Drugs
PTS has access to several optional utilities that require a drug lookup facility, and that is provided by the data on the drugs setup page.
It's important to note that populating the drugs table is not required for PTS's core functionality. In addition it's recommended that the drug data be imported using an automated tool of some sort such as our own free dm+d importer software, or via a data dump from your dispensing software. While you can add drugs to this page manually it's plainly not appropriate for the many thousands of different drugs you'll be handling.
Examples of optional uses for the drugs lookup include:
- Specifying actual drugs and their doses and quantities during booking in, as opposed to just number of items. This is particularly useful for ward ordering.
- Making the same available to the automatic booking in procedure of e-prescribing.
- Specify which drugs were dispensed and which were supposed to be dispensed when recording a drug mismatch error.
- Enabling use of the Controlled Drugs register.
- Enabling use of the Aseptics module.
Accessing the setup page
Like many of the different PTS utilities, setup is found in the left-hand side bar.
Hover over the sidebar with the mouse cursor and the side bar will expand. Select Setup to reveal a drop-down list of the various setup pages you have permission to access.
To choose a setup page click on its name in the list to be taken to the setup page.
PTS 5 is the most user configurable version of our Prescription Tracking System to date. As a result parts of this Wiki assumes that the reader has permission to access the elements of the system in question. If you don't see specific items and utilities where they are supposed to be you may not have permission to access them.
Adding new drug
To reiterate, you're not expected to populate this entire page manually, but you may need to add a missing drug here and there.
To create a new drug access the actions menu by clicking on the actions menu icon at the top right of the page, then from the actions menu click the New Drug button. Unlike most of the other setup pages you will be asked for a few details before you can create the drug:
- Drug ID
A unique identifier for the drug such as its EAN code. - Drug Description
An appropriate description of the drug.
Click OK when you're done. The process then continues in the drug popup.
Editing existing drugs
The primary reason for this page existing is to allow you to edit and add additional data to drugs that have already been imported.
To edit an existing drug, select the drug you wish to amend by clicking on its entry in the list to load the drug popup (note clicking the tickbox has another dedicated function).
Drug popup
The drug popup appears after adding a new drug, or clicking on a drug in the list to edit it.
Enter the following information and click the Save button to finish creating or editing the drug. Some fields may be optional.
Drug details tab
- Description
An appropriate description of the drug. - Dose Units
A description of the individual units that the drug is comprised of. The system expects the drug will be administered in multiples of this unit. Examples include tablet, ampoule, suppository, 5ml sachet, 100ml vial etc. - Minimum Doses
The minimum number of doses that a ward user is able to order (e.g. to prevent a nurse ordering a single tablet of something). - Strength
The strength of the drug. - Discontinued
Discontinuing prevents the drug from being ordered. - Controlled Drug Category
e.g. Schedule 1, 2, 3 etc. You can give roles and users different permissions in the CD register based on the drug category. - Requires witness for CD transactions?
Whether or not a user with the witness permission will be required to 'sign' for transactions in the CD register.
Barcodes tab
Here you can specify the different barcodes or EAN codes found on varieties of the same drug pack. This allows PTS to identify the drug properly when scanned with a barcode scanner. Use the Plus button to add a barcode to the list.
Importing drugs
In reality, if you need to use the drugs table, you should import data into it somehow.
dm+d Importer
Our dm+d importer tool can be downloaded from here:
https://tmsinsight.sharepoint.com/:u:/s/PTS/EVRNcBhK0OFKmVVs0qMYgtAB6yaL-4pYkvbIfLtG6gGzUQ?e=Ku5VaD
The tool can probably be installed on any dispensary PC. Specifically, the PC will need to be able to reach your PTS database via ODBC, and will also need Microsoft Excel installed on it.
You will need to know the PTS database connection details so you can enter them during installation. If you skip this step the process will fail. If you don't have these details to hand we can often provide them from our records.
Usage
- First of all notice that the tool installed folders at C:\dmd_extract_tool\ and C:\dmdDataLoader\. You will be working in the C:\dmd_extract_tool\ folder for the most part.
- The dm+d Importer Tool works with TRUD (Technology Reference Update Distribution) files available from NHS Digital. Our understanding is that these files are emailed out on a regular basis to staff who have signed up. TRUD files should take the form of a .zip file with a name such as nhsbsa_dmd_11.0.0_20201102000001.zip.
- The process involves copying the zipped up TRUD file into the C:\dmd_extract_tool\XMLToUnzipInHere folder. Do not unzip the file; the tool will handle that automatically. If you do not yet have an up-to-date TRUD file the utility comes with one for you to use and test with for the time being.
- Only one TRUD file can be in the XMLToUnzipInHere folder at a time. Delete any older TRUD files before doing an update.
- With the TRUD file in place, go back to C:\dmd_extract_tool\ and locate the xml-csv.bat and run it.
- A command window will open and run through a series of steps as it extracts and processes the dm+d data. This process can take a while. During this time Excel will open and close various windows.
- Once that is complete you can now perform the upload of the data to PTS. Simply run the dm+d Importer shortcut on your desktop. If the shortcut was not created it points to C:\Program Files (x86)\TMS Insight (Data Capture) Ltd\dm+d Importer\dm+d Importer.exe.
- Make a note of the progress in the command window that opens automatically.
JAC Importer
Our JAC drug importer tool can be downloaded from here:
https://tmsinsight.sharepoint.com/:u:/s/PTS/EfPHuJPpsvdAu171PCUnF6wBnX295SRHMKF6rqiPs3GHcg?e=NdyW4B
The tool can probably be installed on any dispensary PC. Specifically, the PC will need to be able to reach your PTS and JAC databases via ODBC and will therefore also require the correct CACHE or IRIS drivers to be installed on it. Any PC that is already being used with JAC should already have the drivers available.
You will need to know the PTS and JAC database connection details so you can enter them during installation. If you skip this step the process will fail. If you don't have the PTS connection details to hand we can often provide them from our records.
"UpdateExisting" Option
There is a hidden option that configures whether the tool will update existing drugs, or just import new ones.
As a Windows administrator locate the JACDrugImporter.exe.config file in the installation path and open it in Notepad. Notice that it is an XML file. Locate the UpdateExisting setting and set it to either True or False and save the file. The default setting is False, meaning that only new drugs are imported and existing drugs are not amended. If this is the desired behaviour then you do not have to do anything.
Usage
- Simply execute the JACDrugImporter.exe application in the installation path and monitor the output for any issues.
- Any issues are more than likely going to be related to the connection details you entered during installation. You can either modify JACDrugImporter.exe.config to make changes quickly or you can uninstall the application to start over.
Clearing the drugs table
The following T-SQL script will remove any drugs from any recorded notes, prescriptions and patients and then clear the drugs table.
UPDATE [PrescriptionNotes] SET [DrugDispensedID] = NULL, [DrugRequestedID] = NULL WHERE [DrugDispensedID] IS NOT NULL OR [DrugRequestedID] IS NOT NULL DELETE FROM [GTINs] DELETE FROM [PatientDrugs] DELETE FROM [Drugs]