How to Process Incoming Pharmacy Orders

Updated September 25, 2026 21:13
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Processing a pharmacy order verifies the details the pharmacy sent and adds the information staff need in Pass Meds and on the resident's MAR. This guide outlines how to review, complete, and process an incoming order so it's added to the resident's MAR.

For a description of every field on the Process Medication Order page, see the Processing Pharmacy Orders Reference Guide.

Access Incoming Orders

Your community needs an active pharmacy integration, and each resident must be mapped between the pharmacy and ALIS in order for their incoming orders to display.

When your pharmacy integration first goes live, every active order for each mapped resident appears on the Pharmacies page > Incoming Orders tab. Processing this first batch can take several hours, so plan time for it before your eMAR go-live date. After that, only new, updated, or discontinued orders appear.

Important: Do not process an order with a major inaccuracy, such as the wrong dosage. Contact your pharmacy and request a corrected order be sent instead.

How to Process a Pharmacy Order

Open the order from one of these places:
- Incoming Orders tab: Click Process next to the order.
- View All Orders page: Click View All Orders for the resident, then click Process next to the order in the Unprocessed Orders section. This page also shows the resident's current orders and process history, which helps when they have several orders waiting.
Check the blue bar at the top of the page to confirm the order type. If ALIS interpreted it incorrectly, click Convert to Routine or Convert to PRN.
Choose how to add the order. Keep New Schedule for most orders (and especially for all new orders to ALIS), or select Map to Existing Schedule if the medication is already on the resident's MAR.
Review the Order Information section. The pharmacy usually fills in the medication name, RX NDC, drug package, and prescriber correctly.
Complete the Order Details section.
- At a minimum, add any Medication Tags and confirm the Service Level.
- (Recommended): Add the Product Expiration Date or Use By Date from the packaging. Turn on any checks the order needs, such as patch or injection location, vitals, pain level, or enable the medication for the Drug Count.
Confirm the Route and Instructions. Leave the pharmacy's instructions as sent. If the Administration Notes field is visible, add your own notes there to appear with the order.
Review the scheduling section:
- Routine orders: Confirm the Start Date, Interval, Dose, and administration Time. Verify that the Start Date and Start Time in the Med Pass Scheduling Information section align with the order's Start Date and first administration time. They pre-populate with today's date and time and usually don't need changes.
- PRN orders: Set the Min. Interval Between Admins, Max. Admins. in 24 Hours, and Check and Record Outcome.
Click Process Order.

You cannot edit the Start Date after processing. Double-check it before you click Process Order, since it anchors intervals like Every Other Day.

What to Expect After Processing

If the order is scheduled for a med pass shift in progress, an Add to Current Med Pass window opens. Choose whether to add the order to the current shift, where it shows with a status of Outstanding, then click Ok.

Once processed, the medication appears on the resident's MAR and Pass Meds schedule (or Available PRNs page), and the order leaves the Incoming Orders queue. The processed message is listed in the resident's Process History on the View All Orders page.

Troubleshooting

You are unable to click the "Process Order" button (it is grayed out).

A required field is missing. Fill in the fields ALIS highlights in red, such as Medication Name, Route, Instructions, or a required scheduling field, then click Process Order again.

The order doesn't appear on the current med pass shift

No was likely selected for "Would you like to add this medication to the current med pass shift?" in the Add to Current Med Pass window. For orders scheduled in the recent past, see How to add meds scheduled for the recent past to Pass Meds.

The medication appears twice on the resident's MAR

The message was likely processed as a New Schedule when the medication was already on the MAR. See How to Prevent and Resolve Duplicate Orders.

You find an error after processing

Edit the order from the resident's Manage Orders page. To change the Order Name or Start Date, which can't be edited, clone the order and discontinue the original. See How to Edit Medications, PRNs, and Treatments.