| abstract |
An improved apparatus and corresponding method are provided for verification of drugs to be dispensed by a pharmacy. A data processing platform and a bar code scanner perform first and second scanning operations. In the first scanning operation, a first bar code symbol (which is part of a prescription label for a given prescription) is scanned and the results are processed to recover the first code number encoded therein (which is assigned to the particular drug product of the given prescription). In the second scanning operation, a second bar code label (which is affixed to a selected container from the inventory of drug products maintained by the pharmacy) is scanned and the results are processed to recover the second code number encoded therein (which is assigned to the particular drug product held in the selected container). If the first and second code numbers match, the bar code verification is successful. If a match is not found, a database of equivalency links is accessed to determine if the second code number is equivalent to the first code number, The results of such equivalency link processing is used in selectively dispensing the drug product from the selected one container. Such operations allow for accurate dispensing of generic equivalents (or functional analogs) as specified by an authorized user of the system. |