Resources
Pharmacy glossary
Short definitions of terms used in Canadian community pharmacies.
Last updated . Published by PharmFlow.
Adaptation
A pharmacist changes the dose, the formulation, or the drug on a prescription. The record stores the original drug, the adapted drug, and the reason. Recording it does not submit a claim.
Adjudication
An insurer's decision on a drug claim: what the plan pays and what the patient pays. Insurance claims adjudication is not shipped.
BIN
A 6-digit number unique to each adjudicator. The insurance billing guide lists the BIN for each carrier.
Central fill
A packaging queue for a prescription. Status moves through queued, assigned, packaging, verification, and shipped.
Deferred label
A prescription label saved before printing. The record stores the patient, the drug, the label format, and whether it has been printed.
DIN
The Drug Identification Number on a Canadian drug product. It is eight digits. PharmFlow reads it from a barcode and checks the scanned package against the label.
Medication review
A documented review of a patient's medications. The record stores the clinical need and the medications reviewed. Recording it does not submit a claim.
Narcotic register
A log of narcotic, monitored, restricted (OAT), and controlled drugs the pharmacy dispensed. Each entry records the drug, its DIN, the quantity, the date, and who dispensed it.
OAT
A prescription category with a required stop date. Each day is a witnessed, carry, or supervised dose. Staff record a missed dose on its own form.
PHN
A British Columbia Personal Health Number. It has ten digits, starts with 9, and ends with a check digit. A valid structure does not confirm identity or coverage.
SIG
Short codes for how a patient takes a drug, such as bid or po. PharmFlow expands a SIG into plain English.