Medical History: Home Medications

The following topics are discussed on this page. Use the links to jump to the desired subject:

Introduction to Home Medications

The Medical History: Home Medications page allows you to capture and maintain a list of all home medications for the patient. A chronological change log is also available, which records the original content, change reason, and an audit trail of the user ID and date/time stamp.

To access the Home Medications page, use one of the following methods:

(Preferred method) From the Main page, use the Select button to select the appropriate patient using the drop-down list. Then, click the Home Medications button. The Medical History: Home Medications page is displayed.

Click the Home Medications button on the Hospital Main page. The Patient Search box is displayed. Begin typing the patient information. See Selecting Patients for additional details on using this feature.

Once the patient is selected, the patient's basic episode information is displayed in the yellow bar at the top of the screen, including: patient name, DOB, and medical record number.

Home medications are displayed along with the strength, dosage, route, frequency, refills, start date/time, and last dose taken.

	Conflict Alerts: If present, this icon indicates that this medication has alert message(s) regarding conflicts. Click the icon to view the conflict alerts. See Also: Interaction Conflict Checking.
	Show Details button: Click to view additional details regarding the medication, including the Form, Prescribing MD, Source, Entered By and Verified By information. Also, from the Show Details view, you click the Launch Info button to display educational information for the associated item in a web browser from MedLine Plus Connect.
	Edit button: Click to edit a home medication. See To edit a home medication.
	Discontinue button: Click to remove a medication from the list. See To discontinue a medication.
	Samples: Click this button to view samples given or add a new sample for this medication. See Medication Sample Tracking for additional details.
	Change Log: Click this button to view the change log for the entry. Or, click the Change Log button in the green button bar at the top of the page to print the change log for the entire list.
	Info: Click this button to display educational information for the associated item in a web browser from MedLine Plus Connect.

To filter the medication list

The medication list can be filtered and sorted so that the list provides information in a customized view. The default view displays all medications by occurred date (in reverse chronological order). You can change the view to display only current or historical medications, as well as, sort the medications by Brand Name, Generic Name, Start Date or Stop Date. To change your view, use the drop-down lists in the Filter and Sort fields to select the desired view options. Once selected, the list is resorted accordingly.

All medications display the medication name, strength, dosage, route, frequency, refills, start date/time, and last dose taken.

Patient takes no Home Medications

To document that the patient does not take any home medications, check the Patient takes no Home medications radio button. The Source of Information is displayed. In the Source field, use the drop down list to select the source of the information. Then, click Save. Note: If the No Known Problems radio button is not displayed, there are medications already entered on the patient's record. To get this option to display again, you must remove any medications from the list.

Patient Unable to Report Home Medications

Sometimes it is necessary to document that you are unable to list the patient's home medications. To do this, check the Patient Unable to Report Home Medications box. Then, enter the appropriate Source of Information. Click Save. Note: If the Patient Unable to Report Home Medications radio button is not displayed, there are medications already entered on the patient's record. To get this option to display again, you must remove any medications from the list.

Note: If the patient already has home medications in the list, this option is not available.

To add a home medication

Click Add Home Medication. The Add Home Medication box is displayed.
In the Medication field, begin typing the desired medication. Available matches to the typed text are displayed in the drop-down list. Select the desired medication by clicking it. Available details related to the selected medication are displayed in the appropriate fields, including the Brand Name, Generic Name, Dosage, Form, and Dosage UOM. (Searching in this field first searches the Hospital Formulary and if you continue to type the characters of the drug name, will continue to locate the medication in the Medi-Span database, if not found in the formulary, for selection.)
Modify the Dosage, Dosage UOM, Form, and/or Route as desired. If the dosage is unknown at this time, check the Unknown box. Then, in the Reason Unknown box, enter the reason that the dosage is unknown, i.e. Patient does not remember, etc.
In the Frequency field, use the drop-down list to select the appropriate frequency.
The Start Date/Time fields default to the current date and time. Modify, if necessary, using the calendar and clock buttons.
In the Reason Taking field, type the reason or condition for which the patient is taking the medication.
In the Special Instructions field, type additional information regarding special instructions for taking the medication. This field accommodates 140 characters.
In the Comment field, you can type a free-text message about the medication.
In the Prescribing MD field, use the drop-down list to select the physician who prescribed the medication. This field is required (for MU) if the Type (step 12) is prescription.
In the Source of Information field, use the drop-down list to select the person who provided the home medication information.
If not already filled in from selecting the medication, select the form of the medication in the Form field.
The Discontinue Date/Time field are used when discontinuing the home medication. Leave blank if the patient is still taking this medication.
The Last Dose Date/Time defaults to the current date and time. Modify these fields using the calendar and clock buttons to indicate the date and time of the last dose of the medication that the patient received.
In the Refills field, enter the number of refills for the prescription.
In the Type field, use the drop-down list to indicate the type of medication, e.g. herbal, over-the-counter, or prescription. If Type is Prescriptions, then the Prescribing MD field (step 8) is required.
In the Disposition field, use the drop-down list to select where the medication has been placed.
(Optional) If the medication is a sliding scale medication, click the Sliding Scale button to display the Sliding Scale box to enter the details. Then, click Save to return to the Add Home Medication screen.
Click Save.

To edit a home medication

Click next to the medication you want to edit. The Edit Home Medication box is displayed. Edit any of the fields as needed. See above for field descriptions.
In the Reason for Edit field, type the reason for the edit.
Click Save to save your changes and return to the medication list, or click Close if you want to cancel your changes.

To discontinue a home medication

Click next to the medication you want to discontinue. The Discontinue Home Medications box is displayed.
In the Reason field, type the reason for removing the item.
In the Discontinue Date/Time fields, use the calendar and clock icons to identify the date and time that the medication is to be discontinued.
The Added in Error check box indicates that this medication was entered to this profile in error and never really applied to this patient. Check this box if it applies to your situation.
Click Save to continue. You are returned to the list with the item now removed.

To generate CCD (Continuity of Care Document)

The CCD is a clinical summary document generated from the patient's clinical information, including insurance providers, advance directive information, problem list, and medication information. This document opens in a new browser tab, where it can be e-mailed, saved, and/or printed to the patient and/or another healthcare provider. To generate the CCD, click the Generate CCD button.

To verify home medications (No Change)

The No Change option allows you to indicate that you have reviewed and verified that all home medications information is correct and hasn't changed since the last assessment/review.

Click No Change located at the upper or lower right-hand corner of the window.
A message box is displayed with the message, Would you like to mark all home medications as being reviewed and verified? Select Yes to indicate you have reviewed and verified all medication information, and click Save; or select No or click Close if you do not want to perform the verification at this time. Once reviewed, the date and time displayed in the Last Reviewed field (top left corner of the page) is updated.

To launch ePrescribe

The eprescribing functionality is provided by a Healthland 3rd party partner, DrFirst. To launch the eprescribing portal, click the Launch Eprescribe button located at the top of the page. Also, see ePrescribing for additional details.

From the Home Medications page, click the Update Now button to update the page with the ePrescribing profile information, including refill information. If the eprescribing portal is missing pertinent information, such as zip code, gender, etc. you will be prompted to enter that information. The date that the data was last updated or requested from DrFirst is displayed under the Update Now button.

Clicking the Update Now button is limited to one time in 5 minutes to prevent system slowness. To ensure that medications are displayed/synchronized as expected, click Update Now, press <F5>, or go to another tab and then back to the current tab to refresh the web page.

To print the list

To print a copy of the list, click the Print button.

Medication Sample Tracking

Medication Sample Tracking provides functionality to track medication samples that are distributed to patients, including drug name, lot #, manufacturer, and quantity. To access Medication Sample Tracking, click the Samples button,, located next the desired medication. This displays the Samples details section.

To enter a new sample

To enter a new sample, click the Sample button,, located next to the appropriate medication. The Samples section is displayed.
In the Manufacturer field, begin typing the first few letters of the manufacturer you are looking for. Matches to the typed text are displayed in the drop-down list. Click to select the desired manufacturer.
In the Expiration Date field, use the calendar to select the expiration date of the sample medication you are providing to the patient.
In the Lot Number field, type the lot number of the medication you are providing to the patient.
In the Qty field, enter the quantity of the medication you are providing to the patient.
In the Sample Date field, enter the date you are giving the medication to the patient.
Click the Add button, to save the sample details. The sample is displayed in the Samples section above the blank fields.
To add additional samples, repeat steps 1-7.

To view the Sample Report

The Medication Sample Tracking Report displays information regarding the samples your site has dispensed. Go to Reports > General Reports and click the Show Print Details button for the Medication Sample Tracking Report.

Enter the From Date and To Date to identify the date range for the dispensed samples.
In the Print Order field, select the sort order you would like for the report: Patient or Medication. The Patient sort order groups all samples together by patient. The Medication sort order groups all samples together by Medication.
(Optional) If you desire to print samples limited to an individual patient, begin typing and select that patient name in the Patient field.
(Optional) If you desire to print samples limited for an individual medication, begin typing and select that medication name in the Medication field.
(Optional) If you desire to print samples limited to an individual provider, begin typing and select that provider name in the Physician field.
Once finished selecting the report parameters, select the desired output: PDF or EXCEL.
Then, click Generate Report. The report is displayed in a new page and can be printed, if desired.