---
title: "Pharmacy Workflow"
description: "How to manage pharmacy inventory, dispense medicines against prescriptions, handle purchase orders, and track stock levels in NICE HMS."
date: 2026-07-19
lastModified: 2026-07-19
category: "pharmacy"
author: "Dr. Umesh Bilagi"
beta: true
---

## Overview

The NICE HMS Pharmacy module handles medicine inventory, dispensing against prescriptions (OPD and IPD), purchase order management, and supplier tracking. It integrates with the ABDM Drug Registry for standardized medication names.

## Inventory Management

### Adding Medicines to Inventory

1. From the sidebar, navigate to **Pharmacy > Inventory**.
2. Click **Add New Item**.
3. Fill in medicine details:
- **Medicine Name** — Generic or brand name
- **Drug Registry Code** — ABDM Drug Registry code (auto-suggested)
- **Category** — Tablet, Capsule, Syrup, Injection, etc.
- **Strength** — e.g., 500mg, 10mg/ml
- **Batch Number** — Manufacturer batch
- **Expiry Date** — Auto-flagged when approaching
- **MRP** — Maximum Retail Price
- **Purchase Price** — Cost to pharmacy
- **Selling Price** — Price charged to patient
- **Current Stock** — Quantity on hand
- **Reorder Level** — Minimum stock before reorder alert
- **Supplier** — Preferred supplier for this medicine

### Stock Alerts

NICE HMS automatically alerts when:
- Stock falls below the reorder level
- Items are approaching expiry (configurable: 30, 60, or 90 days)
- Stock is zero (out of stock)

View alerts from **Pharmacy > Alerts**.

## Dispensing

### Dispensing an OPD Prescription

1. Patient arrives at the pharmacy with a prescription (print or digital).
2. Search for the patient in **Pharmacy > Dispense**.
3. The prescription loads with all prescribed medicines.
4. For each medicine:
   - Verify stock availability.
   - Enter quantity to dispense.
   - System auto-calculates price.
5. Click **Dispense**.
6. The bill is generated and stock is reduced automatically.

### Dispensing to IPD

IPD dispensing works similarly but charges are added to the patient's IPD bill rather than generating a standalone pharmacy bill. IPD medications can be dispensed per dose or as a daily kit.

## Purchase Orders

When stock runs low:

1. Go to **Pharmacy > Purchase Orders**.
2. Click **New Purchase Order**.
3. Select the supplier.
4. Add medicines to the order (system suggests based on reorder levels).
5. Enter quantities and negotiate prices.
6. Submit the order.

When the order arrives:
1. Open the purchase order.
2. Click **Receive**.
3. Verify quantities received against the order.
4. Stock is updated automatically.
5. The purchase cost is recorded for accounting.

## Drug Registry Integration

NICE HMS integrates with the ABDM Drug Registry:
- Standardized medication codes and names
- Auto-suggest drug names during prescription and dispensing
- Reduces errors from brand-name confusion (e.g., "Paracetamol" vs "Crocin" vs 10+ brand names for the same molecule)

## Supplier Management

Manage suppliers from **Pharmacy > Suppliers**:
- Supplier name, contact, GST number
- Default lead time
- Associated medicines list
- Purchase history

## Reports

Pharmacy reports available:
- **Stock Report** — Current stock levels by category
- **Dispensing Report** — Medicines dispensed by date range, patient, or doctor
- **Expiry Report** — Items expiring within a configurable window
- **Purchase Report** — Purchase order history and costs
- **Revenue Report** — Pharmacy revenue by period

## FAQ

**Q: Can I dispense partial quantities of a prescription?**
A: Yes. Enter the quantity you're dispensing for each medicine. The system tracks what's been dispensed vs prescribed.

**Q: How are pharmacy charges billed?**
A: OPD pharmacy generates a standalone bill. IPD pharmacy charges are added to the patient's IPD bill.

**Q: Does the system handle batch-wise pricing?**
A: Yes. Different batches of the same medicine can have different purchase and selling prices.