Pharmacy Inventory Management 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A pharmacy receives a shipment and the invoice shows 100 bottles but only 96 bottles are in the box. What should the technician do first?
- Accept the shipment and update inventory to 100
- Document the discrepancy on the receiving record and notify the wholesaler (Correct answer)
- Return the entire shipment
- Dispense from the 96 bottles and do not notify anyone
Correct answer: Document the discrepancy on the receiving record and notify the wholesaler
Discrepancies between the invoice and received quantity must be documented immediately and reported to the wholesaler for credit or correction.
Question 2: Which storage condition is required for most vaccines?
- Room temperature (59–77°F)
- Refrigerated (36–46°F) (Correct answer)
- Frozen (−58 to 5°F)
- Protected from light at room temperature
Correct answer: Refrigerated (36–46°F)
Most vaccines require refrigerated storage between 36–46°F (2–8°C) to maintain potency.
Question 3: What does EOQ (Economic Order Quantity) calculate?
- The maximum amount a pharmacy can legally order per month
- The optimal order quantity that minimizes total ordering and carrying costs (Correct answer)
- The quantity required to trigger a reorder
- The number of units dispensed per day
Correct answer: The optimal order quantity that minimizes total ordering and carrying costs
EOQ is a formula that determines the ideal order quantity to minimize the combined costs of ordering and holding inventory.
Question 4: A pharmacy is conducting a biennial inventory of controlled substances. When must this inventory be taken?
- On January 1 of every other year
- Within 2 years of the previous inventory, on any regular business day (Correct answer)
- Every 24 months from the pharmacy's opening date
- On the last day of the pharmacist's license renewal period
Correct answer: Within 2 years of the previous inventory, on any regular business day
DEA regulations require a biennial inventory to be taken on any regular business day within every 2-year period.
Question 5: Which of the following medications requires storage below −20°C (−4°F)?
- Regular insulin
- Varicella vaccine (Correct answer)
- Amoxicillin oral suspension
- Nitroglycerin tablets
Correct answer: Varicella vaccine
The varicella (chickenpox) vaccine must be stored frozen at −50°C to −15°C and is one of the vaccines requiring frozen storage.
Question 6: What is a 'chargeback' in pharmacy wholesaler relationships?
- A penalty fee for late payment to the wholesaler
- A credit issued to the wholesaler by the manufacturer for selling below contract price (Correct answer)
- An additional charge for expedited delivery
- A fee charged when returning expired medications
Correct answer: A credit issued to the wholesaler by the manufacturer for selling below contract price
A chargeback is a credit the manufacturer issues to the wholesaler when the wholesaler sells a product to a customer at a contracted price below the wholesaler's cost.
Question 7: A pharmacy has 30 units on hand and uses 5 units per day. If the reorder point is 20 units, in how many days will the reorder be triggered?
- 2 days (Correct answer)
- 4 days
- 6 days
- 10 days
Correct answer: 2 days
With 30 units on hand and a reorder point of 20, usage of 5/day means reorder triggers after (30 − 20) / 5 = 2 days.
Pharmacy Inventory Management 4
A pharmacy receives a shipment and the invoice shows 100 bottles but only 96 bottles are in the box.
What should the technician do first?