Smartcounts

[PharmDstudent]

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How do they work? When are you supposed to do them at a 24 hour store? Any info about them is appreciated!

 

[PharmD RPh]

How do they work? When are you supposed to do them at a 24 hour store? Any info about them is appreciated!

They choose usually 10 drugs or so that are either frequently used drugs or drugs in which an OOS, PFL etc. was created. If you don't do them one day, they keep rolling over until you have a max of 50 drugs in the smart count que. Smart count serves a few purposes. 1. It gets your counts correct and hopefully helps eliminate OOS or PFL. 2. It helps monitor your shrink. I can view any drugs which were negatively adjusted via smartcount (mainly concerned about controls here). For example, if Oxycontin 40mg was on smart count and was negatively adjusted by 150 tablets, it would show on a report and I could investigate to see if we have a theft issue.

At 24 hour stores, you must complete them at anytime between 5am and 10pm. If they're done outside that time, it won't count for you and it appears they're not being done. Most stores typically do them first thing in the morning and don't do them during warehouse.

 

[PharmDstudent]

Thanks! What do you count exactly? Meaning... when something is in entered, printed, filled status, how would you count it or would you count it all?

 

[ifillrxs]

Most stores typically do them first thing in the morning and don't do them during warehouse.

Everything you wrote is spot on except smartcounts are done EVERY day including warehouse delivery days. The old reserved/outstanding report had the issue of not being done on warehouse days. Smartcount is smart enough to exclude any meds that are expected to arrive that day.

 

[PharmD RPh]

Thanks! What do you count exactly? Meaning... when something is in entered, printed, filled status, how would you count it or would you count it all?

So the telxon brings up drugs on the screen i.e. Lipitor 20mg and it asks you to scan the barcode or enter UPC. You scan the barcode then go to the shelf and see how many tablets of lipitor 20mg you have onhand. I'm not exactly sure at what step the drug has to be in to be taken off your onhand counts. I'm purely guessing, but I'd say once it's entered your counts are adjusted for that fill, but double check me on that one. I have had scripts for the same drug OOS when I've had low onhands and multiple patients drop off for the same drug. Another thing I do is if it's non-controlled or not something people would want to steal, is eyeball the counts. For example, it asks me to count Metoprolol ER 100 mg and I see 5 full bottles and a partial bottle that looks half full and smartcount thinks I have 540, I enter 540 and move on. Counts seem very accurate in that case and I don't waste time trying to determine if I have 542 or 540.

 

[PharmD RPh]

Everything you wrote is spot on except smartcounts are done EVERY day including warehouse delivery days. The old reserved/outstanding report had the issue of not being done on warehouse days. Smartcount is smart enough to exclude any meds that are expected to arrive that day.

That's nice that it excludes warehouse drugs in your order. In the past I just made sure that warehouse was put up before doing smartcount.

 

[WVUPharm2007]

How do they work? When are you supposed to do them at a 24 hour store? Any info about them is appreciated!

Whenever. At my store, I do them after I do the auto refills. Just fits into my schedule...

After looking into it...really, all the chains pretty much do the EXACT same thing with their night people...auto refills...inventory crap...behind the scenes crap...keep us busy with busy work...

 

[ifillrxs]

Thanks! What do you count exactly? Meaning... when something is in entered, printed, filled status, how would you count it or would you count it all?

The computer subtracts from your on-hand count the moment the rx goes from printed to filled status. In other words when the leaflet and stock bottle get scanned through the scale. That being said, it is not real time so you run the possibility of entering the wrong on-hand count.

 

[PharmDstudent]

One more question. How do you count when there are 2 different manufacterers? Supposedly it's "linked", but how is it "linked"?

 

[ifillrxs]

One more question. How do you count when there are 2 different manufacterers? Supposedly it's "linked", but how is it "linked"?

You add all the generic manufacturers into one total. For instance, I have 3 manufacturers of citalopram 20mg in stock. The smartcount will ask for one particular NDC which I confirm by scanning the bar code. The tablet count I would enter is the total of all three manufacturers. I think WAG links them using a plan-o-link code or something like that. If you print an item movement report in SIMS, the bottom of the report shows other NDCs included in the movement report.
Keep this in mind when you partial something as well. Add up ALL the generic manufactuers to tell IC+ your onhand remaining.