Checklist template

Pharmacy inventory and ordering

A ready-to-use checklist with 107 items in 6 sections, covering Ordering, Out-of-stocks, Returns to stock, Expired product, Recalls, Cycle counts. Use it as-is in InspectLoop, or adapt it to your own standards in minutes.

  • 6 Sections
  • 107 Items
  • 82 Yes / No checks
  • 6 Scored ratings
  • 112 Points

Use this template How audits work

1. Ordering 22 items

  1. The daily wholesaler order was transmitted before the cut-off time on each of the last 7 days Yes / No 1 pt
  2. A named technician reviews the system-suggested order before it is sent Yes / No 1 pt
  3. Order points of fast-moving drugs were reviewed in the last 90 days Yes / No 1 pt
  4. Order points are raised ahead of the season for seasonal drugs (antivirals, allergy products, antibiotics for children) Yes / No 1 pt
  5. Items added to the order by hand come from a written want list kept in the dispensary Yes / No 1 pt
  6. High-cost drugs above the limit set by company policy are ordered only against a patient's prescription Yes / No 1 pt
  7. Drugs ordered for a specific patient are tagged with the patient's name on arrival Yes / No 1 pt
  8. Preferred generic or contract products are ordered when the system offers a choice Yes / No 1 pt
  9. Products substituted by the wholesaler are reviewed before they are put away Yes / No 1 pt
  10. The delivery is checked against the invoice by scanning or by line on the day it arrives Yes / No 1 pt
  11. Refrigerated totes are unpacked before the rest of the delivery Yes / No 1 pt
  12. The temperature indicator in refrigerated totes is checked on arrival Yes / No 1 pt
  13. Shorts and mis-picks are claimed within the wholesaler's deadline Yes / No 1 pt
  14. No unopened totes from an earlier delivery are in the dispensary Yes / No 1 pt
  15. New stock is placed behind the stock already on the shelf Yes / No 1 pt
  16. Each product is on its own shelf position; no stock bottles are stacked in front of another product Yes / No 1 pt
  17. Overstock is kept in a labeled overstock location and used before the product is reordered Yes / No 1 pt
  18. Orders from a secondary supplier are approved as company policy requires Yes / No 1 pt
  19. Stock borrowed from or lent to another store is recorded in the system by both stores Yes / No 1 pt
  20. Value of pharmacy inventory on hand (dollars) Number
  21. Days of supply on hand for the dispensary Number
  22. Ordering discipline Rating
    • Orders reviewed, on time and matched to demand 5 pts
    • On time but accepted without review 3 pts
    • Late, manual or excessive ordering 1 pt

2. Out-of-stocks 18 items

  1. Prescriptions in the out-of-stock queue at the time of the visit Number
  2. The out-of-stock queue is worked each morning after the delivery is put away Yes / No 1 pt
  3. Patients are told when the product is expected at the time the out-of-stock is found Yes / No 1 pt
  4. A partial fill is offered when some stock is on hand and local regulation allows it Yes / No 1 pt
  5. Quantities owed are filled on the day the stock arrives Yes / No 1 pt
  6. Patients are notified on the day their owed quantity is ready Yes / No 1 pt
  7. Age of the oldest owed quantity (days) Number
  8. A list of drugs on manufacturer backorder is kept in the dispensary with the alternatives available Yes / No 1 pt
  9. Pharmacists contact the prescriber for an alternative when a drug is on long-term backorder Yes / No 1 pt
  10. Nearby stores of the network are checked for stock before a patient is sent away Yes / No 1 pt
  11. Items that ran out twice in the last 30 days had their order point raised Yes / No 1 pt
  12. Wholesaler shorts are reviewed daily and reordered or sourced from the secondary supplier Yes / No 1 pt
  13. Fast-moving drugs found in stock out of 10 checked from the top-movers report Number
  14. Epinephrine auto-injectors, naloxone and rescue inhalers are in stock at or above their minimum quantity Yes / No 1 pt
  15. At least one week's supply of vials and caps is on hand Yes / No 1 pt
  16. At least one week's supply of prescription labels and bags is on hand Yes / No 1 pt
  17. Prescriptions transferred to a competitor because of an out-of-stock are tracked Yes / No 1 pt
  18. In-stock position of the dispensary Rating
    • Fast movers in stock and owed quantities cleared daily 5 pts
    • Some fast movers out or owed quantities several days old 3 pts
    • Frequent out-of-stocks and old owed quantities 1 pt

3. Returns to stock 17 items

  1. Uncollected prescriptions are pulled from will-call after the number of days set by company policy Yes / No 1 pt
  2. The insurance claim is reversed before the product goes back on the shelf Yes / No 1 pt
  3. 5 prescriptions on last week's return-to-stock report each show a reversed claim Yes / No 1 pt
  4. The quantity returned is added back to the on-hand count in the system Yes / No 1 pt
  5. Returns to stock are done on the days named on the dispensary task schedule Yes / No 1 pt
  6. Return-to-stock vials are labeled with the drug, strength, product code and expiry or beyond-use date Yes / No 1 pt
  7. Bags pulled from will-call are returned to stock on the day they are pulled; none are waiting in a tote Yes / No 1 pt
  8. Tablets or capsules of different lots are not combined in one return-to-stock vial Yes / No 1 pt
  9. Return-to-stock vials are placed in front of the stock bottle so they are used for the next fill Yes / No 1 pt
  10. Return-to-stock vials past their beyond-use date have been removed from the shelf Yes / No 1 pt
  11. Refrigerated prescriptions go back to stock only if they never left the pharmacy refrigerator Yes / No 1 pt
  12. Reconstituted, compounded or opened unit-of-use products are not returned to stock Yes / No 1 pt
  13. High-cost and special-order drugs never collected are sent back to the wholesaler or transferred to another store, per company policy Yes / No 1 pt
  14. Return-to-stock vials are included in the on-hand quantity at cycle counts Yes / No 1 pt
  15. Prescriptions returned to stock last week Number
  16. Return-to-stock vials on the shelves at the time of the visit Number
  17. Return-to-stock practice Rating
    • Claims reversed, vials labeled and used first 5 pts
    • Claims reversed but vials poorly labeled or not used first 3 pts
    • Claims not reversed or product not traceable 1 pt

4. Expired product 17 items

  1. Every section of the dispensary is checked for expiry dates at least once a month Yes / No 1 pt
  2. Date of the last expiry check Date
  3. The expiry check is logged by section with the initials of the person who did it Yes / No 1 pt
  4. Products expiring within the window set by company policy carry a short-date sticker Yes / No 1 pt
  5. The inspector's check of 20 products across the bays found none expired Yes / No 1 pt
  6. Expired products found on the shelves during the visit Number
  7. Refrigerated products (insulin, injectables, vaccines) are included in the monthly check Yes / No 1 pt
  8. Compounding ingredients are included in the monthly check Yes / No 1 pt
  9. Counting machine cells are included in the monthly check Yes / No 1 pt
  10. Non-prescription products kept behind the counter are included in the monthly check Yes / No 1 pt
  11. Expired product is moved to a marked quarantine tote away from active stock Yes / No 1 pt
  12. Quarantined product is sent to the returns processor on the schedule set by company policy Yes / No 1 pt
  13. Date of the last shipment to the returns processor Date
  14. Credits received are compared with the list of product shipped Yes / No 1 pt
  15. Short-dated product with no recent dispensing is transferred to another store or returned while still eligible for credit Yes / No 1 pt
  16. Value of expired product pulled last quarter (dollars) Number
  17. Control of expiry dates Rating
    • No expired product, checks logged monthly 5 pts
    • Checks logged but short-dated items unmarked 3 pts
    • Expired product on the shelves 1 pt

5. Recalls 16 items

  1. Recall notices from the wholesaler or head office are checked every business day Yes / No 1 pt
  2. Each notice of the last 90 days has a recorded stock check with a date and initials, including when no stock was found Yes / No 1 pt
  3. Recalled stock was removed from the shelves within the deadline stated in the notice Yes / No 1 pt
  4. The stock check for a recall covers counting machine cells Yes / No 1 pt
  5. The stock check for a recall covers return-to-stock vials and will-call bags Yes / No 1 pt
  6. Recalled product is held in a tote marked "Recall - do not dispense" Yes / No 1 pt
  7. For patient-level recalls, a report of patients who received the product was run Yes / No 1 pt
  8. Contacts with patients affected by a recall are documented Yes / No 1 pt
  9. Recalled product was returned as the notice instructs, with proof of shipment on file Yes / No 1 pt
  10. The on-hand count was adjusted when recalled product was removed Yes / No 1 pt
  11. A second employee is named to handle recalls when the pharmacy manager is absent Yes / No 1 pt
  12. An employee asked could explain the steps taken when a recall notice arrives Yes / No 1 pt
  13. Recalls of non-prescription products are passed to the front-store manager on the day they are received Yes / No 1 pt
  14. Recall notices received in the last 90 days Number
  15. Recall notices of the last 90 days without a documented response Number
  16. Recall handling Rating
    • Every notice actioned and documented on time 5 pts
    • Actioned with gaps in documentation 3 pts
    • Notices unanswered or recalled stock found 1 pt

6. Cycle counts 17 items

  1. Cycle counts assigned by the system were completed in each of the last 4 weeks Yes / No 1 pt
  2. High-cost drugs are counted more often than the rest, on the schedule set by company policy Yes / No 1 pt
  3. The person counting does not see the system quantity before entering the count Yes / No 1 pt
  4. Open bottles are counted exactly or weighed, not estimated by eye Yes / No 1 pt
  5. A variance beyond the company tolerance is recounted by a second person before the adjustment is posted Yes / No 1 pt
  6. Adjustments above the limit set by company policy are approved by the pharmacy manager Yes / No 1 pt
  7. The negative on-hand report is reviewed weekly Yes / No 1 pt
  8. Items showing a negative on-hand quantity at the time of the visit Number
  9. Items where the inspector's count matched the system quantity, out of 5 counted Number
  10. The cause of each large adjustment of the last period was investigated (wrong product dispensed, unreversed claim, receiving error) Yes / No 1 pt
  11. The product code billed matched the product on the shelf for 5 recent fills sampled Yes / No 1 pt
  12. A full physical inventory was taken on the company schedule Yes / No 1 pt
  13. Date of the last full physical inventory Date
  14. Net inventory adjustment for the last period (dollars) Number
  15. Name of the pharmacy manager Short text
  16. Overall inventory control in the dispensary Rating
    • In stock, in date and counts matching the system 5 pts
    • In stock and in date, with count differences or late tasks 3 pts
    • Out-of-stocks, expired product or unreliable on-hand quantities 1 pt
  17. Corrective actions required Comments

About this template

This checklist is part of the InspectLoop template library. Yes / No checks score 1 point when met; ratings score the points shown for each option. The overall score is the percentage of points earned, with N/A answers excluded. In InspectLoop you can add photos, assign corrective actions, require sign-off and compare results across sites.

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