Product Maintenance

Touchstore Rx allows you to create and edit products on your system. To see information on how the IPU Upload process adds and updates your products please see our [IPUUpload] section.

How to Search for a Product

Since there are many different pieces of information attached to products e.g. VAT Rate, Price, Barcode etc... there are many different ways to search for a product.

This section deals with searching for a product in the Product Maintenance module, if you would like to know how to search for a product from the Dispensing Screen, please see our [Dispensing] section.

There are two sections in the Product Maintenance module where you can search for products:

• Search Bar
• Search Product Screen - aka "Advanced Product Search"

Search Bar

The Search Bar in Product Maintenance performs a very basic search based on either the NAME of a product being entered or the BARCODE of a product being entered.

As you type a NAME the system will begin showing you suggestions for products that match the partial details you have entered.

In the above image, you can see we have typed in "SOLP" and the system has auto-completed the product name with the first option that matches what we have entered. Below the Search Bar we can then see a number of other search results. To go to any product in the list of results simply left-click it with your mouse or use your keyboard to ARROW to the correct record and the press ENTER to open the product.

N.B. Products with a Status of Inactive will not show up in the search bar. You will need to use the Search Product Screen (detailed below) to locate any products with a status of Inactive.

Search Product Screen - aka "Advanced Product Search"

If you need to search for Inactive products or you need a way to better filter your search instead of simply relying on the product name the Search Product Screen is a powerful way of searching for products on your system.

To open this screen, click the Search button that has a magnifying glass icon in the top left of the Product Maintenance screen:

You will now see the Search Product screen:

There are TWO (2) ways to filter your search:

1. Use the column headers to search by a field other than Product Name
2. Use the Search Filter Options tab to apply specific filters

Using Column Headers

To use the Column Headers to search using a different field other than the Product Name:

• First, type in %. This is our wildcard character and will bring back some results that you can ignore.
• Now, find the Column Header you want to search by
  • If you want to search using a GMS Number, find that Column Header that says GMS
• Click on the Column Header
• That header should now move to the furthest header on the left. You can now search by this field by typing something into the top search bar.

In the below screenshot, you can see that we have moved the GMS column header to the far left and tried to find products with a GMS Number of 95633

Using the Search Filter Options tab

The Search Filter Options tab allows you apply a set of filters to any of the results that are returned in the main Search tab of the Search Product screen.

• The top section of the screen provides the following Filters:

  • Supplier - entering a Supplier name will display products, that have that Supplier name selected as the Preferred Supplier for those products in the Stock Module
  • Manufacturer - entering a Manufacturer name will display products, that have that Manufacturer name selected as the Manufacturer of those products in the + Stock Module
  • Agent - entering an Agent name will display products, that have that Agent name selected as the Agent of those products in the Stock Module

• The middle section of the screen provides the following Filters:

  • Retail Price - if you enter a From value and a To value, any search results will be restricted to those with a Retail Price between the two values you have entered
  • IPU Price - if you enter a From value and a To value, any search results will be restricted to those with a Retail Price between the two values you have entered
  • Expiry Date - if you enter a From value and a To value, any search results will be restricted to those with a Retail Price between the two values you have entered
  • Current Qty - if you enter a From value and a To value, any search results will be restricted to those with a Qty on Hand between the two values you have entered
  • Product Status - selecting a Product Status here will restrict search results to only products which have that Product Status assigned to it in the Stock Module.
  • Uplift - selecting an Uplift here will restrict search results to only products which have that Uplift assigned to it in the Stock Module
  • Unassigned Uplift - ticking this option will allow you to restrict search results to only products which do not currently have an Uplift assigned to them
  • Inhouse Barcode - putting a tick into the Inhouse Barcode check box will display all products, which have had a Barcode generated for it
    • N.B. this function is not in use at present
  • Stock Take Only - putting a tick on this option will only display products that have their stock take flag set on the stock module
    • N.B. this function is not in use at present
  • Include Products - Choose to display IPU, Non-IPU or Both types of products - an "IPU" product is one with an IPU Code

• The bottom section of the screen provides the following filters:

  • Stock Category - selecting any Stock Category level (level 1, level 2, level 3 or level 4) from here will display all products, which have been assigned to that Stock Category in the Stock Module. Tick Include Subcategories to include sub-categories of the selected stock category
  • User Category 1 and 2 - selecting a User Category will display all products that have that user Category assigned to it in the Stock Module. The User Categories are assigned, inserted and maintained on the Stock Module screen
  • Dispense Category - this will allow you to select from IPU Categories of products and restrict search results to only those products that have the chosen Dispense Category:
    • VET / Dress / Photo / Hose / Ostomy / Hort / Cosm

+ When you are finished entering your criteria, press Alt & H or click on the Search tab to return to the product list from which you can select your range of products.

N.B. you can see any selected filters from the main Search tab in the bottom left of the screen:

Layout of the Product Maintenance Screen

There is a lot of information on display in the Product Maintenance screen. See below a handy map to show you the general areas of interest.

• A: Basic Search Bar
• B: Main Product Details
• C: Product Usage Variables
• D: Tabs
• E: Advanced Product Details

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How to Create a Product

Please note if you need to add a product that is not in your system but has been added to the IPU File or Web Service, please see our [IPUUpload] section.

To create a product on the system we need to access the Product Maintenance screen. You can do this via Modules -> Product Maint:

• This will open the main product maintenance screen
• Press the New button.

The New Product will be displayed and you can begin filling out the details of the product you would like to create.

In the below image, you can see an example of how this form should be filled out. The REQUIRED fields have been marked with an asterisk (*). If you do not enter details in these fields, you will encounter an error advising what information is missing:

• The following product information is required for creating a new product:

  • Barcode: (REQUIRED) - The barcode that is on the packaging of the new product. This can be scanned into Rx when searching a product. If the product does not have a barcode press Generate Inhouse Barcode to give the product a unique TouchStore barcode.
  • Product Name: (REQUIRED) - The name of the new product.
  • Pack Size: (REQUIRED) - Enter the pack size of the new product into the first column and the type of pack into the second column i.e tabs, pack, ML.
  • Display Name: This will be the name that displays on the TouchStore Rx POS system if you are using it. It will auto-populate with a subset of the characters entered in the Product Name field.
  • Preferred Supplier: The supplier you would like this product assigned to.
  • Stock Category: The stock category you would like this product assigned to e.g Dispensary - Unlicensed Medicines.
  • Cost Price: (REQUIRED) - The list cost price of this product from your supplier.
  • VAT Type: (REQUIRED) - The applicable VAT Rate for this product.
  • Product Uplift: The uplift / markup you will be applying to this product when selling at the till. This is only needed for customers using Touchstore Rx POS.
  • IPU Barcode: If this product is part of the IPU, it should be available through the IPU File. If for some reason, it is part of the IPU but not available in the IPU file, you can enter the IPU barcode here. If this product does not have an IPU barcode this column can be left blank.
  • Qty on Hand: The quantity that you have of this product in stock now.
  • Retail Based Off: This will specify how the system should automatically calculate your Retail Price, whether using the IPU Cost of the Product or the Purchasing Cost (the cost entered when booking in Orders). This is only needed for customers using Touchstore Rx POS.
  • IPU Cost Price: This is the cost price that the product will be dispensed at. If the product is not part of the IPU the cost price still needs to be entered here for dispensing.

• Once you've entered all the relevant information, press Ok to create the new product.

• The form will clear all fields and you will be able to create another new product if you wish.
• Click Cancel if you want to go to the Product Maintenance page for the product you just created.

N.B. In some occasions you may encounter a list index out of bounds error when trying to create a product. We would recommend to completely restart TouchStore Rx if this occurs and try to create the product again.

Product Status

The Status of a product can have an impact on what functions you can carry out with that product. Inactive products, for example, don't show up in most searches.

TouchStore Rx has FOUR (4) Product Statuses:

1. Active Product
   • Active products will show up in all searches.
   • Active products can be dispensed.
   • This is the default status for newly created or added products.
   • Products can only be changed from this status by the IPU Upload or by a manual user change.
2. IPU Deleted
   • IPU Deleted products will show up in all searches.
   • IPU Deleted products can be dispensed.
   • This status is applied by certain updates as part of the IPU Upload and denotes that the product has been completely removed the IPU file.
3. IPU Discontinued
   • IPU Discontinued products will show up in all searches.
   • IPU Discontinued products can be dispensed.
   • This status is applied by certain updates as part of the IPU Upload and denotes that the product has been discontinued by the IPU file.
   • Products that are discontinued in this way may have their GMS Number removed once they are no longer reimbursable.
4. Inactive
   • Inactive products only show up in Advanced Searches
   • Inactive products cannot be dispensed.
   • This status can only be assigned to a product manually by a user.

You can find and change the Product Status of a product under the General tab of the Product Maintenance screen when that product has been selected.

Product Barcodes

Most product barcodes are handled by the IPU Upload however you can still manage the barcodes assigned to a product yourself.

N.B. You will not be able to amend the IPU Code of a product as this will be assigned/updated when running the IPU Upload.

• From the PMR Console
  • click on the
  • Product Maintenance

• Enter your PIN number and click Return
• The Stock Module screen will open with the cursor in the Search dropdown box
• Type in the name of the product you want to delete in the Search dropdown box
• Once the product has been selected, highlight the product barcode you wish to delete

• With the Incorrect Product barcode highlighted in Blue, click Ctrl & D or Click on the Delete barcode button The highlighted Product Barcode record is now deleted.

Product Warnings

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Shape / Colour / Lettering

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Product Image

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Product Pricing

For more details on how Pricing functions within TouchStore Rx, please see our [Pricing] section.

There are two tabs in the Product Maintenance screen that deal with Pricing:

• Pricing: This tab is largely used by customers using Touchstore Rx POS however the VAT Rate is applicable to all customers.
• Dispense Info: This tab is used for dispensary pricing.

Pricing Tab

The left hand section of the Pricing tab is not in use and can be ignored.

On the right hand section of the Pricing tab you will find important details for selling the product at the till:

• Cost (Avg Purchasing): This field cannot be edited. This field will show you the Average Purchasing cost price of this product as per the average of all cost prices entered against orders of this product when it is being booked into stock. For more information on how purchasing costs work please consult our [Ordering] section.
• Aegis Cost: This field cannot be edited. This field is not in use and can be ignored.
• Pharmachem Cost: This field cannot be edited. This field is not in use and can be ignored.
• Recommended Price: This field cannot be edited. This field is not in use and can be ignored.
• WEEE Charge: If the product in question is subject to a Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment charge you can enter that charge here. This charge will be added to the price of the product when sold at the till.
• VAT Type: this shows the VAT Rate assigned to the product and allows you to change it if needed.

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Dispense Info Tab

There is a lot of information in the Dispense Info tab that is covered elsewhere in this section. For the purposes of Pricing, the area we want to look at is in the lower left area of the screen:

• IPU Cost: This is the main Cost Price that will be used when dispensing. For more information on how Pricing functions within TouchStore Rx please see our [Pricing] section.
• PCRS Price: This field cannot be edited. This shows you the Reimburseable Price for ONE (1) pack of this product. This value is normally provided by the IPU Upload. TouchStore Rx will use this price when estimating the amounts you can expect to be paid for your End of Month claims when running reports from the system.

Below these two fields you will find an area where you can setup and configure Price Points for this products. For more information and how and when to use Price Points please consult our [Pricing] section.

To setup a new Price Point against a product:

• Click into the box or click on one of the Column Headers
  • If you do not see information populate into this box then press DOWN ARROW on your keyboard
• You should now have a record entered into this box.
• For the Price Point column, click into the record, click the dropdown arrows and then choose Price Point 1.
  • If you do not have an option for Price Point 1 please contact TouchStore Support as you may be encountering a system issue or your environment might be more complex than a single store and we will need to guide you through a more complex pricing structure.
• If you wish to apply a specific Dispense Fee for this Price Point enter it under the Dispense Fee heading
• If you wish to apply a specific Markup Rate for this Price Point enter it under the Markup Rate heading
• If you wish to apply a specific Container Charge Fee for this Price Point enter it under the Container Charge heading
• If you wish to apply a specific Broken Bulk for this Price Point enter it under the Broken Bulk heading

For any of the value fields, if you do not wish to apply a value you can either enter 0.00 or leave the field blank. If you enter 0.00 then 0.00 will be applied. If you leave the field blank, an amount for that field may be applied depending on the settings against the scheme you are dispensing under. For more information and how and when to use Price Points please consult our [Pricing] section.

Ordering Info

For more details on how Ordering functions within TouchStore Rx, please see our [Ordering] section.

The Orders tab in the Product Maintenance screen allows you to view and change information related to how and when products are ordered along with stock information.

• Reorder Method:
  • Manual: products must be intentionally added to an order list and sent manually
  • Replacement: dispense HALF (1/2) a Pack of a product or sell ONE (1) of a product and ONE (1) Pack is placed on an order list.
  • Reorder Level: once your Qty on Hand hits or goes below the Reorder Level value then a number of Packs equal to the Reorder Qty is placed on an order list.
• Reorder Level: For products with a Reorder Method of Reorder Level this value specifies what value of Qty on Hand at or below which an order of this product is triggered.
• Reorder Qty: For products with a Reorder Method of Reorder Level this value specifies how many packs should be added to the order list when an order of tihs product is triggered.
• Quantity on Hand: This is the current number of packs of this products that our system estimates you have "on Hand" in your pharmacy. This value is brought down by dispenses and brought up by booking orders into stock.
• Lead Time: This text field is not in use and can be ignored.
• Pending: This field cannot be edited. This shows you how many packs of this product are sitting on any Pending list(s) for orders.
• On Order: This field cannot be edited. This shows you how many packs of this product are sitting on an order that was sent to a supplier but have not been booked into stock yet.
• Stock Take: This tickbox is not in use and can be ignored.
• Max Order Quantity: This value defines at what point an order for a product should be flagged in the Orders module as being too large. If you only wish to keep a certain amount of stock of a product in store, for example FIVE (5) packs, you could set this value to FIVE (5) and then any order quantities above FIVE (5) for this product will be flagged in the Orders module.
• Quantity Last Ordered: This field cannot be edited. This shows you the quantity of this product last placed on an order that has been sent to a supplier.
• Date Last Ordered: This field cannot be edited. This shows you the date an order of the product was last sent to a supplier.
• Machine Quantity: This field cannot be edited. This shows the total Qty on Hand that has been entered into Robot Stock. This is only used by customers with a Dispensary Robot Integration. For more information on this please consult our [RobotIntegration] section.
• Total Qty On Hand: This field cannot be edited. This shows your total Qty on Hand including any items that may have been ordered and delivered but have not been fully checked in to the system.
• Bonus Info: This text field is not in use and can be ignored.

Product Links

Product Links are a powerful feature of TouchStore that allow you to link similar products together so that you can ensure that you are dispensing your preferred brand to patients. This allows you to better manage your stock holding and maintain your profit margins.

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Updating multiple products

TouchStore Rx provides a Bulk Update module that allows you to change the details of multiple products from one screen.

You can access this screen from either: + Modules -> Stock Functions -> Bulk Update

+ Modules -> Product Maint. -> Bulk Update

How Do I Assign Preferred Suppliers and Stock Categories with the Bulk Update Module

• From the PMR Console, Hit F10 & S

  

  

• Hit Return to open the Bulk Update module

• The Search Product screen will open automatically

  

• Hit Alt & O to open the Options tab

• Hit Tab once and select a Manufacturer

• Note: As more and more products are assigned to Stock Categories, the number of products appearing for assigning will reduce

• Hit Alt & H to open the Search tab

  

• The list of products will all be manufactured by the same company

• Highlight the products to be assigned to a Stock Category

• Note: Only select groups of products that are in the same Stock Category and supplied by the same supplier

• Hit Alt & S or click Select

• The highlighted products will appear on the Bulk Update product grid

  

• Select the Preferred Supplier of the products listed

• Select the Stock Category of the products listed

• Hit Alt & O or click Ok

  

• The selected products will now be assigned to the preferred supplier you have chosen and the Stock Category you have chosen.

How Do I Start a Product File Bulk Update

• To Start a Product File Bulk Update: From Touchstore Rx

• From the PMR Console, Hit F10 & S

  

• The Stock Functions menu will open

• The Bulk Update menu item will be highlighted
• Hit Return to select

• The Search Product screen will open

  

How Do I Select Products to Update

• Type the name of the first product in the group of product you want to update
  • Note: the Search text box uses an incremental search so as you type the name of the product you are looking for, the list of products to select from narrows towards the product name you are typing
• When the first product name of the range of products you want to select appears, click on it to highlight. Hold down the Shift key. (This is the key above the Ctrl key with the up pointing arrow on it)
• Click on the down arrow of the scroll bar to find the last product in the range of products you want to select
• When last product of the group of products you want to updates appears, click on it.
• All products in the range will be highlighted (they will turn blue) When all products have been selected
• Click on Select
• Your group of Products has now been selected for updating.
  • Note: If all the products you want to select are not in the same range, use the Ctrl key to select a product at a time.
• You can also use the Ctrl key.
• Select your range of products.
• Find the first product of you next range.
• Hold the Ctrl key and click on it. Then hold the Shift key before clicking on the last product and so on
  • Note: To limit the number of products that appear on the main Product Search screen, making product selection MUCH faster

## Which Product Details Can I Update with the Bulk Update Module

• The Following Product Details Can be Updated Using the Bulk Update Module:

• General Tab:

  

  • Preferred Supplier - Use the drop down arrow to select a new preferred supplier for the group of selected products.
  • Stock Category - Use the drop down arrow to select a new Stock Category for the group of selected products.
  • Agent- Use the drop down arrow to select a new Agent for the group of selected products
  • Manufacturer - If not already set for the selected group of products, assign the Product manufacturer.
  • Product Status - Use the drop down arrow to select the new product status you wan to apply to the selected products. There are four product statuses
    • Active product - All products are default Active. This means they are available to be sold or ordered within your practice
    • IPU deleted - If a product has been deleted from the IPU product list, the IPU monthly update will change the status of the product to IPU deleted
    • IPU Discontinued - If a product is no-longer available to be ordered, the IPU monthly update will change the status of the product to IPU Discontinued
    • Pharmacy Inactive - You can choose to hide a product from view so that no-one can order it, sell it or dispense it. The ONLY place that this product can be viewed is from an advanced search, setting the search criteria “Product Status” to pharmacy inactive
  • User defined 1 - User Defined 1 is an SLL. This can be used to apply or form groups of Products for identification as required in other Bulk Updates or reporting.
  • User Defined 2 - See above
  • Location - Use the drop down arrow to select the location that the selected products are placed in around the shop floor.
  • Colour - Select the Colour of the selected Products (Required for MDS module users)
  • Shape - Select the Shape of the selected Products (Required for MDS module users)
  • Lettering - Set the Lettering imprinted on the selected Products (Required for MDS module users)
  • Stock Take - This flag indicates if the select products are to be included on stock takes
  • Maintained by - Use this flag to indicate if the selected products are to be maintained by the IPU upload or maintained Manually.

• Order Info & Pricing Tab:

  

  • Reorder method - This option allows you to change how the selected products are ordered
  • Manual - You want to manually add the selected products to orders.
  • Replacement - You want the system to put the selected products on the pending list of their respective preferred suppliers each time one is sold
  • Reorder Level - You want the system to put a specified quantity of the selected products on the pending list of their respective preferred suppliers when the stock level of that product reaches a specified level.
  • If you select this option you must enter a Reorder Level and Qty Note The Reorder Qty must be the same or higher then the Reorder level to avoided problems where your quantity on hand is less then your Reorder level.
  • Retail Based Off - This flag is used in the Price Updates module to determine whether the new retail price of the selected products is calculated from the current IPU Cost Price or from the current Purchasing Cost on your system.
  • The IPU Cost Price is updated every month and automatically creates a Price Update file (if the function is configured)

  • Refer to the Price Updates module for more information on price files. The current purchasing cost is calculated from the cost price entered during order validation in the Orders module.

  • Default Uplift - Default uplifts are used to calculate new Retail prices in the Price Updates module.

  • Refer to the Price Updates module for more information on Uplifts/Mark-up's.
  • Use the drop down arrow to select the Uplift you want to apply to the selected products.
  • Please see, How Do I Create a New Uplift, if the Uplift/Mark-up you want to link the selected products to is not on the dropdown list
  • Vat Type - Use the drop down arrow to select the VAT Rate to be applied to the selected products
  • Till Display - This is an important setting for products that do not have a barcode but are sold on a regular basis.
  • Till Display products are displayed first when opening the search screen at the till. Please see Touchstore RX for more information

• Dispense Info:

  

  • Drug Category (IPU Category) - the IPU have defined 10 categories or groups under which each product belongs.
  • Cosmetic, Dressings, Ethicals, Gifts, Hort, Hosiery, Ostomy, OTC, Photo and Veterinary.
  • Any product added to your product file by the IPU Upload process will have this value populated already.
  • The Bulk Update module can be used to assign non-IPU products to these categories or re-assign some IPU products.
  • Dosage Code - Enter a Dosage code to apply Default Dosage instructions to the selected range of Products
  • Poison Code - Each product on the IPU product file is supplied with its poison code.
  • It is STRONGLY recommended that you DO NOT change a Products Poison code and in particular to change the Poison code for a group of products.
  • The function exists in the event of a group of product being reclassified.
  • Drug Form - Each product on the IPU product file is supplied with its form.
  • In the event that a number of products are manufactured in a different form or a number of products were entered without a form assigned, select the form of the products selected.
  • Container Charge - Enter a default container charge to apply to the selected products.
  • Useful for updating the container charge for products for which the standard scheme charge is not to be applied
  • Mark-up - Enter a default Mark-up rate to be applied to the selected products. Useful for updating the Mark-up rate for products for which the standard scheme mark-up rate is not to be applied
  • Broken Bulk - Enter a default Broken Bulk rate to be applied to the selected products. Useful for updating the Broken Bulk rate for a products for which the standard scheme rate is not to be applied
  • Display Reference - Setting this flag for the selected products, will cause the Reference text box to display if any of the selected products are dispensed
  • Repeats Unlimited - Setting this flag for the selected products, will prevent TouchStore Rx from creating a new script based on number of Repeats (Script Valid date action will still apply).
  • Maximum repeats, for the selected products when dispensed, will always be set to 0 by default. The Made number is used as a count for the number of time the product as been dispensed
  • GMS Allowed - the IPU file upload sets this flag automatically. It indicates to TouchStore Rx if the selected products are allowed under the various GMS schemes.
  • Changes to this flag should only be made under advisement
  • Dentist Allowed - the IPU file upload sets this flag automatically.
  • It indicates to TouchStore Rx if the selected products are allowed under the GMS Dental scheme. Changes to this flag should only be made under advisement

How Do I Remove a Product from a Bulk Update

• Highlight the product/products you want to remove from the update

  

• Hit Alt & D or click the Delete button at the bottom of the screen

• The following message "Are you sure you wish to DELETE this record." Will appear

  

• Hit Return or click Yes

• The selected product will be removed from the Update

How Do I Apply a Bulk Update

• Note: You do NOT have to set all product details.
• Most Bulk updates are run to update one or two product details. Leaving an option blank will result in no change
• Hit Alt & O or click OK to run the Bulk Update that will apply the product details changes to the selected products A progress bar will appear to indicate how much updating has been completed
• Depending on the number of products selected, the number of details been changed and the configuration of your system, this process may take some time.
• DO NOT CANCEL the update. It WILL complete. If you feel the process is taking an undue amount of time, contact TouchStore Technical support
• This completes your Bulk Update for the selected Products.