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CEP 9: Pharmacy Management

Motive​

CARE already includes prescription management and doctor prescription creation. This enhancement aims to extend the existing functionality to include robust pharmacy-specific features, improving medication dispensing, inventory control, and overall pharmacy operations.

Requirements​

1. Store Management​

  • Support multiple main stores (warehouses) and multiple substores (stocking points) within a facility
  • Implement hierarchical structure for stores (warehouses -> substores)
  • Allow each store (main store or substore) to have a specific location associated with it
  • Enable inventory tracking across all stores and substores
  • Allow stock transfers between stores with logging
  • Support identifiers to track where medicine is stored within a store (e.g., shelf number, bin location)
  • Implement stock transfers from main store to substores based on intents/requests from substores
  • Support inventory management for all hospital consumables (e.g., detergents, chairs, bins, bed sheets) in the main store
  • Enable transfer of non-medical items to corresponding departments and track in their inventory

2. Inventory Management​

  • Track medication and other supplies inventory at the batch level
  • Support multiple units of measurement for products
  • Enable automatic reorder alerts based on configurable thresholds
  • Provide real-time inventory visibility across all stores
  • Implement minimum stock alerts for each product
  • Support baseline stock maintenance levels for each store
  • Track expiration dates for all products
  • Generate alerts for approaching expiration dates
  • Support medicine take-back procedures and tracking
  • Automatically choose the first-to-expire batch for each product to dispense from (FEFO)
  • Ability to view the current stock levels by product
  • Implement a notification system for drugs that need refrigeration (e.g., vaccines and some IV antibiotics)
  • Capture and track the quantity of each medication in corresponding units (e.g., 30ml or 100ml for syrup bottles)
  • Implement data analysis for each substore and main store to suggest optimum inventory levels
  • Track and analyze high-value inventory consumption rates and areas
  • Support real-time consumption tracking for items not directly charged to patients (e.g., cotton)

3. Batch Management​

  • Assign unique identifiers to each product batch
  • Track batch details: manufacturer, production date, expiration date, quantity
  • Support procurement of products from suppliers, broken up by batches with their expiry dates

4. Order Management​

  • Create and manage purchase orders for restocking
  • Track order status (placed, in transit, received, etc.)
  • Support partial order receipts and backorders
  • Future: Allow creation of intent for purchase orders based on usage trends and stock levels
  • Implement a two-level approval system for high-value item purchases

5. Supplier Management​

  • Maintain a database of approved suppliers
  • Suppliers are facility level
  • Manage vendor/supplier information
  • Implement a vendor addition process that captures product information and source of vendor introduction

6. Prescription Management​

  • Extend existing prescription model to include pharmacy-relevant states (e.g., Prescribed, Verified, Partially Dispensed, Fully Dispensed, Cancelled)
  • Implement workflow for prescription state transitions
  • Generate printable prescriptions with all necessary details
  • Create secure, time-limited public links for prescription access
  • Clearly mark medicines on prescriptions that are not available in-store and add note to buy from outside
  • Let staff in pharmacy with specific permission to update medicine and count
  • Implement allergy and drug interaction warnings
  • Implement a token system for dispensing

7. Dispensing​

  • Record full or partial dispensing of medications
  • Generate medication labels with instructions
  • Update prescription states and inventory upon dispensing
  • Support barcode scanning for medication identification
  • Automatic reduction in stock of product batch quantities when patient pays for the invoice consisting of products (via the billing function)
  • Display allergy and drug interaction warnings during the dispensing process
  • Implement alerts for similar sounding/looking medicines

8. Billing and Payments​

  • Integrate with the planned billing system for medication charges
  • Process returns and refunds, updating inventory accordingly
  • Apply GST (Goods and Services Tax) to billing as required
  • Implement controls to prevent unauthorized discounting of bills
  • Flag unusual billing patterns or discrepancies for review

9. Reporting and Analytics​

  • Generate reports on: a. Sales, discounts, and credits b. Purchases c. Stock movement d. Inventory status e. Fast-moving and slow-moving medicines
  • Provide financial reports including sales, claims, and profit margins
  • Track and report on batch utilization and expiry
  • Implement metrics on rate of usage across medicines
  • Implement red flagging or alerts for abnormal consumption rates or low/high billing values
  • Generate reports on real-time consumption of items not directly charged to patients

10. User Management and Security​

  • Extend existing user roles to include pharmacy-specific permissions
  • Implement audit trails for all pharmacy-related actions
  • Implement strict controls on discount application, limiting it to admin-level users

11. Environmental Controls​

  • Implement a system to track and manage medications requiring special storage conditions (e.g., refrigeration)
  • Set up alerts and notifications for temperature-sensitive medications

Reviewed By​

  • Dr. Athul Joseph Manuel
  • Dr. George Tukalan
  • Dr. Sachin Suresh