Ordering Stock in a Pharmacy Standard Operating Procedure

Description

Procedure 1. Receiving the delivery. There are a few points of note here: Check off the quantities of boxes against the delivery note. Sign off as received (No. of parcels) against the shops’ name, on the drivers delivery paperwork. Bring to the pharmacist’s attention any CD envelopes/packages. Pharmacist to unpack, check and sign as received on the driver’s paperwork. Retain a copy of the delivery note. Pharmacist (or staff working under Pharmacist supervision) should store CD’s in the CD cupboard, enter the quantities received in the CD register, and file the delivery note. Ask the driver about any fridge items included in the delivery. Check fridge items first (check product, expiry date, storage conditions) and place in the fridge promptly. 2. Check the order. Clear a dispensary table/bench for working Unpack received boxes and sort the Stock, such that all the same products are in the same pile. Check the product and quantity against the delivery note On completion, double-check that there are no discrepancies. If there are any discrepancies, then complete the appropriate paperwork for missing goods, returns, damaged goods, etc., or inform the company over the phone. 3. Put Stock away. Check the expiry dates of all products before putting away on shelf/drawer. Pay extra attention to PIs. If a product has a short expiry date that should be recorded in a bookmarked ‘short-dated stock’. Place a note on the shelf edge & a coloured spot on the product alerting to the short expiry. All new Stock should be placed on the shelf in strict date order, such that Stock at the back is of the longest expiry date. Special attention must be made to put Stock away in the correct place, as different products from the same company may look very similar in shape, size & colour. Good practice-where one product has several strengths available, a determined effort must be made to separate out the different strengths., using shelf edge alerts, placing a different product line separating the strengths etc. 4. Record keeping. File away all invoices after checking.