How to perform a Drug Count

This guide reviews how staff can reconcile medication inventory and document the current quantities of medication orders in ALIS.

About the Drug Count

The Drug Count feature is behind an entitlement and requires an ALIS team member to enable it.  

To appear in a Drug Count, medication orders must be individually enabled during order processing or when editing an existing order. If orders are not yet enabled for counting, refer to the Enable medications for the Drug Count guide.

The Drug Count also:

• Requires two-person verification for final count submission
• Requires two-person verification for medication destruction
• Supports optional two-person verification for refills and adjustments (if enabled by the community) 

In most cases, access to all three buttons are granted to nurses and administrators. Depending on your role and level of access, you may require their intervention should the Actual quantity entered not match. 

For enablement or setup assistance, contact your Account Manager or the ALIS Customer Success Team.

Access the Drug Count

To access the Drug Count, click on the Dashboard icon. 

Start a New Count

1. Select a Count: Use the Count dropdown to choose the group of medications to reconcile (e.g., Community, Med Cart, Narcotic/Non-Narcotic groupings).
   • If the dropdown is greyed out or you cannot make a selection, the count is likely already in progress. If a count is already in progress, you must click Continue or Delete before starting a new one. 
2. Select a Witness: 

   • Person 1: Logged-in user (auto-selected). 

   • Person 2: Select the staff member acting as the witness. Person 2 must be present and will authenticate during final submission.

3. Click Start Drug Count.

Perform the Count

Enter physical quantities in the Actual field for each medication to verify that the physical Quantity on hand matches the quantity tracked in ALIS. Based on your community's Drug Count Settings, you may or may not be able to see the existing Quantity field and will only enter the Actual quantity.

• Rows turn green when matched
• Rows turn red when mismatched
• Entries are automatically saved

You may navigate away from this page and return without losing progress.

If the 'Actual' quantity does not match

If a discrepancy occurs, it must be reviewed and resolved before final submission.

1. Verify Administration Records: Often, a mismatch is due to a recent administration that hasn't been recorded in the system yet.

   • For Routine orders, check the Pass Meds page to ensure all recent doses have been recorded.

   • For PRN orders, check the Administer PRNs page or the resident's MAR to see if a PRN was given but not logged.

   • If you find a missing record, chart it immediately. When you refresh the Drug Count page, the ALIS quantity will update to match your physical count.

2. Adjust the Quantity (if applicable): If documentation is correct and discrepancies remain, inventory may need to be updated. 

   • If your permissions allow, use the Refill, Destroy, or Adjust buttons to document the change (e.g., adding a refill card or recording a spilled pill). For step-by-step instructions, refer to the How to adjust drug quantity guide. 

   • Note: Some communities require additional two-person verification for Refill and Adjust transactions. When enabled, a second staff member must approve these actions before they are saved. For more information, refer to the Drug Count Settings guide.

⚠️Important: If adjustment options are not available, contact an authorized nurse or administrator. 

Confirm Count

Once all discrepancies are resolved and every row on the list is Green, the count is ready for submission.

1. Click the Confirm Count button at the bottom right of the page.

2. Person 1 (you) and Person 2 (the witness) must enter their ALIS password to verify the action.

   • If the witness has changed since you started, you can select a different user for Person 2 at this stage. 

3. Click Submit Drug Count.

You will automatically return to the main Drug Count page. A log of all submitted counts, including the one you just finished, is displayed at the bottom of the page in the Past Counts section for your records.

Related Articles:

• Drug Count Reference Guide
• Enable medications for the Drug Count
• Drug Count Settings 
• How to adjust drug quantity

For more assistance: 888.404.ALIS (2547)  |  support@go-alis.com