A paper book in a locked cupboard
Your clinic keeps local anaesthetic for nail surgery in a locked cupboard, along with a few other items your podiatrists use. There is a paper book: deliveries written in, use written out, a running total. Mostly it is kept up. On a busy surgery day, entries are written later from memory. Batch numbers are sometimes missed. Nobody noticed that a box expires next month until it was nearly too late.
When someone asks which batch was used on a particular patient, the answer depends on how carefully the book was kept that day.
Why medicines records drift
- Records are kept on paper, separate from the procedure notes.
- Batch numbers and expiry dates are written by hand, or skipped.
- Running totals are updated by hand and can go wrong.
- Expiry dates are only checked when someone opens the cupboard.
- Several practitioners use the stock, each with their own habits.
What drifting records cost
Time spent reconciling the book. Stock that expires unused. The risk of not being able to show what was used on whom if a question arises. And stress before inspections, audits or insurer queries, because the book is the only evidence.
| Record | Paper book | Digital stock record |
|---|---|---|
| Delivery | Written in | Booked in with batch and expiry |
| Use on a patient | Written out, sometimes later | Recorded with the procedure |
| Batch used | Sometimes missing | Captured from the stock chosen |
| Running total | Hand calculated | Calculated automatically |
| Expiry | Checked occasionally | Alert before the date |
How we build medicines stock records
- Each medicine your clinic holds is set up with its form and strength, and each delivery is booked in with quantity, batch and expiry.
- When a podiatrist records a procedure, such as nail surgery, they choose the item and batch used from the stock available, and the quantity. It is linked to the patient and procedure in Cliniko, WriteUpp or your system.
- Stock levels update automatically, by batch, and the oldest batch is suggested first.
- Alerts go to the person responsible before any batch reaches its expiry, and when stock falls below your reorder level.
- Disposals and returns are recorded with the reason and the person.
- A regular stock check compares the record with what is in the cupboard, and differences are recorded and explained.
- Reports by item, batch, patient or date are available whenever you need them.
Which medicines your podiatrists may use, and how, is governed by their professional entitlements and your clinic's policy. We build the records around those. We do not advise on them.
Domiciliary work is covered too. If your podiatrists carry any medicines on home visits under your policy, what leaves the clinic is booked out to the practitioner, and use or return is recorded on their phone, so the clinic record stays complete even when stock is in a car.
Access is limited by role. Only the people your policy names can book stock in, record disposals or change quantities, and every change carries a name and a time, so the record can be relied on in a way a shared paper book rarely can.
What you end up with
Accurate records captured at the time of the procedure, not afterwards. Batches traced to patients. No surprise expiries. Stock checks that take less time and agree. And evidence you can produce straight away if anyone asks.
Is your medicines record a paper book?
- Local anaesthetic stock is recorded in a paper book.
- Batch numbers are sometimes missing from records.
- Stock has expired unused because nobody noticed the date.
- Entries are sometimes written up after the procedure.
- Showing which batch was used on a patient would take a search.