Manage Drug Shortages with Preferred and Alternate Fill Options

Drug shortages have become a reality in hospital pharmacies, and KitCheck allows you to manage shortages within the application through the use of alternate fills. Hospitals can designate an alternate fill option to substitute for your preferred fill option in a kit master. This makes managing item shortages easier in KitCheck. Alternate fill options are identified by the following icon below.  

Manage Kit Master and Edit Segment

Navigate to the appropriate kit master by selecting Manage Kit Masters  from the Inventory drop-down menu. Select the kit master you want to edit and the specific segment you want to edit by clicking on the segment name. 

Add a Preferred Fill Option

The Edit Segment screen displays. If you have not already designated a Preferred Fill Option for this segment, click Edit. 

The Edit Preferred Fill Option screen displays. Select which formulary item you want to be the preferred option for this segment by searching for the item in the Add Formulary Item field. Once the item has been located, select whether to add the specific formulary or formulary and the generic options to the fill option. 

The item will now populate in the Formulary Items in Fill Option section. When you're done adding items, click Save. 

Add an Alternate Fill Option

Once the Preferred Fill Option has been set, you will be able to enter an Alternate Fill Option. This alternate option can be used if the preferred fill is unavailable (e.g. if the particular drug is on shortage or backordered). Click Add Fill Option.

The Add Alternate Fill Option screen displays. Input the quantity and billing code, if applicable, for the alternate fill option. Search for the appropriate item(s) in the Add Formulary Items field, and select to associate the specific formulary item or all formulary items with the alternate fill. When finished, click Save. 

Both fill options will now be displayed on the segment details screen. Click Done to save the information. 

On the Manage Kit Masters screen the icon will now display designating that an item has an alternate fill. 

Once a shortage is over, remove the alternate fill option by clicking Delete. 

Scan Trays with Alternate Fill Option

When a tray is scanned, the application looks for the preferred fill. If the preferred fill is not found, the application will automatically search for the alternate fill option. If either of these requirements are met, you will get the Kit Complete screen. You will see the "black four square" icon and message on the Scan is Complete screen when an alternate fill has been utilized. 

On the Scan Details screen, the "black four square" icon displays next to the segment where an alternate fill option has been utilized. When a charge sheet is printed, the "black four square" icon displays next to the segment where an alternate fill option has been utilized.