Depending on your practice, pharmaceutical dispensing software might be a good fit. Any office that dispenses unit-of-use pharmaceuticals has to track the medication information, patient information and date of dispense. How long this information has to be retained will vary depending on your state regulations. Some state also require the reporting of any controlled substances dispensed to patients. There are two options for managing dispensing in your clinic: manual dispensing labels and dispensing software.
If you have a large practice and have state reporting requirements, an electronic dispensing system might be the right answer. Dispensing software allows the user to input the dispensing information and then print the label. These systems will track inventory levels and make it very easy to pull dispensing data. The main problem with dispensing software is that it typically does not integrate with your EMR (electronic medical record) system and therefore might require double-entry of data – a deal killer in many practices. Software also tends to be slower than writing manual labels – physician dispensing does not work well in situation where the system slows the patient evaluation or checkout process.
Manual dispensing systems typically use a carbon label on which the patient name and prescription instructions are written. The labels are pre-printed with clinic and physician information so it doesn’t take any longer than writing a prescription. The medications have four peel-off labels that contain drug dating and lot information so the the clinic can place relative dispensing information on a patient chart, receipt and in the logbook.
Regardless of the method. Speed and ease-of-use are critical for any dispensing system. If you want to use dispensing software, be sure to view a demo of the system prior to committing to make sure it works with your office processes.
