TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to facilitating the tracking of the chain of custody of individual consumable articles. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to an apparatus, system and method for applying unique identifiers to individual pharmaceutical articles at a point of sale.

BACKGROUND

The opioid overdose crisis has reached epidemic levels. Nearly half of all opioid deaths involved prescription opioids. More people currently die from overdoses than they do from guns and cars. What is needed are new, more effective, cost-effective solutions for fighting the growing opioid crisis.

SUMMARY

Certain deficiencies of the prior art are overcome by the provision of embodiments of a new apparatus, system and method for implementation partially or entirely within a pharmaceutical point-of-sale location. Such apparatus, system and method involve application of indelible identifiers onto, for example, tablets and capsules at the point of sale or dispensation (e.g., pharmacies and clinics). Examples of indelible identifiers may include, for example, text, bar codes, an image of the patient's face, an RFID tag, a combination thereof or the like. This technology allows unique identifiers to be applied on each pharmaceutical article (e.g., pill, tablet or capsule) at the time it is dispensed, without damaging the originally-manufactured article, thereby providing for prescription and patient traceability, and a tool to help curb drug counterfeiting and drug overdose. Preferably, imprinting a unique identification (e.g., patient name, prescription number, etc.) on each opioid dosage, could allow local and federal law enforcement, through the use of a database, to identify and trace each prescription back to the original patient and their prescribing doctor.

