Newsletter 1-2020
Welcome to our latest newsletter!
Along with the rest of the world, FiMVO has not been exempt from a very different spring and summer to usual. We are fortunate to be able to work mainly from home and this is how we plan to continue until at least the end of the year. It would be so nice to return to normal, but this is how we can safeguard FiMVO's ability to operate. Despite the exceptional circumstances, we were able to enjoy refreshing summer holidays and now we are looking forward to the challenges of autumn!
We have received more resources for alert management and QA work until the end of the year. As a result, emails from us may include non-familiar names. This autumn FiMVO is investing in the development of internal operations, the automation of operations and the development of an even better service.
Our topics in this newsletter include:
- Changes to end user information.
In this newsletter we provide detailed instructions for completing your documentation. It is important that we receive documentation in advance to the impending change, and with all the information included. This will ensure that we have time to make all necessary changes before they take effect. Without an access request form, a pharmacy license and a signed contract we cannot grant access to the medicine verification system.
- Packs borrowed / returned from other pharmacies and the resulting alerts.
Every now and then, the medicines verification system generates an alert due to the borrowing of packs between pharmacies or the return of a borrowed pack. These alarms are usually easy to avoid. Read more about good practices below!
Please contact us if you have any questions or want to give feedback!
The FiMVO team wishes everyone good health and strength for the autumn!
Regards,
FiMVO team
Notification of changes to end user information
The end user (pharmacy / hospital pharmacy / wholesaler / dispensary) must always fill in and send an access request form to FiMVO in the case of:
- transfer of a pharmacy
- the establishment ceases to operate
- change in the end user's IT system
- any other change of user information (address, telephone number etc.)
The content and format of the access request form was updated this spring. It should from now on be completed in electronic form and sent to us (with an electronic pharmacy license if necessary) by email. A separate access request form is required for each subsidiary pharmacy included in the contract. The form does not need to be signed.
Please note that in the event of a pharmacy transfer or the closure of a branch, it is equally important to fill and send the access request form to FiMVO with its inactivation point checked. Only in this way will the contract with FiMVO end.
Fill in the access request form as follows:
1. Download the access request form from the link on our website and save it on your own computer.
2. You can fill in the required fields directly on the pdf form (all you need is the Adobe Reader software installed in your computer) - you no longer need to print, fill in and scan the form. Please remember to fill in all the required fields (type of application and reason for additional information, company and office details, details of the company's official representative, IT service provider and lastly the name of the company representative, form filler and date completed).
3. Save the completed form on your computer and send it to us as an e-mail attachment (if necessary with a pharmacy license): info@fimvo.fi
You can find detailed instructions on our contract process on our website.
Packs borrowed by pharmacies from other pharmacies and returned to them in the medicines verification system
We regularly receive queries regarding, ‘NMVS_NC_PCK_22 Pack is already inactive’ alerts raised by the medicines verification system. From the pack audit trail, we see that one of the frequent reasons is that the pack in question has already been previously dispensed (or in some cases marked as destroyed) by another nearby pharmacy, hospital pharmacy, or dispensary.
More detailed investigations reveal that the pack was borrowed from another pharmacy or obtained from another pharmacy as the return of a previously borrowed pack. In some cases, it has also emerged that the pharmacy, hospital pharmacy or dispensary that originally received the pack from the wholesaler first lent it to a second pharmacy, which has further lent it to a third pharmacy. Investigation of these cases based on the pack audit trail is often challenging as not all parties having had possession of the pack have performed any transactions on the pack in the medicines verification system.
To avoid unnecessary alerts, we created a concise guide on recommended and / or mandatory procedures for the medicines verification system.
- If a pharmacy borrows a medicinal product falling under the FMD regulations from another pharmacy, or returns a pack to replace a pack it has previously borrowed, the pharmacy that provides the pack to another pharmacy must not mark that pack as dispensed, sample or destroyed in the FiMVS system.
According to Delegated Regulation 2016/161, the pharmacy must only mark the pack as dispensed at the time of supplying the pack to the customer. The pharmacy lending the pack delivers the pack to the receiving pharmacy without making any status change in FiMVS system. We recommend that the pharmacy that receives the pack verifies it at the time it is received, if the pack does not come directly from the wholesaler. In this way, any possible ambiguities in the pack information or status of the pack are immediately revealed and investigations can be initiated without delay.
- It should be noted that hospital pharmacies and dispensaries are permitted to mark the packs they have received as supplied already during the incoming inspection. This is the normal procedure. Thus, if a pharmacy / hospital pharmacy / dispensary borrows a pack from a hospital pharmacy or a dispensary, or receives a pack as a return of a previous loan, this pack has, as a rule, already been dispensed. In these cases, we recommend that the hospital pharmacy or dispensary providing the pack informs the receiving pharmacy / hospital pharmacy / dispensary that the pack has already been dispensed.
- We also recommend that the pharmacy / hospital pharmacy / dispensary that receives the pack verifies it. Even if the status of the pack is inactive (“Supplied”), the pharmacy / hospital pharmacy / dispensary that received the pack will get confirmation that the unique identifier in question can be found in the medicines verification system. Merely verifying the pack does not cause an alert, even if the pack has already been dispensed, if the information scanned from the 2D code printed on the pack is correct.
- In case of any ambiguity, FiMVO can be requested to clarify the pack audit trail in the FiMVS system.
FiMVO published an updated guideline for handling medicines verification system alerts in early June
The guide describes the various alerts that arise in the medicines verification system and instructions for handling the alert from the perspective of different user groups. The document has been prepared in collaboration with stakeholders in the pharmaceutical distribution chain and will be updated as necessary. Links to the different language versions of the guide (FI / SV / EN) can be found in the document bank on our website.
Any feedback and questions related to the instructions (as well as all support and clarification requests concerning alerts) should be sent to nmvs@fimvo.fi
Questions and answers about system alerts
We have also added some questions and answers to our system alerts FAQ document, available in the FAQ section.
Please note that we have compiled a list of common questions and answers in a pdf document, which could, for example, be printed by pharmacies. We hope that you will find these useful! Please contact us if you would like to add a new question to the list.
Contact us:
Regarding alerts and any technical topics related to FiMVS, please use:
nmvs@fimvo.fi
For contracts and invoicing, please use:
info@fimvo.fi
Emergency hotline: +358 9 6150 4949
We ask you to use our email address and to only use the hotline in emergencies.
General Manager: Maija Gohlke-Kokkonen - maija.gohlke-kokkonen@fimvo.fi
QA Manager: Teijo Yrjönen - teijo.yrjonen@fimvo.fi
Service Manager: Mirka Koski - mirka.koski@fimvo.fi
Communications Assistant: Katriina Newton-Kolehmainen - katriina.newton-kolehmainen@fimvo.fi
Twitter: @fi_mvo
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fimvo-finnish-medicines-verification-o…