ARTICLE: How to setup Medicine Categories / Medication / Conditions

ARTICLE: How to setup Medicine Categories / Medication / Conditions

Medication and students go hand-in-hand as a normal part of student life establishments. Reach created the Medications Module to facilitate this complex element and to provide an all-encompassing solution to your school's medications requirements. This document will show you through the setup of Over-The-Counter (OTC) and Prescription-Medication-Only (PMO) items within your schools Reach Portal.

How to Create Medicine Categories

To add new medications to the system, first, the Medicine Categories must be created, this is to align with the functions of the Medications Module. 
Categories allow you to maintain collections of similar medicines into a group which can then form part of your permissions structure.

Example:
Antihistamines may be set as a category for OTC medications. Multiple items or medicines can then be added to your Medicines Register and added to the OTC-Antihistamine category. Your school may then enable parents to permit or prohibit their child from receiving medicines in this category. During staff setup, the staff permission to administer medication from a category of medicines can be switched on/off individually.

Go To: System Configurations >> Lookups
  1. Once on the Lookups page, any existing items will be listed here
    1. Relevant Lookup Types are; PMO/OTC Medications
      1. others include; House/Dorm, Year/Grade, Registration Mark, Task Priority, Task Status, Bookings, Roster 
    2. By default, the Reach Dispensary will have a number of preset categories for your PMO and OTC medicine types
  2. Standard page controls; Save/Undo Changes, Add button, Columns, Search Bar, 'Show' filter 
    1. Select an existing item to edit the details or delete it
  3. Click the Green Add Lookup button
  4. The Lookups Management page appears with sections to enter data regarding your new item, under each section is a prompt to explain its use
  5. Select  PMO or OTC from the Type selector to create your new Medicine Category
  6. Enter Label, Shortcode, and Ordinal (if required)
  7. Click the orange Save button when complete
Items can be added, edited, or deleted from the list at any time.




How to Create Medications

The first step in preparing to dispense medication is to build your Medicines Register. Once each item is created in your Medicines Register, they are then available to be assigned to students.
Parental permissions are required for all OTC and PMO medications, the approved list is then available to be administered. Medications that are not approved, will not appear in the Medications Module Dashboard when selecting a specific student.
  1. For further assistance, please view the Parental Medication Approval section at the end of this document 
Every medication that is added to your Medicines Register will have basic metadata that is used to control how it functions in the Medications Module.  The metadata components are; Which type of medicine and which category the medication belongs to.

Go To: System Configurations >> Medications
  1. Once on the Medications page, any existing Medication items will be listed here
    1. Standard page controls; Save/Undo Changes, Add button, Columns, Search Bar, 'Show' filter, Download Spreadsheet
    2. Use the Columns drop-down menu or the Up/Down arrows in the column header to adjust/view the list 
      1. Adjust the search/filters/columns to arrange a list to Download, this will automatically push the spreadsheet to our computer 
  2. Click the Green Add Medication button
  3. The Medication Details page appears with sections to enter data regarding your new Medication, under each section is a prompt to explain its use
  4. Follow through each section to enter the required data
    1. Dispensary Type and Unit Type are standard Reach settings
    2. The Category list is created and managed by your school (some will appear by default from Reach)
      1. For further assistance, please view the How-to-Create-Medicine-Categories in the previous section of this document 
    3. Quantity on Hand and Threshold Minimum are provided to manage your inventory
      1. Quantity on Hand  - set this to the actual stock count
      2. Threshold Minimum - set this to be reminded via email that your stock will soon run-out
        1. Go To: System Configurations >> Dispensary >>  Threshold Email Address
    4. Add notes to the medication as required, this may include; 'To be taken with food' or 'check Temperature' 
    5. The Contraindications section at the bottom of the page can only be managed after a new medication has been created and saved
      1. Once saved, open the medication, then click the Add button in the Contraindications section at the bottom
      2. This will open a new page with sections to complete
      3. Complete your required details and click Save 
  5. Your new medication can now be seen in the Medication listing
    1. Once the access permissions are set, the new medication will be useable within the Dispensary
Items can be added, edited, or deleted from the list at any time.

An image and voice tutorial guide is provided here: Configuring the Medication Dispensary

NOTE: An unlimited number of medicines can be listed within your schools Reach Portal.                                                                                                
Contraindication
  1. Situations where a single medication should be administered with caution
    1. Eg,  'Do not take within 4 hours of the last dosage'
  2. Administering multiple medications should be done with caution or are prohibited
    1. Eg, an alert can be set to prompt staff to check and assess a dispensing action or prohibit  
An alert message is triggered when the Contraindications Rule is triggered, alert options;
-Soft Restriction - Relative contraindications can be set to deliver a caution message
-Hard Restriction - Absolute contraindications can be set to prevent that medication from being administered

Contraindications can also be used to manage minimum time intervals between dosages of a single medication.                                                           



How to Create Medical Conditions 

When creating or updating the profile of a student, their Medical Conditions can be added to the system, however, the Conditions must first be created in the system.

Go To: System Configurations >> Medical Conditions
  1. Once on the Medical Conditions Management page, any existing items will be listed here
    1. Standard page controls; Save/Undo Changes, Add button, Search Bar, 'Show' filter
  2. Click the Green Add Medical Condition button
  3. The Medication Condition Details page appears 
  4. Enter your required Label name
    1. Eg, Peanut Allergy, Gluten Free, Penicillin Allergy
  5. Select Yes/No if this Condition can affect the Meal Count prepared by the kitchen staff
    1. Eg, A Seafood Allergy will notify the kitchen staff to adjust their planning  
  6. Click the orange Save button when complete
Items can be added, edited, or deleted from the list at any time.



Parental Medication Approvals  

Parents are required to set the Medication Permits and Prohibitions as part of the Parent Permits structure in Reach.
Staff who have MED_ASSIGN switched on in their profile Permissions are also able to set Permits for students for OTC medications.
Please consult your administrator and refer to the operating protocols of your school, regarding medication safety.
 
Parents and Students
Once logged into their individual Profiles, the medication list is available in the 'My Account' section
 - Login - Click the name/logo >> My Account >> Parent Permissions Tab

Staff 
Once logged in, Medication Permits per student are viewed in the Personal Profile of that student 
- People Management >> View Contacts >> Specific Student Profile >> Medical Tab >> Medications Tab

Parent Profile - Reach Web Portal 

Parent Permissions Tab
Once open, click the arrow at the end of the Medical header bar.
This area will display details per section for each individual student, by default the Medications that require Permit permissions will be listed.
Click the Red and Green icons to adjust the settings per Medication, switching the permission as required. 
When complete, click the Save button.


Additional information regarding the Parental Permissions can be viewed via this video: How to manage Parental Permissions

Additional information regarding the Medications Module can be viewed via this article: Medication Module




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