Pharmacy

A community pharmacy sells over a counter like any shop, but its medicines follow the law: some only on a prescription, some only with a pharmacist, and controlled drugs in a register. Kila runs it as a shop with the Pharmacy rules: the till asks for what each medicine needs, the pharmacist approves from the counter or their phone, and the patient’s record, the labels and the registers come with each sale.

What is special

• Every medicine sells by its schedule. The till marks P, POM and CD on the tiles. A pharmacy-only medicine waits for a pharmacist’s approval; a prescription-only or controlled one also needs the prescription on the sale: Selling medicines.
• A pharmacist on duty at each branch. The pharmacist signs on when they arrive. With nobody on duty, the tills refuse what needs a pharmacist, unless a pharmacist approves it at the till and so goes on duty.
• The patient’s record at the till. With the patient on the sale, the payment shows their allergies, what they take, their repeats and what they are owed, and checks the medicines against them.
• Registers that keep themselves. Each controlled drug sold goes in the register with its balance, each prescription in the prescriptions dispensed, and each medicine gets its dispensing label.
• Insurers, SHA and schemes at the counter. The payer’s share goes on its account to claim, and the patient pays the rest.

Zoom

A day at the pharmacy

1. Sign on. The pharmacist signs on duty at the branch: Sign on duty.
2. Open the tills. Each person counts the float into their till: Open a shift.
3. Sell and dispense. Over-the-counter medicines sell straight through. Pharmacy-only ones wait for the pharmacist: Sell a medicine that needs a pharmacist and Approve medicines for the till. Prescriptions, repeats and owings: Dispense a prescription, Dispense a repeat or an owing and Print dispensing labels.
4. Bill the payers. SHA, insurers and schemes pay their share on account: Bill an insurer or SHA at the till.
5. Close. The tills are counted, the closing checks done and the pharmacist signs off: Close the pharmacy for the day.

Other work comes round less often: counting the controlled drugs, sending short-dated stock back, a recall and the claims. Their pages are below.

Tasks for a pharmacy

Kila’s menu has a Pharmacy section: On duty, refills and owings, Patients and medication records, Prescriptions, repeats and owings, Controlled drugs and counts, Expiry, returns and recalls, Insurance and SHA claims, the three registers and Pharmacy settings.

• Sign on duty: the pharmacist on duty at each branch.
• Sell to a clinic or another pharmacy: trade sales, without a prescription.
• Count controlled drugs: the count against the register.
• Return expired and short-dated stock and Recall a batch.
• Claim from insurers and SHA: the claims clerk’s work.
• Selling medicines: the rules, the settings and the registers an inspector may ask for.

Who does what

Role	What Kila says it is for
Owner	Full access to the business, including billing. At Dawa Bora Chemists the owner is also the superintendent pharmacist.
Pharmacist	Approves prescription and pharmacy-only medicines, sells, keeps patients’ medication records and the controlled-drug register. Needs a PPB registration number.
Pharmaceutical technologist	As a pharmacist: approves scheduled medicines, keeps medication records and the register. Needs a PPB registration number.
Dispensing assistant	Sells over the counter and prepares prescriptions (with the patient’s record); a pharmacist approves scheduled medicines.
Claims clerk	Insurance, SHA and scheme claims: covers, pre-authorisations, claim batches, remittances and ageing. No till.
Cashier	Sells at the till and runs their own shift: at a pharmacy, often the front shop.
Inventory manager	Owns stock accuracy across branches: at a pharmacy, the batches and expiry dates, returns to suppliers and recalls.

How Kila sets it up

The main screen is Till (scan and sell).

Rules it follows:

• Pharmacy: Drug schedules, prescriptions, pharmacist sign-off, batches and expiry

Its words:

Kila's standard words: customer, product, sale, receipt and branch.

Its set-up steps

1. Business details and KRA PIN
2. PPB premises licence and superintendent
3. First branch, opening hours and till
4. Products with prices and VAT
5. Medicines with schedule, active ingredient and strength
6. Opening stock
7. Opening stock with batch numbers and expiry dates
8. Suppliers
9. Reorder levels
10. Staff and roles
11. Pharmacists with their PPB registration numbers
12. A pharmacist signed on duty
13. M-Pesa till or paybill
14. KRA eTIMS and item codes
15. Scanner, receipt printer and drawer
16. Returns policy and till rules
17. Insurers, SHA and schemes you bill (if any)
18. First sale

Its home page

• Sales today against the same day last week
• Tills open and their takings
• Prescriptions today and the pharmacist on duty
• Top sellers today
• Low or out of stock
• Medicines expiring or low
• Refills due and owings to supply
• Gross margin and Margin watch
• Payments waiting for confirmation
• Approvals and reviews waiting
• Products without a KRA item code
• Licences, permits and returns due
• Services due and reminders
• Insurance and SHA claims

Roles it starts with

• Till supervisor: Runs the tills on the floor: reviews shifts and counts, approves discounts and voids within limits. No prices, settings or purchasing.
• Merchandiser: Keeps products, prices and shelf labels up to date; suggests prices below the minimum margin. No money or tills.
• Pharmacist: Approves prescription and pharmacy-only medicines, sells, keeps patients’ medication records and the controlled-drug register. Needs a PPB registration number.
• Pharmaceutical technologist: As a pharmacist: approves scheduled medicines, keeps medication records and the register. Needs a PPB registration number.
• Dispensing assistant: Sells over the counter and prepares prescriptions (with the patient’s record); a pharmacist approves scheduled medicines.
• Claims clerk: Insurance, SHA and scheme claims: covers, pre-authorisations, claim batches, remittances and ageing. No till.

Reports that matter here

The pharmacy’s three registers are in Kila’s menu under Pharmacy, and with the other reports under Money › Reports, in the Pharmacy group:

Report	What Kila says it shows
Controlled drugs register	Every movement of a controlled drug, with who it was dispensed to, on whose prescription, and the balance left.
Prescriptions dispensed	Each prescription filled: patient, prescriber and registration number, what was dispensed and the pharmacist who approved.
Sales by drug schedule	Medicines sold by schedule (general sale, pharmacy only, prescription only, controlled), net of returns.

In the Stock group, Expiring stock lists the “Batches that expire soon or have expired, with their value.” What an inspector may ask for: Selling medicines.

Try it in the demo

Dawa Bora Chemists runs as a pharmacy, with made-up data: two branches, Tom Mboya Street in Nairobi and Kitengela, a pharmacist on duty at each, patients on repeat prescriptions, the controlled drugs register and its counts, a PPB recall, and SHA and insurers billed at the counter. The link fills in the person’s email: add the demo password the Kila team gave you.

• Dawa Bora ChemistsPharmacy (chemist)Sign in as Dr. Wanjiku Mbugua (owner) (opens in a new tab)