Overview: Dispensing Medications
SigmaMD makes it easy to dispense medications directly from your clinic. The workflow is fully integrated with inventory, billing, and patient records, keeping everything organized, compliant, and simple to manage.
Dispense In-House Medications
To dispense in-house medications, the medication must first be added to your inventory. For a detailed guide, see Overview: Inventory Management.
To access the Dispense Medication button, open the patient’s chart and click Dispense medication in the top-right corner of the screen to start a new dispensing entry.
When prescribing, start by searching and selecting the medication from your available list. The system will display both inventory and non-inventory options, along with the remaining stock for each inventory medication.
Next, enter the quantity to be dispensed and the number of refills. You can also complete fields such as days’ supply, start date, and patient directions. The details added under patient directions will automatically appear on both the bottle label and the prescription generated when the medication is prescribed.
After entering all the required details for the selected medication, click Add to prescription to include it in the list. The medication will appear on the right side of the screen, showing its dosage, quantity, and lot details. The system automatically selects the lot that expires the soonest from your inventory.
Unit Price
The unit price is automatically populated based on the value entered in your inventory settings. When you create an invoice after dispensing the medication, this amount determines the price per unit charged to the patient. You can still adjust the total by applying fees or discounts during invoice creation.
Keep in mind that the patient is only billed once an invoice is issued.
Add More Lots
If multiple lots are available for the selected medication, click Add lot to include additional batches in the same dispense. You can divide the total quantity across different lots as needed. If no other lots are available in your inventory, the Add lot button will be disabled. To remove a lot, click the X button next to it.
Edit
To make changes to a medication before dispensing, click the Edit icon beside the prescription card. This allows you to adjust details such as refills, days’ supply, start date, or patient directions.
Delete
If you need to remove a medication entirely, click the Trash icon in the upper right corner of the card. The item will be deleted from the list and won’t be included in the final dispense.
Add More Medications
You can add multiple medications to the same prescription. Once all details are complete, click Dispense to finalize and record the medications.
Dispensed Items
Once a medication is dispensed, SigmaMD automatically tracks it against your inventory. The remaining stock is updated in real time, ensuring quantities stay accurate.
From this screen, you can create an invoice for the dispensed medications or cancel the prescription if any adjustments are needed.
Dispensed medications are automatically added to the patient’s chart under the Medications tab. From there, you can review the full prescription details, including dosage, quantity, and refill information.
Labels and Documentation
Each time you dispense a medication from your inventory, SigmaMD generates a set of documents to support clinical safety, compliance, and patient understanding.
Bottle Label
Displays the patient's name and date of birth, medication and prescription details, lot number, and clinic info, ready to print and apply to the dispensed item. Each lot number dispensed will have its own bottle label.
Drug Monograph (Optional)
A patient-friendly information sheet covering usage, side effects, and safety precautions. Auto-generated if enabled in your settings. Please note that some medications may not have a monograph available.
Prescription
A PDF with key prescription details: medication, dosage, refills, and provider information. Automatically saved to the patient’s chart.
Visit this article to learn more about Printer Settings to Print Labels.
Create Invoice
After dispensing a medication, you can generate an invoice directly from the Dispensed Medication screen. Click Create invoice on the right panel to open the Invoice Selection window.
From there, choose an existing draft invoice to add the dispensed items or click Create new invoice to start a new one. All dispensed medications will appear automatically with their quantities, unit prices, and tax details.
Once the invoice opens, you can edit or add more items, apply fees or discounts, and confirm the service date, due date, and payment details before issuing the invoice.
Please note that medications added directly from an invoice will not appear in the patient’s chart or generate labels. Use the chart’s dispensing feature for proper prescribing.
From the invoice, you can also ship items to the patient. Learn more about How to Ship Items from an Invoice.
Dispense Integration
Dispensing connects to several areas of the platform:
- Inventory: Quantity is deducted, and restock thresholds are monitored.
- Patient Chart: The prescription appears under Medications, with dispense details logged.
- Files: Generated documents are saved under the patient’s files.
- Invoices: The medication can be billed directly to the patient or an employer.
Tracking
On the Charge Items screen, all items with inventory tracking include a record of their sales, making it easier to follow dispensing history.
To learn more about tracking, check out this article on Managing Inventoried Items.
By unifying prescribing, dispensing, and billing, SigmaMD gives your practice the tools to run a compliant and efficient in-house pharmacy.