How to Discontinue Medications

In ALIS, you can discontinue orders manually or via your pharmacy integration. While pharmacy-synced updates are the most efficient, knowing how to manage these changes manually ensures your resident records remain accurate and up-to-date.

Manually Discontinue an order 

Use this method if the change is initiated within your facility rather than by the pharmacy.

1. Go to the resident's Manage Orders page.

2. Click the Options button to the right of the order and select Discontinue.

3. In the pop-up window, you will be prompted to enter a reason. This reason typed here is saved in the Audit tab pf the Manage Orders page and also visible in the Medication Changes Report.

Tip: Since ALIS cannot update your pharmacy's external software, use the Medication Changes Report to notify your pharmacy team of these manual updates so they can sync their records. Read this article to learn more about the report and how we can automatically notify pharmacy personnel of order changes: Medication Changes Report. 

Contact your Account Manager or our ALIS Customer Success Team for assistance with report setup.

Discontinue Order messages in your Pharmacy Inbox

If you have a pharmacy integration, most "Discontinue" orders will arrive directly in your Pharmacies page.

• Click the Discontinue button next to the message and confirm in the pop-up.

• This automatically discontinues the order on the resident’s Manage Orders page and logs the change in the Audit tab.

Key Considerations

Irreversible Changes

• Once an order is discontinued, it cannot be undone. 
• If you discontinue an order by mistake, you must recreate it.
• The Fix: Use the Clone feature on the discontinued order to quickly recreate it without re-typing all the details. Read this article for more information about cloning orders: Clone a Medication, Treatment, or PRN.

Discontinue vs. Hold

• Do not discontinue an order if the resident is only stopping the med temporarily (e.g., for surgery).

• Use "Schedule Hold" instead. This allows you to set an end date so the medication automatically reappears on the Med Pass at the right time.

• Find this under Options > Schedule Hold on the Manage Orders page. Read this article for more information about Medication Holds: Medication Holds.

Dismissing "New Order" Messages

If a discontinued order keeps appearing as a "New Order" in your Pharmacy Inbox:

• You can click Dismiss to hide it temporarily. However, this does not stop the pharmacy from sending it again.

• If the order keeps reappearing, you must contact the pharmacy to ensure they have discontinued it in their system.

Related Articles:

• How to process Incoming Order Messages
• Manage Orders Reference Guide
• Medication Changes Report
• Clone a Medication, Treatment, or PRN
• Medication Holds

For more assistance with Discontinuing Medications,

Contact our ALIS Customer Success Team:

888.404.ALIS (2547) or support@go-alis.com