Barcode Scanning adds a critical layer of safety to your medication administration. It requires staff to verify that the physical medication in hand matches the active order in ALIS before documentation.
Get Started with Barcode Scanning
The Barcode Scanning feature is behind an entitlement and requires the ALIS team to enable it. Contact your Account Manager or our ALIS Customer Success Team for assistance.
- Rad this article for more context on how barcode scanning works with a pharmacy connection to ALIS: Barcode Scanning Reference Guide
- Your team may also use the Check In Orders (inventory) feature with a barcode scanner. Read this article for more information about checking in orders: How To Check in Orders with Barcode Scanning
How to Scan in Pass Meds
The main Pass Meds screen will look the same as before barcode scanning was enabled. To start scanning, click on the Pass Meds button for a resident in the appropriate time frame.
The main Pass Meds dashboard remains unchanged. To begin, click the Pass Meds button for a resident within the appropriate time frame.
Ready to Scan
Once inside the resident’s Pass Meds page, look for the notification banner at the top of the page and above each order.
Ready to scan barcode: Orders awaiting verification will display an orange message:
Successful Scan: Once you've scanned the order, the bar will turn green. This confirms the physical medication matches the pharmacy order in ALIS.
Completion: When all orders for that time block are verified, a green banner will appear:Once inside the resident’s specific Pass Meds page, look for the orange messages above each order that say 'Ready to scan barcode'.
Successful Scan: When you scan a medication, the bar above that specific order will turn green. This confirms the physical item matches the pharmacy order processed in ALIS.
Completion: Once every order for the resident in that time range is successfully scanned, a green banner will appear stating: "All routine medications have been scanned."
2. Handling Errors
If a scan does not match, a pop-up window will appearerror will appear.
Common Causes: The physical barcode does not match the active order in ALIS. This often happens if an order was discontinued by the pharmacy but the "Discontinue" message has not yet been processed in the ALIS Pharmacies inbox.
Action Item: If you encounter an error you cannot resolve, notify a Nurse or the Wellness Director immediately.
When you see the orange message that says "Ready to scan barcode", start scanning! The orange bar above the medication will turn green if your scan matches the order processed from your pharmacy.
- If not, you will encounter a pop-up error modal explaining that either the order's barcode is not the same as the order in ALIS. One reason for this is the order has since been discontinued by the pharmacy, and the Discontinue order message has not yet been processed on the Pharmacies inbox page.
- If you encounter an error, it is most likely necessary to notify a nurse or wellness director.
Once you have scanned each order for a resident during the time range, a green banner will show above the list of orders that says "All routine medications have been scanned"
Settings
There are two main settings to be aware of before your team gets started:
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Strict Mode: When enabled, ALIS requires all orders to be scanned before their outcome can be recorded*. When disabled (recommended), med passers can flexibly document even if an order has not been scanned.
- *In Strict Mode, you can override the scan requirement only if you give a reason for why you are unable to scan the order. Click Scan Not Needed, and type a Reason in the pop-up modal.
- Scanning Preselects Med As: Set a medication to automatically select an outcome when the scan is successful. Most commonly, you will set the default to Passed (which still provides the ability to update for Refused, Adverse Reaction, or Other). When enabled, the Pass Meds page employs an auto-scrolling feature designed to navigate you directly to the order you just scanned:
For more information on Barcode Scanning Settings, refer to this Barcode Scanning Settings guide.
Pass Meds Report
To review all order scanning statuses, look at the Pass Med Report.
With Barcode Scanning enabled, there exists a filter "Barcode Scan", and updating this to "Scan Skipped" will show you any med passes with reasons for skipping if your community has Strict Mode enabled.
Related articles:
- Barcode Scanning Reference Guide
- How To Check in Orders with Barcode Scanning
- Pass Meds Reference Guide
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