JPS6373961A - Drug holding and displaying apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A medication holder and display tray(l0) holds colour coded bottles(22) of medications in a plurality of separate compartments(l6b) which each have an inclined plane(l8) to which is attached a colour coded label(20). The inclined plane(l8) of each compartment positions the bottles(20) of medication resting thereon such that each can be easily and quickly recognized and removed. Colour coding on each bottle corresponds to the colour coding on a top portion of the inclined plane(l8) of a compartment(l6b). This speeds up identification of a medication and helps prevents mistakes. Colour coding is not meant as a substitute for reading a label on a container of medication.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a tray device for holding, sorting, and displaying drugs and instruments used professionally in therapeutic environments.

It is estimated that about 1% of all medicines are administered incorrectly in the operating room of Kwanghun Hwangseodan. Although these errors occur only rarely and sporadically, they have proven to be a very serious problem in light of the potential severity of confusion between various leaves. It is believed that if drug holders in the operating room are not sorted, this lack of sorting plays a significant role in medication administration errors. If drug holders are not sorted in this manner, there is a risk that the wrong glass bottle or ampoule may be grabbed during surgery.

Medication holders used in operating rooms are often sorted arbitrarily for convenience. For example, some hospitals use plastic sheets with perforated holes for ampoule storage. In addition, some hospitals use bench-style sorters made with bolt nuts, the type sold at hardware stores, that are containers with small drawers. Usually, there is no fixed format for the sorting of drugs in such holders used in operating rooms, with the most frequently used drugs placed at the front of the holder and less frequently used drugs at the back of the holder. It is best if it consists of placed equipment.

Preferably, medicines are regularly and systematically supplied to the hospital's operating rooms by the hospital's pharmacy. One way to deliver medicine is to
This method is based on orders from the person in charge of the operating room. usually,
The anesthesiologist can place the order and have the drug delivered from the pharmacy, or have a technician pick it up from the operating room. Another method of supplying drugs is to equip the operating room with cabinets with classified compartments. The pharmacy will replenish supplies as needed. Another method of dispensing medications from a pharmacy is to use individual medication trays that are set up for each case and replaced when treatment is complete.

The method of transporting drugs from the hospital pharmacy to the operating room is usually not formalized. Any available container is typically used to hold the patient on top of the hospital vehicle during transfer to the operating room. The Sears Craftman is a transport vehicle that is widely used to store medicine in the operating room and to transport medicine to the operating room.
It's a no-heto. Another hospital transport vehicle on the market is the Ilerman Miller.
)'s El Cart. These carts include masks,
The walls of the cart have shelves and drawers for stacking supplies such as tables, diagnostic equipment, syringes, electrodes, suction catheters, etc. A tray on the top of the cart is used to contain medications used during surgery.

All modern available medication holders, carried in hospital carts, are designed to efficiently sort medications for use by hospital pharmacists, registered licensed nurses or nurses, and anesthetists. It is believed that it is not satisfactory enough to do so.

Various devices have been disclosed in the prior art for holding and displaying medications for individual patients. U.S. Patent No. 2,953,
No. 242 (M, Ni, Shaw, A.

Shaw) discloses a container with a plurality of separate compartments, each having at least one through hole. Each compartment has four vertical walls intersecting a flat horizontal base. A time and/or date indicia is provided at the base of each compartment to indicate when the patient is to take the tablet or capsule placed in that particular compartment of the container. A hole in one of the rotatable lids can be aligned with a compartment to remove the contents of a particular compartment. A problem with this container is that the person placing the medication in or out of the container must either bend their head down considerably to read the time and/or date or lift the container vertically. These operations are in some cases undesirably time consuming, inconvenient, cumbersome, and stressful. Another problem is that it is difficult to read the 1n bulletin on which the drug container is written by partially or completely covering it.
<It's something that happens. Yet another problem is that it takes time to rotate the lid toward the correct position, and then it takes even more time to reach the correct position. This loss of time is important in saving the patient's life. Yet another problem is that the wrong drug is placed in the compartment.

Mr. Shaw does not teach or even suggest how to solve the problem of the wrong drug being placed in the compartment.

U.S. Patent No. 4,039,080 (J.N.
Capuccilli (J, 8, Capuccilli), U.S. Patent No. 4,318,477 (S, Z, Kerpa) and U.S. Patent No. 4,47
3. No. 156 (D, C, Ma
rt(19))) all disclose rectangular containers for tablets and capsules with day and time indications on the horizontal top surface. The container has a rectangular, cylindrical or spherical bottom. A cylindrical or spherical bottom makes it easy to access the entire B chamber and remove the contents. Each of these containers has a lid that must be removed or lifted before the medicament can be removed. Mr. Day, C., Martin (
D.C.

In the Mart (19) patent, compartments containing medications to be taken at the same time each day, eg, in the morning, are painted with the same and unique color, eg, red.

The patient must bend his head or rotate the container vertically to determine which compartment contains the appropriate drug. The patient must then open the lid and remove the contents of one or more compartments. These observations and mechanical movements are time consuming and may have a negative impact on the patient's health. For example, a patient with heart disease may collapse before receiving the nitroglycerin drug.

U.S. Patent No. 1,306,591 (W, B.

(W.B. Grant) ``For the use of hospital nurses who have many different patients to whom drugs, etc., or other things must be administered safely, quickly, and hygienically.'' It is aimed at trays designed for The disclosed tray is rectangular and has a plurality of guiding and supporting arms, each arm having a separate tumbler adapted to hold a medicament. A separate spring-loaded lid is rotated on top of each tumbler to isolate the contents and the inner surface of each tumbler as much as possible from contaminants. 6 Both sides of the lid receive indicia about the prescribed drug, the time of administration of the prescribed drug, and the patient's name. The nurse must bend her head to look at the top of the lid, then lift the lid and read the other side. The nurse can then remove the tumbler from the tray and administer the medication contained therein to the patient. This procedure is time-consuming and may even cost the patient's life. Further, no color code is taught, suggested or implied. Thus, medication confusion may occur and patients may receive or receive the wrong medication.

U.S. Patent No. 1.650.980 (K., Campbell)
K, C (20) pbell) discloses a case in which a plurality of glass bottles of drugs are held vertically.

Each drug is removed from its vial using a hypodermic needle. The horizontal area around the opening through which the vial was placed in the case contains written information indicating the contents of the vial. Glass bottles containing one type of drug are usually grouped together. to use certain drugs,
First, you have to open the case and then bend your head considerably to read the name of the medicine. This wastes time and can cost the patient's life. Furthermore, no color code is written or suggested, and it is possible that the wrong glass bottle may be removed and administered to the patient.

It would be desirable to provide a drug holder designed to hold a plurality of drugs and medical devices and to allow a physician in the operating room to relatively quickly locate, identify, and remove the drug from the holder. .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is to provide a drug sorting tray for use in transporting drugs from hospital pharmacies, i.e., local pharmacies, to operating rooms.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a drug sorting tray for use by an anesthetist during surgery.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a medicine sorting tray to avoid medication mishandling and medication mix-up in the operating room.

Another object of the invention is to provide a tray that is flexible with respect to the configuration of compartments for holding glass bottles or ampoules.

Another object of the invention is to provide trays for individual patients or for multiple patients in a shared manner.

2” Fυi! DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to a medical device for holding, sorting, and displaying a number of medications so that they can be easily seen, identified, and removed. The medical device includes a plurality of compartments, at least one compartment having an angled planar member, the angled planar member having a surface at an acute angle with a horizontal plane.

On the surface of the inclined plane, the drug container is supported and displayed so that the drug container is easily visible to the observer, so that the observer has to bend his or her head considerably to see the contents of the drug container. The drug container can be taken out easily and quickly without the need for it.

In a preferred embodiment, the device comprises a tray adapted to hold a plurality of removable sections, each section adapted to hold one or more color-coded drug containers. Each compartment has one or more compartments. A color code display means (label) is provided which can be attached to the upper part of the surface of the inclined plane of each compartment. The color code of the label matches the corresponding color code of the label of the drug container to be placed in the compartment. drug container (
The use of color-coded labels on bottles and corresponding color-coded labels on compartments is designed to reduce the number of medication errors. Color codes are not intended to replace reading the drug name on the label of the container containing the drug.

Different colors are used for each treatment category using a color code system to separate and sort drugs into treatment categories. Thus, even if a drug error occurs in the operating room, there is no problem because the drug is from the same therapeutic category as the intended drug. This is unlikely to have any more serious consequences for the patient than accidentally administering some other drug. The letters, symbols and/or numbers on the bottle label are larger and bolder than the letters, symbols and/or numbers on many conventional drug bottles, allowing for easy and quick identification of the type. Bar codes may be used on labels attached to compartments and/or on labels on containers of medication.

The device of the present invention is useful in operating rooms and is used to transport medications from pharmacies within hospitals to operating rooms. The device can be individually configured with compartments of varying number and size. The device can be used for - or zero patients, or for multiple patients in a shared manner.

These and other novel features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent with reference to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a partially cutaway perspective view of a drug holding and display device 10 according to the present invention.

The device 10, hereinafter referred to as a tray, has a plurality of compartments 16.
a and 16b. The compartments 16a, which are generally rectangular parallelepipeds, each have horizontal floor members 14 that intersect the wall members 12 and are adapted to accommodate hypodermic needles, syringes, scissors, and/or other medical instruments. . Each of the compartments 16b has an angle a with respect to the horizontal plane.
The first inclined plane member 18 has a shape and intersects the second inclined plane member 19 at an angle. Compartment 16b is designed to hold and display drug bottles 22 as shown. The tray 10 is affixed with a color coded label 20 and typically attached to the upper portion of the inclined plane 18 of the compartment 16b by the final user of the tray 10. The color of the label 20 corresponds to the color of the label and/or top of the drug bottle 22.

Ampoule, jar or vial and/or these three
and/or any combination of drug bottles in tray 1.
It can be held at 0. The bottle 22 rests against the inclined planar member 18, the inclined planar member 19, and the wall 12 so that the top of the bottle 22 and the label can be easily viewed without having to bend one's head too far to see the label.

Angle a is typically about 30 degrees, but may vary from about 10 degrees to 80 degrees. The angle a preferably ranges from 15 degrees to 45 degrees. The angle is usually 90 degrees, but 60 degrees
It may vary between degrees and 170 degrees. The range of the angle is preferably 70 degrees to 110 degrees.

Color-coded medication bottles 22 and corresponding labels 20 attached to color-coded compartments 16b are used to reduce the number of medication errors. Separate drugs into therapeutic categories using a preferred color coding scheme, using a different color for each therapeutic category. For example, an entire horizontal row of compartments 16b may be color coded a certain color to indicate that the medication contained in this row is an analgesic. Unless an error in drug selection occurs over time, a drug from the same therapeutic category as the intended drug can be used. It is believed that this potentially results in fewer consequences for the patient than if other drugs were accidentally administered. Color codes are not intended to be used as a substitute for reading drug container labels.

The letters, symbols and/or numbers on the label of the bottle 22 are:
The letters, symbols and/or numbers on traditional drug bottles are larger and bolder, thus facilitating simple and quick identification. A barcode may be attached to the label 2o and/or the bottle 22.

The trays 10 have a rectangular footprint and outer peripheral side walls of alternating heights to facilitate stacking of a plurality of trays 10, with each stacked tray 10 interlocking with the tray above and below.

Preferably, the tray lO is manufactured from plastic using pressure forming or vacuum forming methods.

The device 10 is designed to quickly and accurately determine which drug is which and to quickly and accurately dispense the desired drug. This is extremely important in operating rooms and emergency rooms where wasted time can lead to loss of patient life.

Referring to FIG. 2, a perspective view of a drug holding and display device 50 is shown having a wall member 52 intersecting a floor member 54 to define two fixed compartments 56. As shown in FIG. A portion of the device 50 is shown loaded with a plurality of removable compartments 60. FIG. 3 shows one of the removable compartments 60. Compartment 56 is adapted to hold and display medical instruments, and compartment 60 is adapted to hold and display drug containers. Device 50 is similar to device 10 of FIG. 1 and has the same functionality as device 10.

The compartment 60 includes a side wall 62 that constitutes a compartment 68, a first inclined plane member 64, and a second inclined plane member 66,
Ampules, bottles, jars and/or vials of medicine can be placed and displayed in this compartment 68. The inclined plane member 64 forms an angle C with respect to the horizontal plane, and the inclined plane member 64
6 at an angle d. Angle C is typically 30 degrees, but may vary from 10 degrees to 80 degrees. Angle C
The range is preferably from 15 degrees to 45 degrees. Angle d is typically 90 degrees, but may vary from 60 degrees to 170 degrees. The angle d preferably ranges from 70 degrees to 110 degrees. A color code label 70 is attached to the top portion of each inclined planar member 64, typically by the final user. Alternatively, a color code label 70 may be attached to each inclined planar member 64 by the manufacturer of the tray 50.

An advantage of the device 50 is that the dimensions of the compartments in which the bottles of medication are held and displayed can be varied and that after the medication has been prepackaged in the individual compartments 60, the compartments 60 can be transferred to the device 5.
0 to the desired configuration.

Device 50 is designed to quickly and accurately determine which drug is which and to quickly and accurately dispense the desired drug. This is extremely important in operating rooms and emergency rooms where wasted time can lead to loss of patient life.

Preferably, the tray 50 is manufactured from plastic using pressure forming or vacuum forming techniques.

Referring to FIG. 4, a perspective view of an embodiment of a drug holding and displaying device 1 (10) according to the present invention is shown.

A device 1 (hereinafter referred to as tray 1 (10) includes a rectangular box member (housing means) 1 (12) and a plurality of removable parts 1 (14, 106, 108, 110 and 1).
It has 12. Part 1 (14 is adapted to hold and display medical instruments. Part 106.108.11
0 and 112 are adapted to hold containers of medicine (medicine). Portions 106, 108 and 110 are shown in the cutaway perspective view of FIG. 5, respectively. Part 108.11
0 and 112 have approximately the same cross-section as portion 106.

Each of section 1 (14 and section 112 is shown removed from section 1 (12), with arrows pointing toward section 1 (14 and section 11).
2 is fitted into part 1 (12). Tray 1 (10 is shown in FIG.
It is similar to the illustrated tray 50 and serves essentially the same function.

Each of the compartments in section 1 (14.106.108.110 and 112) has end side walls that are generally vertical and slope upwardly toward the rear of each compartment. Prevent containers (not shown) from moving from one compartment to another or from falling out of the device 1 (10).

The rectangular box member 1 (12 has substantially vertical side walls 1 (12a) intersecting the horizontal base member 1 (12b). As shown in FIG. It constitutes a single compartment having a flat floor member, four generally vertical side walls, two slightly sloped inside walls, and a relatively flat floor bone.

Portion 106 has five generally vertical side walls defining two separate compartments 106(1) and 106(2). Each of the compartments 106(1) and 106(2) has a first angled planar member intersecting the horizontal plane at an angle e and a second angled planar member at an angle f. part 108
Each of the three separate compartments 108 (1), 1
It has six substantially vertical side walls forming 08(2) and 108(3). Portion 110 has seven generally vertical side walls defining four separate compartments 110 (1) , 110 (2) , 110 (3) and 110 (4). Compartment rooms 110 (1), 110 (2), 110
(3) and 110(4) each have a first angled planar member that intersects at an angle g with the horizontal plane and at an angle with another angled member. Each of the portions 112 has 5
two separate compartments 112 (1), 112 (2),
It has eight generally vertical side walls comprising 112(3), 112(4) and 112(5). All angles e and g are typically 30 degrees together, but may vary independently from 10 degrees to 80 degrees. Preferably, all angles e and g range from 15 degrees to 45 degrees. All angles f and angles are typically 90 degrees together, but may vary independently from 60 degrees to 17'O degrees. Preferably, all angles r and ranges of angles are between 70 degrees and 110 degrees.

A color code label 114 is shown in FIG. The arrow indicates that a label 114 is to be applied to region 106a of compartment 106(1) of portion 106. part 10
8. Each of the 110 and 112 compartments has similar areas 108a, 110a and 112a that can be color coded labeled. Color codes are not intended to be used as a substitute for reading drug container labels. Also,
The color coded label may include a barcode.

The color of the label corresponds to the color of the drug bottle to be placed in the compartment.

Preferably, color codes are used to separate drugs into therapeutic categories. For example, separate treatment categories may consist of the following categories:

Namely, antidepressants, anticholinergics, antiemetics/gastric motility, intravenous anesthetics, muscle relaxants, recovery agents from drug addiction, neuromuscular recovery agents, nerve stabilizers/sedatives, and respiratory stimulants. drug, vasopressor, vasodilator, and antiarrhythmic agent. Each category may have one or more drugs. For example, the analgesic category includes fuentanil, meperidine, morphine, nalbuphine, buprenorphine (bup
The muscle relaxant category includes metthalin (...etocur(19)e)
, pancuronium and succinylcholine.

The width of each compartment can be preselected to accommodate one or an integral number of bottles, ampoules, jars and/or drug bottles.

Tray 1 (10) is useful in the operating room to hold and display medications used during surgery by anesthetists and other physicians. The medicines are displayed in such a way that they can be easily seen and checked without having to bend over, so the medicines can be taken out easily and quickly.
To efficiently and quickly handle lobes during surgery, saving valuable time. Tray 1 (10) may be used for each case or shared for multiple patients. Tray 1 (
10 can also be used to transport medicines from hospital pharmacies, ie local pharmacies, to operating rooms.

Tray 1 (10 is usually made of plastic using pressure forming or vacuum forming method) Apparatus 1 (10 is
It is designed to quickly and accurately determine which drug is which and to quickly and accurately dispense the desired drug. This is extremely important in operating rooms and emergency rooms where wasted time can lead to loss of patient life.

It is to be understood that the above embodiments are merely illustrative of the general principles of the invention.

Various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention. for example,
The dimensions of the compartments can be changed to accommodate different requirements. Furthermore, the vertical straight wall of the tray can also be constructed from a cylindrical section. Additionally, the bottom of the compartment may be rounded to facilitate cleaning. Furthermore, the inclined plane can also be part of a cylinder. Additionally, the tray may be provided with a lid to limit dust and other contaminants from entering the tray when the tray is not in use. Furthermore,
The number of compartments used to hold and display the medicament can also vary from one to as many as desired. Furthermore, the number of compartments for medical instruments can be varied between zero and the desired number. Still further, the floor member can be designed with through-holes so that contaminants do not remain within the tray and are easier to clean. Additionally, the compartments of each tray may be color coded by individual selection or standardized throughout the hospital.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 is a perspective view of one embodiment according to the invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of another embodiment according to the invention, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a cutaway view of a removable portion of the embodiment of FIG. 4; 16a, 16b... Compartment chamber, 18.19... Inclined plane member, 22... Drug container FIG, 2 FIG, 3 plate

Claims (27)

[Claims] (1) A plurality of compartments are provided, and at least one of the plurality of compartments is provided with an inclined plane member having a surface that forms an acute angle with a horizontal plane, so that an observer can easily distinguish the type of drug without having to bend his or her head too much. characterized in that the surface of each inclined plane is adapted to support and display one or more drug containers placed in the compartment, such that each drug container is displayed at an angle such that the drug containers can be viewed. medical equipment for (2) A patent characterized in that the display means is adapted to be attached to the surface of the inclined planar member, and the display means corresponds to the display means of a drug container to be placed in a particular compartment. An apparatus according to claim (1). (3) The device according to claim (2), wherein the display means is provided with a color code corresponding to a color code of a drug container to be placed in the compartment. (4) The display means is provided with letters, symbols and/or numbers corresponding to the letters, symbols and/or numbers of the drug container to be placed in the compartment. ). (5) The device according to claim (3), wherein the display means is a color code label. (6) The device according to claim 1, wherein the compartments each have side walls that intersect with each other and intersect with the floor member. (7) At least one of the compartments is not provided with an inclined planar member, but has substantially vertical side walls and a horizontal floor member, and is adapted to accommodate and display medical instruments such as syringes. Claim No. 1 (
The device described in section 6). (8) Device according to claim (1), characterized in that the container used to contain the drug is an ampoule, a vial, a jar and/or a bottle. 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein each compartment has a width preselected to accommodate an integral number of medicament containers of standard dimensions. 10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the acute angle is in the range of approximately 10 degrees to 80 degrees. 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the acute angle is in the range of approximately 15 degrees to 45 degrees. (12) The compartment including the first inclined plane member includes a second inclined plane member having a surface that intersects the surface of the first inclined plane member, and the first and second inclined plane members Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the surfaces form an angle in the range from 60 degrees to 170 degrees. (13) The device according to claim (12), wherein the angle formed by the intersecting surfaces of the first and second inclined planes is in the range of 70 degrees to 110 degrees. . 14. The device of claim 13, wherein the bottom area of each compartment is rounded to facilitate cleaning of the device. (15) The device according to claim (14), wherein the device is made of plastic. (16) The device according to claim 15, wherein the floor member defines a through hole that prevents contaminants from remaining within the device and facilitates cleaning of the device. (17) A plurality of similar devices can be stacked, and each device is adapted to engage with the devices above and below the stack.
The device described in section 5). 18. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising housing means adapted to hold parts each having one or more compartments. (19) comprising a floor member and a vertical wall member intersecting the floor member to form a plurality of separate compartments, wherein at least one compartment includes an inclined planar member having a surface forming an acute angle with a horizontal plane; one or more drugs placed in the compartment, with each inclined plane surface displaying each drug container at an angle that allows an observer to identify the type of drug without having to bend his or her head too far; A drug holding and display device, characterized in that it is adapted to support and display containers. (20) A patent characterized in that the display means is adapted to be attached to the surface of the inclined planar member, and the display means corresponds to the display means of a drug container to be placed in a particular compartment. The device according to claim (19). (21) The device according to claim (20), wherein the display means is provided with a color code corresponding to a color code of a drug container to be placed in the compartment. (22) The display means is provided with letters, symbols and/or numbers corresponding to the letters, symbols and/or numbers of the drug container to be placed in the compartment. ). (23) The device according to claim (22), characterized in that the display means is a color code label attached to an inclined plane member provided with letters, symbols and/or numbers. (24) a floor member and a vertical wall member intersecting the floor member to form a plurality of separate compartments, wherein at least one compartment includes an inclined planar member having a surface forming an acute angle with a horizontal plane; one or more drugs placed in the compartment, with each inclined plane surface displaying each drug container at an angle that allows an observer to identify the type of drug without having to bend his or her head too far; The display means adapted to support and display containers, the display means attached to, formed on or on the surface of said inclined plane corresponding to the display means of a drug container to be placed in a particular compartment, said display means shall have color codes, letters, symbols and/or numbers that correspond respectively to the color codes, letters, symbols and/or numbers of the drug containers to be placed in the compartment.
or a drug holding and display device, characterized in that it is provided with numbers. (25) housing means adapted to hold a plurality of parts each having one or more compartments, said parts being removable from said housing means, and at least one compartment being adapted to hold a plurality of parts; , an inclined plane member having a surface that makes an acute angle with the horizontal plane, and the surface of each inclined plane is arranged so that each drug container is displayed at an angle that allows the viewer to confirm the type of drug without having to bend his head too much. A medical device adapted to support and display one or more drug containers placed in a compartment. (26) A compartment having an inclined plane member with a surface making an acute angle with the horizontal plane, so that each drug container is displayed at an angle that allows the observer to confirm the type of drug without having to bend his or her head too much. A medical device characterized in that each inclined plane surface is adapted to support and display one or more drug containers placed in a compartment. 27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein each compartment has a width preselected to accommodate an integral number of medicament containers of standard dimensions.