terms herein, the more specific meaning is meant.
While the invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity it is manifest that many changes may be made in the details of construction and the arrangement of components without departing from the spirit and scope of this disclosure. It is understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments set forth herein for purposes of exemplification, but is to be limited only be the scope of the attached claim or claims, including the full range of equivalency to which each element thereof is entitled.

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Claims (9)

1. A container for use in dispensing a prescription pharmaceutical to a visually and/or medically impaired user for indicating to the user the pharmaceutical contained therein and the dosage rate, comprising:
an upright, open top container having a bottom, a sidewall having an internal and an external surface, and a removable closure;
the container having on the external surface thereof a visual and tactile indicia in the form of a raised symbol for each dosage requirement, the symbols being spaced from each other whereby the number and shape of the symbols are easily tactile and visually discernible, and the shape of the raised symbol or symbols being uniform and visually and tactilely distinctive whereby the user may determine the pharmaceutical prescription contained in the container by the shape of the symbol or symbols and the dosage rate from the number of symbols; and a removable gummed tag affixed to the container, the tag visually indicating the shape of and the number of raised symbols on the container.

2. A container according to claim 1 wherein said raised symbols are on the said container sidewall external surface.

3. A container according to claim 1 wherein said raised symbols are integrally formed on said containers.

4. A container according to claim 1 wherein said raised symbols are brightly colored with a color contrasting with the color of said container.

5. A container system for use by a pharmacist who keeps a record of the drugs dispensed to visually and/or medically impaired users having means of informing the user of the prescription and dosage requirement comprising:
a plurality of sets of individual upright open top containers, each container having a bottom, a sidewall having an internal and external surface and a removable closure;
each container having on the external surface thereof a visual and tactile indicia in the form of at least one raised symbol, there being one raised symbol for each dosage requirement, the symbols being uniform and spaced apart from each other whereby the number of symbols is easily tactilely and visually discernible, and the shape of each raised symbol in each set being uniform and visually and tactilely distinctive from the symbols of other sets, the shape of each symbol in each set being correlatable with a specific prescription, and each set including containers having differing numbers of symbols from 1 to "n" thereon, "n" being the maximum dosage rate of the system, whereby the pharmacist selects a set having said distinctive symbols thereon for dispensing a specific prescription drug to a specific user and selects from such set of containers a container having the number of raised symbols thereon corresponding to the prescribed dosage rate.

6. The system for use by a pharmacist according to claim 5 including:
a removable gummed tag affixed to each container, the tag indicating the shape of and the number of raised symbols on the container to which it is affixed.

7. The system for use by a pharmacist according to claim 5 wherein said raised symbols are on each said container sidewall external surface.

8. The system for use by a pharmacist according to claim 5 wherein said raised symbols are integrally formed on said containers.

9. The system for use by a pharmacists according to claim 5 wherein said raised symbols are brightly colored with a color contrasting with the color of said containers, there being a different color for each different set of symbols.