HINTS

1. Getting Started. The first thing to remember is the email address you choose to register with will be the log in user name for your account, you cannot change this but you can change the name of your membership and the email address where the reminders etc go to in the 'settings' link. When you have received your password familiarise yourself with your drug page controls by using a 'Test' item, remember to set the manual drug reminders. Enter the email address of your pharmacy or supplier if you are using the 'pharmacy alert' feature. Some doctors use the email address of the person in the practice responsible for ordering drugs or their in-house pharmacy email if they are a dispensing practice.

2. When you use an item, update your bag by logging in and clicking on the edit button to the right. Then just change the quantity number. If you use the given button to record the patient number you have given the drug to, the amount will automatically be reduced by one. When you have two items the same in the bag with different batch numbers or expiry dates check you have changed the correct one. The exclamation mark in the top left hand of the box to alerts you that this is a duplicate item. 

3. If your bag is lost or stolen print off the contents of the bag using the print version button. This can be used to restock/reorder or as a record for the police of bag contents.

4. If you still need 'paper' evidence of drug stock management then simply print off at the end of every month and keep safely or download the excel document and keep in a file on your desktop.

5. If you have registered and not received a password or any communication from doctorsbaguk.com, please check your 'spam' box on your email account. If emails from doctorsbaguk.com are in the 'spam' box please tick them and click on 'not spam' this will allow any further emails into your message box.

6. If you keep complete courses of say antibiotics in your bag for example 5 days course of  Amoxicllin 250mg(15 capsules) then enter 250mg/15 into the dose box and the quantity is the number of complete courses you have say 3 (ie 3 packs of 15 capsules)in your bag. The same would apply if you gave say a whole bottle of medicine from your bag the quantity would be the number of bottles of the item in your bag.

FAQ

Can I use the system say for a drug fridge in the surgery ?

YES they can be entered in the usual way, the vaccine log is specifically designed for this and has a direct link to the NHS vaccine re-ordering service. It may be better to create an email account like fridge1@good-docs.net and grant  the nurse(s) responsible for stock control access to the password. Some practices use it for their anaphylaxis boxes putting (BOX-1),(BOX-2) after the drug name. The same can be done for the location of any drug if you would like the location to be included in the email reminders.

Do I have to be a member of the RCGP to join ? 

NO membership is  open to all health professionals. NHS or private practitioners/employees welcome.

Is your site secure?

When you make a payment or visit our members area we use SSL/TLS 128 bit strong encryption security to ensure an encrypted link between our server and your browser. When using our members area you will see a padlock in your address bar, this tells you that your online use of doctorsbaguk.com is secure and confidential. It is good practice to change your password periodically or as soon as possible if you suspect someone may have obtained it fraudulently.

What happens at the end of the membership period ?

If you have payed  by paypal recurring payment the membership will be continuous , if you have payed by one off payment or  cheque you will be automatically reminded to renew your membership.

Does anyone else have access to my drug bag data ?

NO absolutely not, not even the admin dept of doctorsbaguk.com.

Can more than one doctor share the same account ?   

NO this is not recommended, for safety reasons. The system is designed to be used with each doctor/health professional having an individual account. Every doctor/health professional is responsible for the content of their own bag.

Do I still need to physically check my drugs?                              

Yes, because although your drug bag should  be locked and secure it is still possible it could be tampered with. It is recommended that you still do periodic physical checks. We will remind you to do these checks if you go to "settings" and customise the frequency of these. When done record this by clicking on the appropriate check and this will go into your log. Please check your local PCTs' Standard Operating Procedures for controlled drugs. You must have SOPs for the managementt of Controlled drugs within the practice (and in the Doctor's bag) as it is a statutory requirement.

What do the different colours mean in the doctors bag ?        

Items that are still in date will be GREEN, items that have a month or less before expiry will turn AMBER, expired items will be RED. The alert refered to at the top of the bag page refers to this colour change. This is in addition to the email alerts.

What drugs do I chose to put in my GP's bag ?

This is probably the most frequently asked question. Firstly GPs must be able to defend themselves on grounds of good clinical practice. The answer is also determined by the medical conditions likely to be met by a particular doctor or other health professional in their own unique circumstances; the medicines the GP is confident in using; the storage requirements, shelf-life and costs of such drugs; the extent of ambulance paramedic cover; the proximity of the nearest hospital; the availability of out of hours Controlled Drugs and services; and the availability of a 24-hour pharmacy. In other words different practices operate in different settings with different resources around them ie a GP practising in a remote rural setting will have different conditions from one close to a hospital.
The National out-of-hours formulary can be found at OOH Formulary this gives a recommended core drug list and can be used as a guide.