Dosing: Definitions and Opening the Bottles

*When patients arrive to check in, it is time to start dosing.

On the SAMMS Main Menu, you will see tabs for Primary, Secondary and Liquid medications

• Primary refers to larger doses of dry medications, including powders, biscuits, and tablets. These medications may be halved or quartered to obtain smaller amounts. To open inventory, click on the light grey Primary 1 slot and then the Open button. The Open Inventory screen will display. In the grid, click on the medication you wish to open, normally the bottle with the lowest ID number. You will be asked to verify your choice. Click Yes, and the Bottle Number, Medication Name, the individual dose in mg’s, the number of tablets remaining in the bottle, and the total mg’s available in that bottle will appear on the SAMMS Main Menu
  

• Secondary refers to smaller doses of dry medications that can be combined with Primary 1 doses to achieve a prescribed quantity. The Secondary 1 slot will have automatically populated to be the same medication as in Primary 1. The individual dose will be smaller to allow staff to combine it with the larger dose to make a prescribed quantity. Click on the light grey Secondary 1 slot then the Open button. The Open Inventory screen will display. In the grid, click on the medication you wish to open, choosing the Bottle ID lowest in numerical order. You will be asked to verify your choice. Click Yes and the Bottle Number, Medication name, the individual dose in mg’s, the number of tablets in the bottle, and the total mg’s available in that bottle will appear on the SAMMS Main Menu

• Liquid 1 refers to liquid medications, i.e. methadone. To open inventory, click on the light grey Liquid 1 slot and then the Open button. The Open Inventory screen will display. In the grid, click on the bottle with the lowest Bottle ID number. You will be asked to verify your choice. Click Yes and the Bottle Number, Medication name, and the total mg’s available in that bottle *will appear on the *SAMMS Main Menu.

!When dispensing medications, go in the order of the bottles received as indicated by the Bottle ID on the Open Inventory screen. Only one bottle at a time can be open at a dispensing station.

When Bottles are open, the Medication Dispensing screen displays. Medication Dispensing →