Mastering FEFO Inventory: Eliminating Near-Expiry Drug Losses in Hospital Pharmacies

Standard retail inventory methods like First-In-First-Out (FIFO) or Last-In-First-Out (LIFO) assume products are identical and non-perishable. In a hospital dispensary, however, batch expiration dates dictate usability. If a batch received last month expires in 60 days, but a batch received yesterday expires in 30 days, dispensing the older receipt results in **write-off losses when the 30-day batch expires on the shelf**. This is why **FEFO (First-Expiry-First-Out)** is the gold standard for hospital inventory management.

When a doctor writes a digital prescription in QureSetu EMR, the pharmacy counter receives the order in real time. Instead of asking the pharmacist to manually check batch boxes on shelves: 1. The QureSetu FEFO engine checks live stock across all open batches of that medication. 2. It automatically pre-selects the nearest-expiry batch that is still valid. 3. The exact rack, shelf, and batch number are displayed directly on the pharmacist's screen. 4. Stock decrements transactionally the moment dispensing is confirmed.

Compliance with Indian Drug & Cosmetic Rules requires maintaining strict registers for Schedule H and Schedule X habit-forming drugs. With QureSetu's automated register, every dispense record auto-captures doctor registration number, patient MRN, drug batch number, quantity, and date. Audit reports can be generated in 1 click for drug inspectors.