How do we record the lot number and expiration date when a medication bottle comes in?

A good answer is a system — a module of the pharmacy management system, a feature of the EHR, or a dedicated compliance tool — that captures lot and expiration into a searchable record at receipt, typically by scanning the 2D barcode, and can be demonstrated with a recent bottle. A misleading answer is vague: 'we log it into our pharmacy system' (which system, which fields, searchable by lot?) or 'the wholesaler sends the data' (they send a document the pharmacy must retain).

What software will we use on November 27, who is training staff, and when does it go live?

A good answer names the software, the training schedule, the go-live date, and the person accountable for the deployment. A misleading answer is 'we're working on it,' 'the wholesaler is handling it,' 'our EHR vendor is handling it,' or 'we have time' — the deadline is November 27, 2026.

For facility administrators

Your facility has a pharmacy. Is it ready for November 27?

Q: If FDA recalled a specific lot tomorrow, how would we find every bottle and how long would it take?

A good answer is a database query that returns affected bottles in minutes with their locations, demonstrated live. A misleading answer is 'we would walk the shelves' (manual sweeps miss bottles and take hours) or 'we don't dispense many drugs that get recalled' (FDA issues thousands of recalls each year).

Q: Can you pull six months of wholesaler transaction documents right now?

A good answer is a searchable archive — in the pharmacy management system, the EHR, or a dedicated compliance tool — with six months pulled in a few minutes. A misleading answer is 'they come in by email; we have them somewhere' (email is not an archive) or 'corporate has those records' (verify corporate can produce them to you today in retrievable form).

Q: How much medication did we discard as expired last year, and what did it cost?

A good answer is a specific dollar figure backed by a tracked log, ideally with a year-over-year comparison. A misleading answer is 'not much' or 'it's under control' — without a tracked number the amount is almost always more than the team estimates.

If your jail, prison, or detention center stores prescription medications on site, federal law calls it a dispenser — and dispensers have a November 27, 2026 DSCSA deadline. Five questions, asked of whoever runs your pharmacy, tell you in about 30 minutes whether you're ready. Start with the quick self-check below, then download the full assessment to walk with your team.

Get the free PDF assessment

Quick self-check: how ready is your facility?

For each question, mark whether your pharmacy team could show you a system — not just tell you — or whether the honest answer is closer to an assumption. Nothing is sent anywhere; this runs entirely in your browser.

1. Can the team show how lot number & expiration are recorded when a bottle comes in?

2. Could we find every bottle of a recalled lot in minutes — demonstrated live?

3. Can we pull six months of wholesaler transaction documents right now?

4. Do we know — to the dollar — what we discarded as expired last year?

5. Can the team name the software, the trainer, the go-live date, and who's accountable for Nov 27?

Answer the five questions above

Your readiness summary will appear here as you mark each one.

How to read the answers

The good answers are concrete: a named system, a named person, a specific timeframe, a recent example. The misleading answers are vague — or worse, they sound competent without showing the system. A misleading answer isn't a sign of negligence; it usually means the team hasn't been asked the question before. Here's what to listen for on each one.

1. "Show me how we record the lot number and expiration date when a bottle comes in."

Good: A system — pharmacy-management module, EHR feature, or dedicated compliance tool — that captures lot and expiration into a searchable record at receipt, typically by scanning the 2D barcode. Shown with a recent bottle.
Misleading: "We log it into our pharmacy system." (Which system? Which fields? Searchable by lot?) "The wholesaler sends the data." (They send a document; the pharmacy must retain it in retrievable form.)

2. "If FDA recalled a specific lot tomorrow, how would we find every bottle, and how long would it take?"

Good: A database query that returns the affected bottles in minutes, with locations to find them. Demonstrated live.
Misleading: "We'd walk the shelves." (Manual sweeps miss bottles and take hours.) "We don't dispense many drugs that get recalled." (FDA issues thousands of recalls each year.)

3. "Pull me six months of transaction documents from our wholesaler right now."

Good: A searchable archive — in the pharmacy-management system, the EHR, or a dedicated compliance tool. Six months pulled in a few minutes.
Misleading: "They come in by email; we have them somewhere." (Email is not an archive.) "Corporate has those records." (Can corporate produce them to you today, in retrievable form? Verify.)

4. "How much medication did we discard as expired last year, and what did it cost the facility?"

Good: A specific dollar figure backed by a tracked log. Bonus for a year-over-year comparison.
Misleading: "Not much." (Without a tracked number, it's almost always more than the team estimates.) "It's under control." (Then the dollar number should be easy to produce.)

5. "What software will we be using on November 27, who is training the staff, and when does it go live?"

Good: A named software, a named training schedule, a named go-live date, and a named person accountable for the deployment.
Misleading: "We're working on it." "The wholesaler is handling it." "Our EHR vendor is handling it." "We have time." (The deadline is November 27, 2026.)

Four common assumptions — all wrong

Most facilities that are behind aren't ignoring the issue. They're relying on one of these. Each is partly true on its face, which is what makes it dangerous.

✗ "Our wholesaler handles it." Wholesalers send the required transaction documents. They don't retain them. The pharmacy is required to.
✗ "Our EHR handles it." Correctional EHRs track clinical records. Most do not offer built-in DSCSA functionality.
✗ "Our healthcare contractor handles it." Contractors maintain DSCSA infrastructure at the corporate level. The state pharmacy permit — and the records an inspector wants — live at the facility's address.
✗ "We track it in a spreadsheet." A spreadsheet documents receipts. After November 27, 2026 it won't satisfy the law's requirement for electronic records capable of package-level search.

What to do next

Ask the five questions this week. Write down the answers. The conversation takes about half an hour and costs nothing. If three or more answers are vague, require the pharmacy or healthcare team to produce a written compliance plan within 30 days — naming the software, the cost, the training schedule, the go-live date, and the person accountable. The wrong time to learn your pharmacy can't answer these is during an FDA inspection, a state board visit, an accreditation survey, or a recall. The right time is this week.

Download the full self-assessment (free PDF)

A print-ready version of the five questions — each with the good and misleading answer patterns, the four assumptions, and a scoring guide — to walk with your pharmacy team. No newsletter, and we won't share your email.

Where RxRescue fits

RxRescue is the physical-inventory layer for small and correctional pharmacies: scanner receiving that captures lot, expiration, and the 2D product identifier at the shelf; a searchable six-year archive; daily FDA recall auto-checks; and a one-tap DSCSA audit pack. It runs alongside your existing EHR or pharmacy management system — no integration, and no PHI collected, so most facilities clear it through a short security review with no Business Associate Agreement. $99/month per pharmacy, 30-day free trial.

Start a 30-day free trial See RxRescue for correctional pharmacies →

This page is informational and not legal advice.