Anyone know what this is called?

[owlegrad]

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So a while back I had seen a device at a trade show that looked kind of like a waffle press that is used to punch out medications in blister packs. Sort of like this:

Except instead of doing one at a time it does a card of thirty at once. Obviously it doesn't have a lot of utility but anyone who works with prepackaged products everyday knows that sometimes you want to punch them out quickly and easily (mostly when you have goofed up really badly).

But anyway I can't find such a device from any of my usual pharmacy sources and I am hoping that someone on here has seen or heard of such a thing and knows what I am talking about?

 

[pezdispenser]

yeah that's my uncle Deblisterer
Rx Systems, Inc. > Products > Equipment > Medication Reclamation/Disposal

 

[Old Timer]

Amazon is your friend.....

 

[owlegrad]

Amazon is your friend.....

Um no, that’s not the item I am looking for. 😉

EDIT: For clarity, that was the example image I used to try to explain the thing I was really looking for. I wasn't trying to find that exact item.

 

[owlegrad]

yeah that's my uncle Deblisterer
Rx Systems, Inc. > Products > Equipment > Medication Reclamation/Disposal

Thanks! I tried a few different google searches but had no luck. 🙂

 

[JustFillIt]

If I was the inventor I would have named this “The Pillpopper”.

 

[maria1oh]

Lately with all the backorders we have been stuck ordering unit doses like this for common retail meds. We can dispense them in the unit doses but then some patients complain. This tool could help

 

[RxPreceptor]

Man, must be nice to have time to punch out blister packs...I would question why when keeping them in the blister pack keeps the expiration date intact should the med not be used/RTS'd

 

[owlegrad]

Man, must be nice to have time to punch out blister packs...I would question why when keeping them in the blister pack keeps the expiration date intact should the med not be used/RTS'd

Well in my case I want it for when we mess up and pack something wrong, which is depressingly common. I can’t seem to convince my boss of the need for it though.

 

[rxJuggler]

Deblistering Machine

 

[rxJuggler]

More choices:

https://www.google.com/search?q=pharmacist+tools+and+equipment+deblisterer

 

[Idk17]

Pez posted the one that my LTC pharmacy uses. With the volume of things that get returned by the homes, get packed wrong, or just our DOSIS machines messing things up, it saves a ton of time when it comes to returning things to stock.

To respond to RxVampire.. my pharmacy processes enough orders that if we just tossed blister cards back onto the shelf as RTS items, we'd need way more room for our drugs. I have an issue with the way we RTS things, but keeping it all in cards definitely wouldn't work.

 

[owlegrad]

Pez posted the one that my LTC pharmacy uses. With the volume of things that get returned by the homes, get packed wrong, or just our DOSIS machines messing things up, it saves a ton of time when it comes to returning things to stock.

To respond to RxVampire.. my pharmacy processes enough orders that if we just tossed blister cards back onto the shelf as RTS items, we'd need way more room for our drugs. I have an issue with the way we RTS things, but keeping it all in cards definitely wouldn't work.

Interesting, so you punch everything out that gets returned? Where do you store the pills that get punched out, surely they don’t get returned to the stock bottles? Or do they?

We pack everything using foils and that is the only system I have ever seen so I am curious how your system works.

 

[Litha]

We called them Pill Punchers. Google that, lots of options come up.

ETA: Oh never mind, I didn't see you were looking for something that does a card at a time. No, I've actually never seen that but sounds cool!

 

[Idk17]

Where do you store the pills that get punched out, surely they don’t get returned to the stock bottles? Or do they?

They sure do, and that's what I meant by having an issue with the way we do things. I've brought it up a few times but they refuse to change things.

The wrong med gets put back into the wrong stock bottle (by a pharmacist) all the time. Yeah, nevermind that phenytoin 100mg and terazosin 5mg are totally different drugs.. they're both small orange capsules with similar black markings, so obviously it's cool to dump them into the same bottle.

The way I'd like to do things is simply rip the label off the blister pack, rubber band it to an amber vial and put that back on the shelf. The powers that be are totally against this for some reason.