End of Lot Waste Procedure for Pump Medications

When switching between Methadone bottles from the same lot, left-over medication can be safely transferred to a newly opened bottle from the existing lot. However, when a facility has used all methadone inventory from a specific lot number, a special End of Lot Waste procedure must be performed to prevent cross-lot contamination.  

What is a Lot?

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.  

End of Lot/Waste Procedure 

The End of Lot Procedure is hardcoded in the system and cannot be disabled to ensure compliance with cross-contamination prevention measures.  

There are a few scenarios where you may need to complete the End of Lot Waste procedure:  

• You are currently dispensing medication from the final bottle of a particular lot in your inventory and you don’t have enough medication to complete the order. You receive the following error message:
• It’s the end of the day and the remaining methadone in the final bottle of the lot is unable to be used in another transaction.

Closing the Bottle 

Start by completing the End of Day procedure to close the bottle.  

1. Click on the Pump tab at the top of your screen.
2. The Change Bottle tab opens by default with the following error message.
3. Open the End of Day tab.
4. Click on the Empty Medication button. Make sure to empty all medication content in tubing. 
5. Click on the Close Medication button.
6. Weigh your methadone bottle as you would at the close of shift. Enter the Bottle Weight in grams.
   
7. Then, click Sign and Submit to collect your signature and close out the bottle. 
8. You’ll receive a message saying the bottle is closed.

Note: If you are currently in the middle of dispensing medication to patients, you can set aside the closed bottle in a safe location and complete the End of Lot procedure described below at the end of your shift. To continue dispensing, please follow the Start of Day procedure to open a new bottle from the next lot number.   

Mark Remaining Medication as Waste 

Once you’ve closed the bottle and decided that you are unable to use the remaining medication for this lot, mark the remaining inventory as Waste.  

1. Open the Inventory tab.
2. Use the Advanced Search feature to find the bottle of methadone that you need to waste by lot and/or serial number.
3. After finding the correct bottle (should be the bottle with a quantity remaining), click on the name of the Medication to open the bottle’s transaction history.
4. This page displays every transaction that has been taken on this bottle. Note the Quantity Remaining in the bottle. This is the amount in milligrams that needs to be marked as Waste.
5. Click Add Transaction.
6. Let’s review how to complete the Add Transaction window to record the waste.
1. Select Waste from the Transaction type drop-down.
2. Enter the Quantity remaining in the bottle in milligrams.  
3. Click into the Performed Date and Time field to select the date and time the medication is being wasted.  
4. Enter any Notes dictated by facility protocols.
5. Include attachments by clicking Add attachment, if needed. 
6. Specify a Witness as dictated by facility protocols by clicking into the empty textbox and typing the name of the staff member that witnessed the transaction. Select the user from the drop-down. 
7. Lastly, click Sign and Submit to finalize the transaction and waste the contents of the bottle. 
8. The bottle will list a 0mg Quantity Remaining. This ensures staff won't attempt to open this bottle and dispense from it in the future, preventing errors.

Reporting on Waste 

You can report on any wasted medication using the MAT Reconciliation Report. The wastage in milligrams is listed in the second column.