Rx (Pharmacy)

import { Steps } from ‘@astrojs/starlight/components’;

The Rx module is the medication pathway, from prescribing to dispensing. The prescriber writes the order against the formulary, with DDI (Drug-Drug Interaction) and allergy checks that can hard-stop at order time; the pharmacist dispenses from the queue, drawing stock down by FEFO (First Expire, First Out) and printing the label. The two halves are deliberately separate roles.

Caution

The prescriber is not the dispenser. Clinicians and nurses prescribe (rx.prescribe); pharmacists, pharmacy techs, and pharmacy admins dispense (rx.dispense). A prescriber’s permissions never include dispensing, so the dispense screens never appear in their navigation — and vice versa.

Who uses it

• Clinicians and nurses prescribe and may override an interaction hard stop (rx.prescribe, rx.interaction.override).
• Pharmacists, pharmacy techs, and pharmacy admins dispense, manage the controlled register, and process returns (rx.dispense, rx.controlled.manage).

Editions

Available in Health Centre, Hospital, and Network editions.

Screens

Screen	Role	What it is for
Pharmacy Dashboard	Pharmacy	The pharmacy overview and queue buckets.
Dispensing Queue	Pharmacy	Prescriptions awaiting dispensing.
Interaction Checks	Pharmacy	Hard-stopped interactions awaiting review.
Controlled Register	Pharmacy	The witnessed controlled-drug register.
Formulary	Pharmacy	The tenant medication formulary.
Returns	Pharmacy	Returns to stock and wastage.

The prescriber’s ordering surface (e-Prescribe) is reached from the patient chart, not from this module’s navigation — prescribers order against the patient, pharmacists work the queue.

Prescriber: write a prescription

1. Open the prescribing surface (titled e-Prescribe — “Write an electronic prescription with interaction and allergy screening”).

2. Search the formulary and add the drug, then set the dose, frequency, and quantity. Only enabled formulary items appear.

3. Interaction and allergy checks run as you add drugs. If a severe interaction or allergy is found, the order is hard-stopped and held — the sign button reads Sign & Send (Override Required).

4. To release a hard-stopped order, open the override modal, enter a reason, and Override & Sign with your 6-digit eSign PIN (your electronic signature, separate from your password). Without a hard stop, press Sign & Send and enter your eSign PIN.

Caution

The DDI and allergy hard stop is at order time and is physician-first: the prescriber must consciously override it with a recorded reason and their eSign PIN. The override is audited.

Pharmacist: dispense

1. Open the Dispensing Queue and select the prescription (or open it from the dashboard).

2. The Dispense screen (“Draw down stock against a prescription — FEFO batch selection”) shows each line with its drug, sig, quantity, and a Batch (FEFO) selector that auto-selects the earliest-expiry lot with stock on hand.

3. Set the Counselling and Substitution fields, then press Confirm Dispense. Dispensing draws the exact quantity down from stock in the same transaction.

4. You are taken to the dispensing-label print, pre-filled with this prescription, to print the patient label as the last step.

Controlled-drug register

Open the Controlled Register (“Witnessed running balance for CD2–CD5 substances”). Each entry — Received, dispensed, and so on — records the drug, quantity, the pharmacist, and a required Witness, and the register keeps a running Balance column. The witness is mandatory.

Returns to stock

Use Returns to bring medication back. A return is witnessed and can be restocked or destroyed (reasons: Discontinued, Wastage, Expired, Patient Refusal, Wrong Item). Restocking returns the units to inventory.

MAR (Medication Administration Record)

For inpatients, a prescribed dose flows onto the MAR (Medication Administration Record) as a due dose. The nurse administers it on the ward’s Medication Administration screen against that same line — chart, Rx, and MAR are one converged record, not parallel lists.