Drug Auto-Tagging applies medication tags to Routine and PRN orders automatically, so staff don't have to remember to tag sensitive medications by hand.
About Drug Auto-Tagging
ALIS supports three types of auto-tagging:
- Controlled: Applied automatically when the pharmacy's RX NDC number matches a controlled substance in the Drug Database. No setup is needed. See How are medications automatically tagged as "Controlled"?
- Psychotropic Drug: Applied based on a list of rules your community builds. There is no national standard for psychotropic drugs and state classifications vary, so you define which medications count based on the Psychotropic Auto-Tagging GPI Index.
- Antibiotic and Antipsychotic: Applied by drug class using each drug's GPI code. You turn each class on or off, with no list to build.
This guide outlines how to set up Psychotropic Drug rules and Drug Class Auto-Tagging, and what to expect once they're enabled. For general information about tags, see the Medication Tags Reference Guide.
Enable & Access Drug Auto-Tagging
To enable: Auto-tagging requires the Drug Database entitlement. Drug Class Auto-Tagging is a Limited Release feature and is off by default. For help enabling either, contact your Account Manager or our ALIS Customer Success Team.
To access: Go to Settings > Medications and click the Drug Tagging tab. The tab has two sections: Drug Class Auto-Tagging and Psychotropic Tagging Rules.
How-To: Turn On Drug Class Auto-Tagging
Drug Class Auto-Tagging is a Limited Release feature and is off by default. To enable it for your community, contact your Account Manager.
Antibiotic and Antipsychotic tagging each turn on with one click. There are no rules to build.
- On the Drug Tagging tab, go to the Drug Class Auto-Tagging section.
- Click Enable Antibiotic Auto Tagging or Enable Antipsychotic Auto Tagging.
- In the confirmation window, click Enable.
Repeat for the other class if needed. The class's Status column shows whether auto-tagging is on. If you disable a class later, tags that were already applied stay on those orders.
How-To: Set Up Psychotropic Drug Rules
Add or remove drugs to customize which medications your community treats as psychotropic, based on your licensure.
- In the Psychotropic Tagging Rules section, click Enable Psychotropic Auto Tagging.
- Click +Add.
- In the Search Drug Name field, type a GPI Segment or a specific drug name.
- Select all applicable Drug Category Descriptions (see Psychotropic Auto-Tagging: GPI Index) from the results.
-
Click Submit to save.
Tip: The "GPI Match Count" shows how many GPI numbers are matched by the "Drug Category Description." This column can be referenced to know how many medication orders currently in ALIS are matched by this group.
To manage your rules:
- Delete: Find the Drug Category Description in the list, click Delete, and confirm in the pop-up.
- Copy To: Click Copy To, multiselect the communities you want to apply these rules to, and click Save.
What to Expect from Auto-tagging
Psychotropic Drug Rules
Once your Psychotropic Tag Rules are configured, ALIS tags applicable orders as Psychotropic Drug:
- Pharmacy Inbox: When you process an order in the Pharmacy Inbox, ALIS tags it if it matches your rules list.
- Manually created orders: On the Manage Orders page, click +Add Routine or +Add PRN. The tag applies once you enter the medication name and dosage, because of the Drug Database link.
Drug Class Auto-Tagging (Antibiotic and Antipsychotic)
- New and edited orders only. Tags apply when a drug is selected in the order form. Orders already on a resident's MAR are not tagged until they're edited.
- Order form only. Orders that arrive through pharmacy ingestion, imports, or the API are not auto-tagged by drug class.
- Antipsychotic includes lithium. The GPI group covers antipsychotics and antimanic agents together, so lithium is tagged as an antipsychotic.
- Antibiotic covers all anti-infectives, including antifungals and antivirals.
Auto-applied tags display as badges in Pass Meds and on the Manage Orders page, the same as manually applied tags.
Report on Tagged Medications
Auto-tagging supports strong reporting on residents taking a given drug type at any time. To see residents currently on psychotropic, antibiotic, or antipsychotic medications:
- Go to Reports > Medication List report.
- Click the Medication Tags dropdown and select the tag or tags to filter by, such as Psychotropic Drug, Antibiotic, or Antipsychotic.
- Refresh the report.