Abstract: A pill dispensing apparatus to select medication from one or more pill chambers, including a dispensing mechanism, a controller and a computer. Each pill chamber includes media containing dosage and other information regarding the medication in the pill chamber and, optionally, personal medical data. A sensor reads the stored information and provides it to the computer and controller, causing the dispensing mechanism to dispense pills from the respective pill chambers based on the stored information.

Abstract: An automated pill dispenser includes a plurality of pill chambers peripherally disposed about a hub. The hub includes a rotatable plate capable of rotating to a selected pill chamber and removing a pill therefrom. A vacuum tip including a bellows extends through an access opening formed within the rotatable plate to withdraw a pill from a bottom portion of the selected pill chamber by grasping the pill from above. A reflective bar code is disposed beneath the rotatable plate and detectable through an opening through the plate to indicate plate position relative to the pill chambers. A computer enables a user to programmably operable the pill dispenser and select the pill chamber, dosage amount and time.