> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.bizaxl.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Medications and Pharmacy
> How doctors prescribe medicines during home visits and how the pharmacy counter dispenses them to patients using the point-of-sale system.
The home care system has two connected medication features: prescriptions (written by the doctor during a visit) and the pharmacy counter (where medicines are dispensed and paid for). This page explains both.
***
## Part 1: Prescribing Medicines During a Home Visit
### What Is a Prescription?
When a doctor decides a patient needs medicine, they write a prescription during the home visit. The prescription lists:
* The name of the medicine
* How much to take (the dose)
* How often to take it (e.g., twice a day)
* For how long (e.g., for 5 days)
* Any special instructions (e.g., "take with food", "do not stop suddenly")
The prescription is stored permanently in the patient's record and can be printed for the patient or sent to the pharmacy for dispensing.
***
### How to Prescribe a Medicine
Prescriptions are added to the visit record (Patient Encounter).
1. Open the Patient Encounter for the current visit
2. Go to the **Drug Prescription** section
3. Click **Add Row** for each medicine
| Field | What to Enter |
| ------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Drug | Name of the medicine. Type the name and select from the list (or type the full name if not in the list) |
| Dosage Form | How the medicine comes: Tablet / Capsule / Syrup / Injection / Gel / Drops |
| Strength | How strong each unit is (e.g., "500mg", "10mg") |
| Dosage | How often to take it (e.g., "Once daily", "Twice daily", "Three times daily") |
| Duration | How long to take it (e.g., "For 5 days", "For 7 days", "Ongoing") |
| Instructions | Any special notes for the patient (e.g., "Take with food", "Take at bedtime", "Do not stop without asking your doctor") |
4. Repeat for each medicine in the prescription.
5. Submit the Patient Encounter.
After submission, the prescription is part of the patient's permanent record.
***
### Medicines Available in the System
The following medicines are already set up as items in the system:
| Medicine | Common Use in Home Care |
| ----------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Amoxicillin | Antibiotic for infections (skin, chest, urinary) |
| Azithromycin | Antibiotic for chest infections |
| Cefixime | Antibiotic for urinary and respiratory infections |
| Metronidazole | Antibiotic for gut infections, wound infections |
| Amlodipine | Blood pressure medicine (calcium channel blocker) |
| Losartan | Blood pressure medicine (ARB) |
| Ibuprofen | Pain relief and anti-inflammatory |
| Diclofenac Sodium | Pain relief and anti-inflammatory (also available as injection) |
| Paracetamol | Pain relief and fever reduction |
| Pantoprazole | Stomach acid reducer (given with NSAIDs to protect stomach) |
The administrator can add more medicines to the system as needed.
***
### Printing a Prescription
After the visit record is submitted:
1. Open the Patient Encounter
2. Click the **Print** button
3. Select the prescription print format
The printed prescription shows the patient's name, the date, all medicines prescribed, doses and instructions, and the doctor's name. This can be given to the patient for their own records or to hand to a pharmacist.
***
### Patient Portal: Viewing Prescriptions
If the patient has a portal account, they can log in and see their prescriptions from any past visit. This is useful for patients who need to show their prescription to a pharmacist or share it with their family members who help manage their medicines.
***
## Part 2: The Pharmacy Counter
The pharmacy counter is used to dispense medicines and collect payment. It uses a point-of-sale (POS) system, similar to a checkout counter in a shop.
### When Is the Pharmacy Used?
* When a patient or their family member comes to pick up medicines
* When medicines are dispensed at the time of a visit (nurse brings medicines along)
* When medicines need to be sold over the counter
The pharmacy counter is separate from the prescription system. A prescription creates a record of what the doctor ordered, but the actual dispensing and payment happens at the pharmacy counter.
***
### Opening the Pharmacy Counter
1. Go to Home Care workspace → Pharmacy section → **point-of-sale**
2. Before starting, open the cash register:
* Go to **POS Opening Entry** → New
* Select the Pharmacy POS profile
* Enter the opening cash balance
* Submit
***
### Dispensing Medicines
1. Open the pharmacy POS screen (point-of-sale)
2. Type the patient's name to link the sale to their record
3. Search for the medicine by name or code
4. Click to add it to the basket
5. Set the quantity
6. Repeat for each medicine being dispensed
7. Collect payment (cash or card)
8. Click **Submit**
The system:
* Creates a POS Invoice (the receipt)
* Deducts the quantity from pharmacy stock
* Records the sale against the patient's account
***
### Closing the Pharmacy Counter
At the end of the day:
1. Go to Home Care workspace → Pharmacy section → **POS Closing Entry** → New
2. Select the Pharmacy POS profile
3. Enter the total cash collected
4. Submit
The closing entry records the day's total sales and confirms the cash matches what was collected.
***
### Pharmacy Stock
To check how much of each medicine is in stock:
1. Go to the Stock workspace (from the main Bizaxl menu)
2. Check the **Stock Balance** report for the pharmacy warehouse
When a medicine is running low, the administrator raises a Purchase Order to reorder from the supplier. When the medicines arrive, a Purchase Receipt is created and the stock level is updated automatically.
***
## Field Guide: Drug Prescription (in Patient Encounter)
| Field | What It Contains |
| --------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Drug | Medicine name |
| Dosage Form | Tablet / Capsule / Syrup / Injection / Drops / Gel |
| Strength | Strength of each unit (e.g., 500mg) |
| Dosage | Frequency instruction (Once daily, Twice daily, etc.) |
| Duration | How long to take the medicine |
| Dosage by Body Weight | Tick for paediatric dosing (dose calculated by patient's weight) |
| Instructions | Special notes for the patient |
| Prescribe | Ticked if this medicine is being actively prescribed |
***
## Best Practices
* Always check the patient's allergy list before prescribing - it is shown on the Patient record and the system should display an alert if you prescribe something the patient is allergic to
* When prescribing Ibuprofen or Diclofenac, consider also prescribing Pantoprazole (stomach protector) for elderly patients or those with a history of stomach ulcers
* For any prescription that is for more than 7 days, note the reason why a longer course is needed in the visit record - antibiotic courses longer than 7 days should have a clear clinical reason
* Always explain the medicines to the patient and their family at the end of the visit - what each medicine is for, how to take it, what side effects to watch for, and what to do if they miss a dose
***
## Troubleshooting
**The medicine is not showing in the pharmacy POS system**
The medicine may not be in stock or may not be set up as a POS item. Ask the administrator to check the stock balance and ensure the item is linked to the pharmacy's price list.
**The patient received the wrong medicine at the pharmacy**
Document the error immediately in the patient record. Advise the patient on what to do. Inform the supervising doctor. Create a corrected POS Invoice and return the wrong medicine to stock through a stock return entry. Never ignore or hide a dispensing error.
**The printed prescription is not showing the doctor's name correctly**
The doctor's name on the prescription comes from their Healthcare Practitioner record. Ask the administrator to check that the practitioner's name and qualifications are correctly entered.
***
## Related Features
* [Home Visit Record](/health-wellness/homecare-services/home-visit): Prescriptions are created from within the visit encounter
* [Patient Management](/health-wellness/homecare-services/patient-management): Allergy alerts visible when prescribing
* [Billing and Finance](/health-wellness/homecare-services/billing-finance): Pharmacy sales are billed through the POS invoice