Vaccines are defined under Inventory Management and Services. This article will go through the steps to create the vaccine as an inventory item and the steps to create the vaccine as a Service, which is then linked to the inventory item, so the vaccine usage and information are tracked.
Best Practices for Vaccine Configuration
We recommend linking a vaccine inventory item to a vaccine service (procedure). The inventory item will track the inventory usage and information when the service is added to a patient's treatment. This will involve:
- An inactive inventory item that exists for the sole purpose of tracking vaccine inventory information and is hidden on the client's invoice.
- A number of active service items linked to the inactive inventory (tracking) item, each representing a different type of vaccination that shares the same inventory.
Each item type's configuration is important to properly update reminders and vaccination log entries. More details and screenshots will follow, but generally:
- The inventory item will not have the "is vaccine" option checked or create the reminder. The item is only tracking inventory information.
- Services linked to the inventory item will have vaccine details filled in and create the reminder.
New Vaccine Creation from Inventory Management
- Adding a new vaccine starts with creating a new Inventory Item: Menu > Inventory > Inventory Management > Add Inventory Item.
- Enter the Category, Vendor, Manufacturer, Code, and Name for the new vaccine inventory item.
- Click Next. This will display the Edit Inventory Item fields.
- Under Edit Inventory Item, Cost should be reflected on the tracking inventory items.
- Price should be $0.00 on the inventory tracking item and instead is reflected on the Service Item.
- Check the box for Hide on invoice? on the inventory item's properties.
- As long as the price is set to $0.00 on the inventory item, it will only be on the patient's treatment page and hidden from the client's invoice. However, the option to hide the inventory tracker on an invoice is an extra precaution.
- Click a Save option to complete creating the new inventory item.
Service Item Creation and Vaccine Details
- Go to Menu > Settings > Products & Services > Services > Add Service.
- Under the Details group, assign a Category, Code, and Name.
- Under the Pricing group, enter the Cost, Markup, if necessary, Price, and Tax Level.
- Scroll down to Vaccine Details.
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A description of the following fields and settings are:
- Name: This is the name that will appear on the patient Vaccination Log. Does not have to match the name of the inventory or service item.
- Manufacturer: Useful for tracking and inventory management. Optional.
- Vaccine Type: Indicates vaccine development (Live, Killed, Modified-Live or Recombinant).
- Dosage Type: Tracks if the vaccine is an Initial or Booster vaccine.
- Create Rabies Certificate: This should only be checked if the vaccine is a Rabies vaccine and needs a certificate to be printed.
- Create an entry in Vaccination Log: Most often this should be checked unless you do not want it in the Log.
- USDA Licensing and Animal Control Licensing: You can choose from One Year, Three Year, Four Year (USDA only), or Other. Other allows you to enter a number of months.
- Serial Number: Useful for tracking serial numbers but ignored for inventory items with lots.
NOTE: Support recommends having separate vaccine items for your booster and initial vaccines to allow for specific reminder periods and dosage amounts.
The vaccine will also contain the Reminder: See Creating & Distributing Your Reminders Quick Guide for more information.
Linking Vaccine Service Items to an Inventory Tracker
- Once you have configured the service item and vaccine settings, scroll up to Linked Items.
- Click on + Item. The Add Linked Item flyout will display on the right.
- Use the Search Catalog Items field to type in the name or code of the Inventory Item.
- Identify the Quantity of 1.
- Click Save.
After linking the items, return to Inventory Management to inactivate the Inventory Tracker Item. This will prevent the inventory item from being displayed when adding the service item to the patient's treatment.
See How can I link billable items to each other? for general guidelines on linking billable items to inventory items.
Adding a Linked Vaccine to a Patient Treatment
If configured, searching for a vaccine to add to a patient record will only display the Vaccine Service items.
- This is because the inventory tracking item is set to inactive (and thus won't appear in the search).
- Adding the Vaccine Service item to a treatment will automatically pull the inactive inventory item.