Dispense a prescription

A prescription-only medicine, marked POM on the till (and a controlled drug, CD), is sold only with the prescription recorded on the sale and a pharmacist’s approval. With the patient on the sale, Kila also shows their medication record and checks the medicines against it before anyone takes the money.

Steps

1. Put the patient on the sale

   Tap Add a customer (optional), find the patient by name, phone or number and choose them. Their record then comes with the sale.

2. Add the medicine and tap Charge

   Tap the medicine into the cart: its tile shows POM. Tap Charge.

3. Read the patient's record

   The payment opens with the patient: Allergies:, what they take (Takes:) and their Conditions:, and any Repeat prescriptions on record. Samuel Kiprono Rotich has no allergies recorded and takes warfarin.

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4. Record the prescription

   Under Dispense on prescription: type the Prescriber, the Prescriber’s registration number, the Patient and the Date on the prescription, as written on it. Prescription reference (the hospital or clinic number) and Repeats allowed, with the days apart, are optional.

5. Write the directions

   In Directions for each medicine, write the dose as the prescriber gave it: it is “Printed on the dispensing label.” When you supply only part of what was prescribed, type the full amount in Quantity prescribed: “More than sold leaves the rest owed.” See Dispense a repeat or an owing.

6. Get the pharmacist's approval

   The pharmacist signs in at the till or approves from their phone, as for a pharmacy-only medicine: Sell a medicine that needs a pharmacist. The panel says Approved by Dr. Brian Otieno.

7. Clear the clinical alerts

   Under Clinical alerts, Kila lists allergies, interactions and duplicate therapy it found. Metronidazole with warfarin reads: “Metronidazole 400mg tablets, 21 with Warfarin 5mg tablets, 28 (a chronic medicine): Raises the warfarin effect; bleeding risk (major).” Check with the patient or prescriber, tick the alert and write the Reason for going on. The reason is kept with the prescription.

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8. Take the payment

   Take the payment as for any sale. The receipt names the prescription: “Prescription RX-… for Samuel Kiprono Rotich, by Dr. Salma Abdi (KMPDC A12460). Pharmacist: Dr. Brian Otieno.”

9. Print the labels and keep a photo

   Tap Print dispensing labels: one label for each medicine on the prescription, see Print dispensing labels. Under Prescription RX-…, Kila offers to keep a photo of the paper prescription: “A photo of Samuel Kiprono Rotich’s prescription, kept with the sale.”

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Good to know

The checks come from a starter list, and Kila says so on the screen: “Checks come from Kila’s starter list for the pharmacist to review. They are not a full drug database.” The pharmacist’s own judgement still decides.

What if

The payment buttons stay grey

Their hint names what is missing. “Record the prescription first.” means a required field of the prescription is empty: the prescriber, their registration number, the patient or the date. “Acknowledge the clinical alerts with a reason first.” means an alert is not ticked, or the reason is empty.

The patient is allergic to the medicine

Kila shows:

Clinical alerts

Grace Nyambura is allergic to penicillin: Amoxicillin 500mg capsules, 21 contains amoxicillin.

Under the alert Kila says “Only a pharmacist can go on: the pharmacist sells it or approves at the till.” Ask the pharmacist to come to the till: they decide whether to go on, and with what reason.

It is a controlled drug

Tramadol, diazepam, codeine and the other CD medicines are dispensed the same way. Kila also writes each one in the controlled drugs register, with the patient, the prescriber, the pharmacist and the balance left at the branch. See Count controlled drugs.

Related

• Dispense a repeat or an owing: the next issue of a prescription on record.
• Print dispensing labels: what each label says.
• Bill an insurer or SHA at the till: when a payer covers the patient.

Next: find every prescription later under Pharmacy › Prescriptions, repeats and owings.