Disposal and returns

How to record medications going out of stock — disposed at the home or returned to pharmacy.

Disposed vs Returned

Movement

When to use

Disposed

Medication destroyed in the home — e.g. a denatured kit for a controlled drug, a tablet dropped on the floor, a refused dose.

Returned

Stock returned to the pharmacy — usually expired stock or surplus from a stopped prescription.

Recording

  1. Open eMAR → Stock.

  2. New movement → pick the medication.

  3. Movement type → Disposed or Returned.

  4. Quantity = how many doses/units left the stock.

  5. Notes — record the reason, the date if different from today, and any witnesses or signatures.

  6. Save.

Note — There is no dedicated witness-signature field on stock movements. For witnessed disposals (especially CDs) record the witness name in the Notes field, e.g. "Denatured in DOOP kit, witness J. Smith", AND make the CD register entry separately.

Heads up — Controlled drug disposal has separate legal requirements — typically a denaturing kit and two-person witnessing. Follow your CD policy; the Stock movement records the count, not the legal compliance evidence.

Last updated 21 May 2026 · by Carerealm · Suggest a feature or change to this article
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