General Picking Procedure at Providen
- "Picking" refers to the obtaining of products which are required for the fulfillment of the client order
- This document outlined the steps in the picking process from the process of drug retrieval from the dispensary until orders are sent down the line for "Checking"
- Picking is the first step in the process of order fulfillment in the warehouse
1. Open Profill
2. Login to Profill > Warehouse > Patient List will Populate the screen
3. On the bottom left of the screen press "Flip Badges" to display the products required for each order
- "Flip Badges" will toggle the display info between patient name and product name
4. Click on an order
5. Note the product DIN and quantity required to fill the order
6. Find the product on the shelves of the pharmacy
- Ensure the correct quantity of product is obtained
- Example: If order calls for 300 Teva-Clopidogrel 75mg (02293161), 3 x 100 tab bottles are needed for the fill
7. Scan the product UPC barcode which is required to fulfill the order
- As the product is scanned, a window will pop up asking for the product expiration date. Filling in these fields will print the product expiration date on a label with the patient information and a barcode, called the patient label.
- IF the product is destined for a vial, the product expiration date must be used to populate the expiration date field that will pop up on screen after scanning the product barcode. Medications that will be filled using the stock medication bottle or stock medication box do not need to have accurate expiration dates in this field, as this information will be made available on the medication bottle/box.
8. Affix the label to the product package
- DO NOT cover information relating to the product name, DIN, LOT number, or expiration date
- For small stock bottles of medication, for which important medication information would be occluded by the patient label, patient labels should be affixed using the Butterfly Method
- IF necessary, the preference is to cover the French label and instructions rather than the English text
- IMPORTANT: For boxed medications, ensure the label barcode is completely on one flat side of a product box. This will ensure the product will properly scan for checking and shipping purposes down the line
9. Scan the label barcodes that have been affixed to the product until all items of the order have been accounted for
- Any products in the order which are currently unavailable should adhere to the Picking Backorder Protocol
10. Place all the items of one particular order in one tote and send the order down the line to the checking station
- Any orders which contain only a single item should be kept together in one tote. This bucket of singles should be sent down the line to the checking station when it is full.
- Any orders which contain multiple items which do not fit in a single tote should be separated into as few totes as possible, and should be sent down the line to the checking station together.
Refrigerated Products
See AeroSafe - Picking Procedure
Boxed Medications
Below are a list of special cases regarding the picking of boxed medications:
- IMPORTANT: For boxed medications, ensure the label barcode is completely on one flat side of a product box. This will ensure the product will properly scan for checking and shipping purposes down the line
1. For orders which require a quantity of boxed medication which does not match the pack-size:
- IF the blister pack is perforated such that individual pills can be removed from the pack in a uniform way without otherwise requiring scissors to remove individual units, these pills can be added to a full box of medication as required.
- Example: Adalat XL 30mg (02155907) comes in a pack-size of 98 capsules. If an order requires 100 capsules, 2 of these capsules can be torn from the blister pack of the opened package, and added to a full box of the product to fulfill the required quantity, as this blister pack has perforations which allow for a uniform tear. When this is done, the quantity written on the new package should be changed to reflect the quantity of product which is now in the box. In this example, the number 98 on the box should be crossed out with Sharpie, and the number 100 should be written in its place.
- IF the blister pack of the medication DOES NOT have perforations, and so making the desired quantity of medication would require cutting the blister pack, these orders must be identified for the pharmacy techs. The pharmacy techs will then contact the client and have the order resubmitted for the appropriate pack-size
- Example: Eliquis 5mg (02397714) comes in a pack size of 3x20 tablets (3 blister packs with 20 tablets each). If an order requires 84 tablets, the order cannot be filled, as this quantity does not reflect a multiple of the pack-size, or a multiple of the blister packs which are contained within the medication box. This order must be identified for the pharmacy techs so that the client can resend the order for an appropriately divisible quantity.
- Example: Eliquis 5mg (02397714) comes in a pack size of 3x20 tablets (3 blister packs with 20 tablets each). If an order requires 80 tablets, this order can be filled, as this quantity does reflect a multiple of the blister packs which are contained within the medication box. In order to fill the order, one full 20 tablet blister pack should be removed from an open medication box, and inserted into a full box of medication containing 3x20 tablets. In this example, the number 3x20 on the box should be crossed out with Sharpie, and the number 4x20 should be written in its place.
Vial Medications
Stock medication bottles are preferred for all orders which require a drug quantity that is a multiple of the pack-size.
- Vials should only be used to package medications when any of the following conditions are met:
- The order calls for a quantity of medication which is less than the pack-size of the product
- The order calls for a quantity of medication which is greater than the pack-size of the product, but is not a multiple of the product pack-size
- The client has made a special request to have the patient order packaged in a vial (Example: Snap Caps)
- IF the vial quantity DOES NOT match the number of vials required to fill the order, the pack-size should be changed before the picking is started for the order. This is common for orders which require a large quantity of a medication, or if the size of the tablets/capsules for the fill are large
- Example: An order requires 400 tablets of pmsc-Metformin 850mg (02520311). The pack-size of this medication is 500 tablets, and so the medication must be packaged in vials. Furthermore, as these tablets are quite large, the default vial quantity of 1 will not be enough to contain the entire quantity of medication required to fill the order. It is most likely that 4 of the 60 Dram vials will be required to contain all the medication.
- How to Change Vial Quantity: Right Click on the drug in the order > a window will pop up with options to change vial quantity, pack-size, print UPC, etc.
- How to Change Vial Quantity: Right Click on the drug in the order > a window will pop up with options to change vial quantity, pack-size, print UPC, etc.
- Pack-sizes can be changed: left click on drug > right click > window will allow to change pack-size, print UPC, etc
- Example: An order requires 400 tablets of pmsc-Metformin 850mg (02520311). The pack-size of this medication is 500 tablets, and so the medication must be packaged in vials. Furthermore, as these tablets are quite large, the default vial quantity of 1 will not be enough to contain the entire quantity of medication required to fill the order. It is most likely that 4 of the 60 Dram vials will be required to contain all the medication.
- All medications in a vial, must include the product expiration date from the stock medication bottle to populate the expiration date field that will pop up on screen after scanning the product barcode
Backorder List
The Backorder List should be monitored every morning upon the delivery of new product
These orders will have been waiting to be fulfilled, and so these orders should be a top priority
To check the backorder list follow these steps:
1. Open Profill
2. Login to Profill > Warehouse > Holds
As
label will print (watch pack size and medication quantity)
Open up picking
do all picking first
Two Most important things to take note of when picking: DIN, and Quantity
fridge items get their own tote and must get a cooler pack before being sent down the line
All singles go in a bucket
all orders with more than 1 product get their own tote
Always watch quantities: anything that is not a multiple of the pack-size or anything requires less than the pack-size must be placed in a vial
Box medications are never taken out of their blister packaging
For big pills requiring large quantities: ex. Metformin
Before you start picking, change the vial quantity
Westview = 6 months
Vials must have the expiry date written on them
Policies: All open bottles are identified by writing an X on them
No medication which has been previously opened will be put back on the shelf without being identified with markings
All medications which are refrigerated will be kept out of the fridge for the least amount of time possible and will be accompanied by an ice pack for the duration of their time outside of the fridge
This includes returning product to the fridge following picking until a pharmacist is present for checking, and removing refrigerated items from the line until the appropriate shipping time.
Expired product cutoff dates/tolerance for expiry dates