Pharmacy Billing

Overview

Pharmacy in NICE HMS is an accounting channel within the Accounts module, not a standalone module with its own pages. There is no dedicated "Pharmacy" sidebar menu — pharmacy users access everything through Accounts.

Pharmacy transactions use the same forms as other billing workflows (invoice, purchase, debit note, credit note) but with pharmacy-specific voucher types, print headers, and the accountHeaderPharmacyUrl letterhead. The pharmacist role is restricted to pharmacy voucher types only.

Enabling Pharmacy Billing

Before using pharmacy billing, enable it in organization settings:

1. Admin → Organization → Settings
2. Toggle Pharmacy Billing to ON.
3. This creates a PHARMACY ledger account for the organization.

The pharmacy toggle is at the organization level. Once enabled, the Pharmacy card appears on the Accounts landing page (/admin/accounts) with two links: Purchase and Debit Note.

Separate Pharmacy Accounting

Pharmacy transactions run on their own voucher types (_P) and post to the dedicated PHARMACY ledger account, so they are naturally kept apart from the hospital's other books. Sales (INVOICE_P), purchases (PURCHASE_P), and returns (CREDIT_NOTE_P / DEBIT_NOTE_P) roll up into one self-contained ledger rather than mixing with OPD, IPD, or Lab revenue.

This separation matters in two common arrangements:

• Independent booking — the pharmacy is billed and reconciled on its own, without its figures merging into the hospital's general accounts.
• Outsourced pharmacy with revenue sharing — when an external operator runs the pharmacy, the separate _P ledger keeps its sales and purchases in clear view, so the hospital can keep a watchful eye on pharmacy activity and on the revenue that sharing is based on.

The separation is ledger-level — there is still no separate "pharmacy module"; everything lives inside Accounts.

Pharmacy Items

Pharmacy items (medicines, consumables) are created through Item Management (Accounts → Masters → Items), not through a separate pharmacy inventory page. See Item Management for the full item creation form.

Key configuration for pharmacy items:

Batch Tracking

Medicines can be tracked by batch through the batchMaster table. Each batch record stores:

Batch tracking applies to all inventory items, not just pharmacy. During purchase entry, batch details are recorded so that stock is tracked per batch.

A purchase line may be saved without a batch (for example a non-inventory item); it is stored with no batch. If you do attach a batch, it must have a name — the Set Batch button stays disabled until you type or select one, so an unnamed batch is never saved.

Pharmacy Voucher Types

Four voucher types handle pharmacy transactions. They use the same UI components as their non-pharmacy counterparts but are routed through pharmacy-specific APIs and print with pharmacy headers:

Access

Form Fields

The purchase and invoice forms are the same as the generic bill and invoice forms (see Bill Transaction and Purchase). The voucher type parameter determines:

• Which API endpoint handles the transaction
• Which accounts (Dr/Cr) are available
• Which letterhead appears on the printed document

Pharmacist Role Restrictions

The pharmacist role can only create pharmacy-tagged vouchers. The create-purchase API rejects pharmacists for non-pharmacy purchase types:

if (user.role == "pharmacist" && type != "PURCHASE_P" && type != "DEBIT_NOTE_P") {
  throw new Error("forbidden");
}

Similarly, the create-invoice API restricts pharmacists to INVOICE_P and CREDIT_NOTE_P types only.

Stock Tracking

Stock levels for pharmacy items are tracked through the shared stock system alongside hospital-category items. The stock is calculated from purchase and invoice voucher quantities.

Current Stock Report

Sidebar → MIS Reports → Stock → Current (/admin/mis-reports/stock/current/0?category=Pharmacy)

Filter by category=Pharmacy to view only pharmacy items. The report shows current stock levels per item with batch-wise breakdown.

Expiry Tracking

The batchMaster table stores expiry dates per batch. An expiryStock() function queries batches approaching expiry, but there is no dedicated expiry alerts page — use the batch master data to identify items nearing expiration.

Physical Stock Adjustment (Set Stock)

Use Physical Stock vouchers (PHYSICAL_POSITIVE / PHYSICAL_NEGATIVE types) to adjust stock levels for physical verification corrections, wastage, or damage. This is a shared inventory feature, not pharmacy-specific.

How to set stock for an item:

1. Open MIS Reports → Stock → Current (use category=Pharmacy for pharmacy items).
2. Click Set Stock on the item's row. The popup shows the item name and its current stock.
3. Click Add Row and fill a row: New quantity, and optionally a Batch with Manufacturing/Expiry dates.
4. Click Set Stock.

Setting stock to 0 is allowed — enter 0 as the new quantity to zero out an item.

The batch is optional. A physical count corrects the item's overall stock, so a row does not need a batch — pick one only if you want to attribute the count to a batch. A row is valid once its item details have loaded; until then it shows "Item details are still loading…" and the Set Stock button stays blocked. On success the popup closes and the report refreshes; on failure the popup stays open with the reason shown.

Multiple batches: Set Stock works on the item as a whole, not per batch. If an item has batch A (10) and batch B (5), the popup shows the combined 15, and saving re-bases the item to whatever quantities you enter. To keep both batches, add a row for each (for example 8 and 4 → 12); if you enter only one row, the other batch's quantity is not carried over. Per-batch quantities are not tracked separately.

Counter sales without an encounter

A patient coming back for a refill has no open encounter. If the organization allows it, the Counter Sales menu (/admin/counter-sales) bills them anyway:

1. Turn on Allow pharmacy counter sales without an encounter in organization settings, then log in again.
2. Open Sidebar → Counter Sales and search by UHID, mobile or name — or press New patient to register one and come straight back.
3. Press Pharmacy sale, pick the items and save. The voucher is a normal INVOICE_P credited to the Pharmacy ledger; stock is deducted, and the bill prints with Counter sale in place of an encounter.

Collect the money on the same screen: pick the Payment mode (Cash / Digital / Bank) and the Payment account before saving. The receipt is written with the invoice in one transaction, for the full bill — a counter sale cannot be left unpaid. A cash payment must use your own cash drawer, so an admin may need to create Cash Access for you first.

The Consultant field is optional: leave it blank to attribute the sale to the hospital (Hospital / direct in MIS), or enter a doctor. Counter sales never create an encounter and are not shared to ABDM. See Counter Sales.

Printing

Pharmacy vouchers automatically use the pharmacy-specific letterhead:

• Printed headings show: INVOICE (Pharmacy), CREDIT NOTE (Pharmacy), PURCHASE (Pharmacy), or DEBIT NOTE (Pharmacy)
• The letterhead image uses accountHeaderPharmacyUrl from organization uploads (see Printing and Letter Pad Header)

The invoice component detects the _P suffix in the voucher type and switches to the pharmacy header automatically.

FAQ

Q: Where do I find the pharmacy menu? A: There is no separate pharmacy menu. Go to Sidebar → Accounts. If pharmacy billing is enabled in organization settings, a Pharmacy card appears with Purchase and Debit Note links. For patient sales, use the general Invoice link with a pharmacy item.

Q: How do I add new medicines to the pharmacy? A: Use Accounts → Masters → Items (see Item Management). Set the category to "Pharmacy" and mark it as purchasable and saleable.

Q: Can I track medicine expiry dates? A: Yes. Batch tracking records manufacturing and expiry dates for each batch of medicine. Use the batch master data to identify items approaching expiry.

Q: What can a pharmacist user do? A: A user with the pharmacist role can create and edit pharmacy vouchers (INVOICE_P, CREDIT_NOTE_P, PURCHASE_P, DEBIT_NOTE_P), create receipts/payments, and view MIS reports. They cannot create non-pharmacy transactions.

Q: Does pharmacy billing work differently from regular billing? A: The forms are identical. The difference is the voucher type suffix (_P), which routes through pharmacy-specific accounting and uses the pharmacy letterhead for printed documents.

Q: How do I dispense medicines against a prescription? A: There is no dedicated dispensing interface. Create a pharmacy invoice (INVOICE_P) for the patient with the prescribed medicines as line items. Stock is reduced automatically when the invoice is saved.

Q: How do I zero out an item's stock? A: Open Set Stock on the item (MIS Reports → Stock → Current), click Add Row, set New quantity to 0, and save. A quantity of 0 is valid, and a batch is not required.

Q: Why can't I submit the Set Stock form? A: Add at least one row, and wait for each row's item details to load (a row briefly shows "Item details are still loading…"). A batch is optional, so a missing batch will not block the form.

Q: Is there integration with the ABDM Drug Registry? A: Not currently. A medication resolver integration is planned but not yet implemented.