Manage Facility Inventory

  • Updated

Record medications received, stored, and dispensed within your facility. From the Facility inventory tab, you can take key actions including adding new medications to inventory, logging medication transactions, collecting signatures to maintain compliance, and replenishing low-stock medications.

Facility Inventory Overview

The Facility Inventory page allows you to see all the medications your facility has in inventory. 

To access the Facility inventory, go to Inventory > Facility.

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Each row represents one pack or bottle of a specific medication with its unique serial number. Each row is color-coded: 

  • Green: The medication is active and in use. 
  • Red: The medication has expired.
  • White: The medication is not in use or empty.

Additionally, each row has a related icon:

  • In Use: the green checkmark means the medication is In Use and can be dispensed to the patients.
    InventoryInUseCheckbox.png
  • Not in Use: The empty checkbox means the medication is Not In Use (empty or stored for later), and cannot be dispensed to the patients.
    InventoryNotInUseCheckbox.png
  • Expired: An exclamation point means the medication has expired. 
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  • Replenish: The plus icon means the replenishment level has been reached. Click on the + to add a new bottle.
    Inventory-Replenish-icon.png
  • No icon indicates an inventory of 0.

You can filter the inventory by medication, status, date range, strength, serial number, and/or lot number. You can also click on the column headers to sort the data or export the inventory to a CSV file. 

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Add a New Medication to Inventory

When you need to add a new medication to the system, navigate to Inventory > Facility and click on the New button.

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  1. Let's break down the Add medication window by section. Required fields are marked with an asterisk (*).
  2. Medication, Route, Dosage Form, Strength: We recommend selecting these fields from the Medication Database to ensure that the medication inventory is properly linked to the doctor's orders. Medications are linked by exact name first, and then by code match next. Medications that are free-typed instead of selected from the drop-down are matched by exact name only. mceclip1.png
    1. To do this, begin typing in the Medication and select the matching drug from the drop-down. mceclip2.png
    2. Then, use the Route, Dosage Form, and Strength drop-downs to select the desired option. These drop-downs are populated by the database based on the medication selected. mceclip3.png
  3. Next, complete the following medication identifiers.mceclip5.png
    1. NDC No. Enter the medication's National Drug Code without dashes. This must be 10 or 11 digits.
    2. Lot No: Drug manufacturers assign lot numbers to medications during manufacturing to easily find specific medications for quality assurance purposes. If there was something wrong with the lot and a recall is issued, the medication can be easily tracked based on serial and lot numbers. Lot numbers can be shared between multiple bottles. 
    3. Serial No (or Starting Serial No): Serial Number is the unique number assigned to each bottle. If you have received the bulk order, you can check Multiple, and enter the number of bottles you received in the batch. Please enter the earliest serial number you have in the batch. The system will create as many bottles as you specified with the same Lot Number and incremental Serial Numbers.mceclip6.png
    4. Replenish alert quantity: Once you enter the received Quantity, the system will auto-calculate the replenishment amount based on your Replenish Alert Settings. There is no need to enter anything in this field.
  4. Next, select a Location. You cannot share the same bottle across different locations.mceclip8.png
  5. You can also enter the Manufacturer, Order Reference number, and Notes as needed.
  6. In the Transaction Details section, specify: mceclip9.png
    1. The Quantity received e.g., specify how many "pills" a bottle/pack has.
    2. Units: This field should be automatically populated based on the Dosage Form selected above.
    3. Enter the Received Date and Time.
    4. The Received By field auto-populates with your name. 
    5. Expiration Date: Click on the Month-Year link to select a specific month and year (in that case, the last day of the month is considered the final expiration date). You can also type in a specific date.
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    6. Witness: You can specify a witness for the transaction as required by company policy. Start typing the name of the witness, from the auto-complete list you can select any user who has access to Medication Inventory. Witnesses added will need to sign off on any transaction they are added as a witness to. Click here to learn more. 
    7. You can also add an attachment, like the order slip if needed.
  7. Once you have logged all necessary information, click Sign and Submit and add your signature to complete adding the medication into inventory.
  8. The medication is now in your facility inventory for the selected location.mceclip11.png

    Note The system saves the entered medication in the inventory because another bottle is already marked as In Use. If you enter a new medication that is not currently available in the inventory, the system will automatically mark it as In Use

Transactions

Each action taken on a medication in your inventory is recorded as a transaction. This includes common transactions that occur automatically when the medication is dispensed to the patient and manually added transactions like recording a spill or returned medication. 

Let's explore how to review and add transactions. 

  1. Navigate to Inventory > Facility.mceclip12.png
  2. Click on the Medication name to review its related transactions.
  3. The medication's inventory page contains the medication details, including the remaining quantity, and a table containing all the associated transactions. mceclip16.png
  4. Click on a transaction title to review information about that transaction. The available information is different for each transaction type. mceclip15.png
  5. From the medication's inventory page, click Add Transaction. mceclip17.png
  6. From the Add Transaction window, select a Transaction Type. mceclip18.png
    1. Spillage: Log a medication spill or waste. Specify the quantity of medication that was spilled. This number will subtract from the overall quantity, e.g., if there are 15 capsules and one was dropped, enter 1 and the remaining amount will be 14. 
    2. Med Count: Verify the quantity of medication remaining in the bottle by performing a med count. This may be done by your facility on a regular basis to ensure the integrity of your inventory. After counting the medication, enter the current quantity. If the count is different from the amount the system believes should be in the bottle based on previous transactions, the transaction will highlight yellow.mceclip19.png
    3. Lost: Log medication whose whereabouts are unknown. Specify the quantity you want to subtract from the quantity remaining amount.
    4. Returned: This transaction is designed to indicate the return of a defective bottle to the manufacturer or pharmacy (common examples include a broken seal, past expiration date, or recalled lot number). Specify the quantity you want to subtract from the remaining amount, this is typically the entire remaining amount.
    5. Disposed: Log pills you are about to destroy. Typically, this transaction will be used to remove expired or contaminated medication from your inventory. The system automatically fills in the remaining amount into the Quantity field. You can adjust this if needed.
      • This transaction type requires a witness. Start typing the name of the witness, from the auto-complete list you can select any user who has access to Medication Inventory. Witnesses added will need to sign off on any transaction they are added as a witness to. Click here to learn more. 
    6. Return to Inventory: Use this transaction to return medication to inventory. Enter the quantity that is being returned. This will increase the quantity remaining.
  7. Next, enter the Quantity, Units, and the Performed Date and Time. Your name will be automatically included in Performed By field. You can also include a Witness, as needed. Note: Disposed Transactions require a witness to save. mceclip20.png
  8. Click Sign and Submit and add your signature to complete the transaction.

Medication Inventory Actions

While on the medication details page, you can also perform the following actions:

Edit Received Transaction

Before any transactions have been added to the medication, you can make updates to the medication details after the new medication has been logged.

  1. Click on Edit icon next to the Received transaction to modify the details.mceclip22.png
  2. You cannot modify the Medication Name, Route, Dose Form, or Strength. If you've made a mistake in one of those fields, please create a Disposed Transaction for the full remaining amount to close out this inventory item. Then, create a new medication with the correct information.mceclip24.png
  3. If you made a mistake in another field, correct it and click Sign and Submit
  4. The system cancels the original Received transaction and creates a new transaction with the updated details. mceclip23.png

Cancel Transaction

You can cancel most transaction types before they have been reconciled: Spillage, Med Count, Lost, Returned, Disposed, Returned to Inventory, Transferred In, and Received (if no other transactions are logged). Dispensed transactions cannot be canceled.

  1. Click on the X to cancel the transaction. mceclip25.png
  2. Click Sign and Submit and add your signature to complete the cancellation.
  3. The canceled transaction remains on the list but appears with a strike-through. The Remaining amount will be updated automatically.mceclip26.png

Reconcile

Reconciling a medication automatically locks all transactions, preventing deletions. Before you can reconcile the transaction, all witness and reviewer signatures must be applied. You can add more (editable) transactions after you reconciled the existing transactions. Click on Reconcile button to complete the action.mceclip28.png

Change In-Use Bottle

If you have multiple bottles of the same medication, you can switch the In Use bottle and (optional) transfer the remaining pills to the new bottle.

Med Log Message

When the inventory reaches 0 quantity remaining but you have additional bottles of the medications in the inventory, you'll receive the following alert in the Med Log on the patient chart. mceclip1.png

Change Bottle

  1. Open the Facility Inventory by clicking Inventory > Facility. mceclip0.png
  2. Click on a box in In Use column.mceclip2.png
  3. The Remaining Quantity is the current quantity of medication in the current bottle. Check the Transfer medication to new bottle box to transfer this quantity to the new bottle, if desired.mceclip4.png
  4. Select the New Bottle Serial Number (Lot Number) from the drop-down. This defaults to the next serial number in the sequence but you can choose a different bottle if desired. Only bottles added in the original received transaction will display here. If no bottles are available, please use the Replenish option described below.
  5. Click Sign and Submit and add your signature to complete the change.
  6. The new bottle serial number and related quantity remaining will appear as the In Use medication. mceclip5.png
  7. Opening the medication will show the medication moved from the previous bottle to the new bottle as a Transferred In transaction type. mceclip6.png
  8. The previous medication and its related transactions remain in your inventory for reference and cannot be set as In Use. mceclip8.png

Transfer medication between Facility and Patient inventory - read more details in How to Transfer Medication from Facility Inventory to Patient Inventory.

Replenish Medication

Once the medication's remaining amount reaches the Replenish alert level or the medication expires, the system allows you to complete a simple refill without needing to add the medication from scratch.

  1. Open the Facility Inventory by clicking Inventory > Facility. mceclip0.png
  2. Click on the Replenish icon. mceclip9.png
  3. Medication, route, dose form, and strength are already completed along with the Location. Complete the required fields following the standard medication add process. The Quantity is pre-filled but can be adjusted as needed. mceclip10.png
  4. Once ready, click on Sign and Submit.
  5. This creates a new bottle in the system.
  6. Once you finish (or are about to finish) the current bottle, you can switch the bottles following the instructions above.

Signatures

You can collect signatures on your inventory transactions as required by company policy. There are two types of signatures: 

  • Witness Signatures: You can assign Witnesses to transactions and those users will need to sign off on the transactions they witnessed from the inventory page. Click here to learn more. 
  • Reviewer Signatures: Users with the Review Medication Inventory feature can sign off on all transactions in the system. Click here to learn more.

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