Pharmacies will need to introduce procedures for responding to unexpected scan results (termed error and alert messages) and also reversal of decommissioning.

Alert scans can indicate a variety of different issues with the medicine pack including:

• Date expired stock
• Double scan (more than one scan in same location in quick succession)
• Recalled pack
• Status error (pack status is marked as stolen, sample, exported or destroyed)
• Data error (pack data does not match NMVS records)
• Already used (pack has been decommissioned in another location or country)

Pharmacy teams will need to follow their existing processes where medicines are identified as date expired or subject to a product recall.  Double scan alerts indicate a potential procedural issue within the pharmacy.

Products that generate a status error, data error or already used alert should be quarantined away from normal medicines stocks as these alert messages can indicate a potentially falsified medicine.

Where possible suspect packs of medicine should be placed in individual plastic bags and labelled with relevant details including the NMVS alert ID number. The pharmacy should conduct an investigation within the pharmacy to exclude any technical or procedural errors that may have triggered the alert. The Responsible Pharmacist or Pharmacy Manager may wish to contact the wholesaler, Marketing Authorisation holder or the NMVO for further guidance.