Portable patient devices, systems, and methods for providing patient aid and preventing medical errors, for monitoring patient use of ingestible medications, and for preventing distribution of counterfeit drugs

摘要

A portable digital patient assistant includes an RFID reader, a central processing unit for processing signals received from the RFID reader, a memory for storing data, and an output operatively linked to the central processing unit for providing output information regarding use of medicinal drugs. Methods for using the portable digital patient assistant include use at the doctor's office, pharmacy, emergency medical vehicle, hospital, home, and use while taking medications to the verify authenticity thereof and prevent drug overdoses. Related methods and systems for manufacturing, packaging, and shipping medicinal drugs to prevent the distribution of counterfeit drugs are also provided. One of the methods includes the steps of preparing a predetermined amount of a specific type of drug for patient end-users; forming discrete individual doses of the specific type of drug; and associating a respective RFID tag with each of the discrete individual doses of the specific type of drug so that when the specific type of drug is distributed to the patient end-users, at least one RFID reader may be employed to read the RFID tags associated with each of the discrete individual doses to thereby verify the authenticity of the doses as they move through a distribution channel from a manufacture to the patient end-users.