US Patent 9636273 Drug monitoring methods and systems

A medication-tracking device includes: a storage mechanism adapted to securely store a plurality of doses of a medication; a dose distribution mechanism adapted to dispense a dose of the medication; a time identification mechanism adapted to identify the time for which the dose distribution mechanism dispenses a dose of the medication; an absolute location identification mechanism adapted to identify the absolute location at which the dose distribution mechanism dispenses a dose of the medication; and a communication mechanism adapted to report the time and absolute location information identified by the time and absolute location identification mechanisms. A medication-tracking system may include a medication tracking device, an associated device, and a central system, wherein the central system collects and analyzes the data.