How to Use Barcode Scanning in Pass Meds

Updated December 22, 2022 21:17
Print Article

Barcode Scanning in Pass Meds allows (or requires) med passers to scan the barcode of a medication to verify that it is the correct order before it can be documented on the eMAR.

Barcode scanning is a feature that must be turned on with ALIS Onboarding. Contact ALIS Support to get started.
Please read 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 feature with a barcode scanner. Read this article for more information about checking in orders: How To Check in Orders with Barcode Scanning

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.

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:

You can set whether you'd like a scan to set a medication as Passed (with the ability for staff to then update this to Refused, Adverse Reaction, or Other). With this disabled, med passers will scan the medication and then manually select the outcome for every order.
Strict Mode: Enabling this will require that all orders must be scanned before their outcome can be recorded*. Disabling this allows med passers to pass meds even if they have 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.

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.