Docfan Academy

Expired, damaged and returned products are a normal part of any store. Selling them is not. The goal is simple: they must never reach a patient and never be mixed with good stock.

Separate and label

Set up a quarantine area: a marked shelf, cage or cupboard, away from saleable stock, with a sign such as 'Do not sell'. Move into it:

• expired products
• damaged products (broken seals, torn labels, leaking or crushed packs)
• recalled or suspect products
• returned products awaiting a decision
• anything stored outside its labelled conditions

Record each item with product, batch, quantity, date and reason.

Never sell or give away expired stock

Expired medicines have no guaranteed quality or safety. Do not sell them, discount them, donate them or hand them to staff, and never change an expiry date. 'It still looks fine' is not a test.

Disposal

Do not bin them quietly. Dispose of them following the regulator's rules and your licence conditions, using an approved method. Keep a signed record of what was destroyed, when, how and who witnessed it.

Returns

Have a written returns policy. Say what you accept, from whom and why, and check returned items against your records. Products returned by customers should not go back on the shelf, because you cannot know how they were stored. Returns to your supplier of faulty or unexpired goods follow the agreed procedure and are documented.

Prevent loss with FEFO

Use first-expiry-first-out (FEFO): the product that expires first leaves first, whatever its delivery date. Put short-dated stock at the front, check expiry dates on a regular schedule and list items nearing expiry. Ask your supplier early about exchange or return. Most expiry losses come from ordering, not from bad luck.