Purpose Statement

The Clear Overdue Medication Events feature allows administrators to automatically remove overdue count and custody exchange events from the Med Kits menu after a specified number of days. This configuration helps maintain a clean, relevant interface by eliminating stale overdue notifications without manual intervention. When first enabled, the system performs a one-time retroactive cleanup of all existing overdue events that exceed the configured thresholds, providing immediate value for agencies with historical overdue data.

Background Information

In busy EMS operations, medication count and custody exchange events can sometimes become overdue due to shift changes, workload, or personnel availability. While these overdue notifications serve an important compliance function, they can accumulate over time and clutter the Med Kit interface, making it difficult to focus on current, actionable items.

This feature provides configurable automation to remove overdue events after they reach a specified age (1-31 days), or immediately at midnight if set to 0 days. Once cleared, these events are removed from the Med Kits menu, their overdue status is eliminated from the database, and all associated notifications stop immediately.

Common Use Cases:

• Agencies wanting to automatically clear overdue events after a grace period
• Departments needing to maintain a focused view of current medication management tasks
• Organizations performing periodic cleanups of historical overdue data
• Services standardizing medication tracking workflows across multiple stations

Prerequisites:

• Access to First Due Medications module
• Administrative permissions to modify system settings
• Understanding of your agency's medication compliance policies and retention requirements

Required Permissions

To configure the Clear Overdue Medication Events feature, users must have:

• Admin or Supervisor permissions with access to the Settings area
• Medications Module enabled for the organization
• Med Supply Settings configuration access

Field users do not require special permissions to benefit from this feature—once configured, the automatic clearing applies to all Med Kit UI views across the organization.

Video

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Navigate to Med Supply Settings

1. Navigate to the Medications module
2. Select Setup in the Medications module menu
   
3. Next, select Settings with Medications Setup
4. Scroll to the "Clear Overdue Events" section

Step 2: Enable the Clear Overdue Events Feature

1. Locate the "Enable Clear Overdue Events" toggle positioned on the right side of the section
2. Click the toggle to turn it ON
3. Two new configuration options will appear:
• Clear Overdue Counts with a number input field
• Clear Overdue Custody Exchanges with a number input field

Step 3: Configure Clear Overdue Counts

1. In the "Clear Overdue Counts" field, enter a number between 0-31
   • 1-31 days: Events will be automatically cleared after reaching the specified number of days overdue
   • 0 days: Overdue count banners will be removed at midnight in your agency's local time zone
2. Consider your agency's medication count compliance requirements when setting this value
3. The system will save your entry automatically once you move to the next field

Step 4: Configure Clear Overdue Custody Exchanges

1. In the "Clear Overdue Custody Exchanges" field, enter a number between 0-31
   • 1-31 days: Events will be automatically cleared after reaching the specified number of days overdue
   • 0 days: Overdue custody exchange banners will be removed at midnight in your agency's local time zone
2. Consider DEA compliance and controlled substance tracking requirements when setting this value
3. The system will save your entry automatically
   
4. Select Save 

Step 5: Review Retroactive Cleanup Confirmation

When enabling this feature for the first time with configured day values:

1. The system performs an immediate one-time retroactive cleanup
2. A confirmation message displays showing:
   • Number of overdue counts cleared
   • Number of overdue custody exchanges cleared
3. Review the confirmation to understand how many historical events were removed
4. All retroactively cleared events have their overdue status removed from the database and notifications cancelled

Step 6: Verify Configuration

1. Check that your day values are correctly displayed in both fields
2. Confirm the toggle remains ON
3. Navigate to Med Kits to verify that retroactively cleared events no longer appear as overdue
4. Monitor the interface over the configured time period to ensure automatic clearing functions as expected
   

Note - Turning off the Enable Clear Overdue Events toggle will revert all overdue events back to normal in the system.

Best Practices

Do:

• Set day thresholds based on your agency's standard operating procedures for medication management
• Consider a grace period (7-14 days) that allows adequate time for personnel to complete overdue tasks before automatic clearing
• Review your state and local EMS regulations regarding medication tracking retention before configuring
• Communicate the new automatic clearing policy to all personnel who manage medication counts and custody exchanges
• Use the 0-day option cautiously—it provides aggressive cleanup but may remove items before personnel have adequate opportunity to address them
• Document your configuration choices in your agency's medication management SOPs

Don't:

• Set extremely short day values (1-3 days) that may clear events before supervisors can review compliance issues
• Enable this feature without first reviewing your agency's medication accountability policies
• Use this feature as a substitute for proper medication count and custody exchange completion
• Forget to train personnel on the new automatic clearing timeline
• Set different values for counts vs. exchanges without a clear operational reason

Common Mistakes to Avoid:

• Enabling the feature without understanding the retroactive cleanup impact on historical data
• Setting day values that conflict with your agency's compliance or audit requirements
• Assuming cleared events are still tracked—once cleared, overdue status and notifications are completely removed
• Not communicating configuration changes to shift supervisors and medication managers

Troubleshooting & FAQs

Q: What happens to events that are automatically cleared?

A: When an overdue event is automatically cleared, it is removed from the Med Kit UI, its overdue status is eliminated from the database, and all associated notifications stop immediately. The event itself is not deleted—only its overdue designation is removed.

Q: Can I recover events that were cleared by the retroactive cleanup?

A: No, once the retroactive cleanup occurs during initial feature enablement, the overdue status for those events is permanently removed. However, the underlying medication count or custody exchange records remain in the system for audit and reporting purposes.

Q: I entered an invalid number and received an error. What values are acceptable?

A: Valid entries are whole numbers between 0-31. Negative numbers, values greater than 31, decimals, and non-numeric characters will trigger a validation error. Correct the entry to fall within the acceptable range.

Q: If I disable the toggle, do my previously cleared events reappear?

A: No, events that were cleared while the feature was enabled remain cleared. Disabling the toggle only prevents future automatic clearing—it does not restore previously cleared overdue statuses.

Q: What time zone is used for the midnight clearing when set to 0 days?

A: The system uses your agency's configured local time zone. The midnight clearing occurs at 12:00 AM in that time zone.

Q: Can I set different day values for different stations or units?

A: No, this is an organization-wide setting that applies to all Med Kit UI views across your agency. All stations and units will use the same configured day thresholds.

Q: Will this affect my compliance reporting or audit trails?

A: The automatic clearing removes the overdue designation and notifications, but the original medication count and custody exchange records remain in the system for compliance reporting and audit purposes. Consult with your agency's compliance officer to ensure this configuration aligns with your retention policies.

Q: What happens if I change the day values after the feature is already enabled?

A: Changing the day values will apply the new thresholds going forward, but it will not trigger another retroactive cleanup. Only the initial enablement performs a one-time retroactive cleanup of historical overdue events.

Q: Can I set one type (counts or exchanges) to auto-clear while leaving the other manual?

A: Yes, you can configure different day values for each type independently. You could set counts to clear after 14 days while leaving exchanges at 0 days for immediate midnight clearing, or any other combination that fits your operational needs.