Guide · Care

Medication storage audit for care in the UK.

A practical guide to auditing the medication storage and administration environment in a care setting, from CD cabinets and fridge temperatures to the treatment room walk-round, without touching the eMAR or the clinical record.

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Free forever: 20 reports a month. No card, no trial clock.

The point

The audit does not make the medicines safe.

The right storage and the right actions do. A medication room audit is only worth doing if the finding, an over-temperature fridge, an unlocked CD cabinet, an expired stock item, reaches the office the same day and someone fixes it. Software makes the walk-round easier to complete in the treatment room, harder to skip an item, and faster to act on.

Three shapes of tool

Pick the one that fits your setting.

eMAR and pharmacy systems

The clinical record

The electronic medication administration record proves who took what and when. Essential, and out of scope here. Quickler does not touch it.

 General audit apps

iAuditor, GoAudits

Built for any inspection, not for a care medicines room. Flexible, but each template needs setup and training, and a per-seat licence adds up across a rota.

 Conversation-based

Quickler on WhatsApp

The medication-storage audit arrives as a WhatsApp chat. Nothing to install. An over-temperature fridge reading flags to the office dashboard the moment it is entered.

Environment, not eMAR

This is the storage, not the record.

Quickler audits the medicines environment and process: is the CD cabinet compliant and locked, is the room and fridge within temperature range, is stock in date, is the fridge log being kept, is the trolley secured. It does not record administration to a resident. The eMAR owns that. The two complement each other; they are not the same job.

Run medication audits on WhatsApp

No app install. No training.

Staff use the phone they already have. Text, voice note or a photo of the thermometer. The audit record generates itself. Setup to first live workflow usually takes under a week.

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A medication storage audit checks the medicines environment in a care setting: controlled-drugs cabinet compliance and security, room and fridge temperatures, stock in date, and the temperature log. Quickler runs it over WhatsApp with no app to install; it is not an eMAR, a CD register or any clinical record.

A care home or supported-living service stores medicines it is responsible for keeping safe: in a locked cabinet, a controlled-drugs cabinet fixed to the wall, a monitored fridge, a treatment room at a controlled temperature. The administration itself, who took what and when, lives in the eMAR. But the environment around it, the storage, the temperatures, the stock, the security, has to be audited too, and an inspector will ask to see that you do. So the real question about a medication storage audit is not which app has the most features. It is which tool gets the fridge temperature and the CD cabinet check recorded correctly, in the room, at the time.

The short version

  • A medication storage audit covers the environment and process: CD cabinet compliance, room and fridge temperatures, stock in date, security of trolleys and rooms, and the fridge log.
  • This is separate from the eMAR. Quickler audits the storage environment; the eMAR records administration to a resident. Quickler does not touch the clinical record.
  • Controlled-drugs storage in care settings follows the Misuse of Drugs (Safe Custody) Regulations 1973 and CQC medicines-optimisation expectations; check the current rules for your setting.
  • Medicines fridges are typically kept between 2 and 8 degrees Celsius, with the temperature monitored and logged; confirm the range for your specific products.
  • You only pay for who actually works, which suits a care service on a rota, because adding staff is free.
  • The audit does not make the medicines safe. The right storage, and acting on the finding, does.

The point

What a medication storage audit is actually for

Care providers are accountable for how they store the medicines in their charge. That means a recurring audit of the environment: is the controlled-drugs cabinet compliant and locked, is the CD register controlled, is the room within its temperature range, is the fridge between its limits and logged, is stock in date and stored correctly, are trolleys and the treatment room secured. The Care Quality Commission's medicines-optimisation expectations, and the equivalents in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, all look for evidence that storage is safe and monitored.

The audit does not make the medicines safe. Correct storage does, and acting on the finding does. What an audit tool does is make the walk-round easier to complete correctly in the room, harder to skip the fridge reading, and faster to get a failing temperature in front of someone who can act. The tool's only job is to make in-the-room completion the path of least resistance.

Environment, not eMAR

The line Quickler does not cross

This is the important boundary. The electronic medication administration record, the eMAR, is the clinical record of what was given to which resident, by whom, and when. It is regulated clinical data and quickler has no part in it. Quickler audits the environment and process that surround the medicines: the storage, the temperatures, the stock, the security, the logs.

The two complement each other. The eMAR proves the medicine was administered; the storage audit proves it was kept safe until it was. If your finding needs to change a resident's MAR chart or a prescription, that belongs in your clinical system, not here. Quickler records that you audited the storage, what you found, and that it was acted on. Ask us if that boundary needs drawing for your service.

Controlled drugs

The CD cabinet and register

Controlled drugs held in a care setting attract specific storage duties. Storage is expected to meet the Misuse of Drugs (Safe Custody) Regulations 1973, typically a cabinet of the specified standard fixed to the structure, and a controlled-drugs register kept and balanced. A medication storage audit checks that the cabinet is compliant and locked, keys are controlled, and the register reconciles to physical stock.

Quickler can carry each of these as a workflow item, with a photo of the cabinet, the balance and any discrepancy captured at the point of the check. It records that the audit was done and what it found. It is not the CD register itself, and it does not replace the running record of receipts and administrations. The exact requirements depend on your setting and change over time, so check the current safe-custody rules and CQC guidance.

Temperatures

Fridge and room monitoring

Medicines have storage-temperature conditions, and a care service is expected to monitor and log them. Medicines fridges are commonly kept between 2 and 8 degrees Celsius, with a minimum and maximum reading recorded each day, and treatment rooms kept below the ceiling temperature on the product label. The exact range depends on the products you hold, so confirm it against your own stock.

Quickler captures the reading as it is taken, with the thermometer photographed and an out-of-range value flagged to the office dashboard the moment it is entered, so a breach is not sitting in a paper log until the next audit. It records the environment. It is not a continuous data-logging device, and where your risk assessment needs unbroken automatic logging, a dedicated logger complements it.

Pricing

Only pay for who works

Most audit apps charge per seat. For a care service on a rota that is the wrong shape: nurses, seniors and managers rotate through the medicines room, and a per-seat licence taxes every name whether or not they file the audit.

Quickler charges 20 pounds per active user per month. An active user is someone who completed at least two workflows that month; dormant users are free. Add every nurse, senior, manager and admin you like, and only pay for who actually works. There is a free tier of 20 reports a month, and everything is unlimited on a paid plan. Pricing is approximate and shifts, so check the current pricing page before you commit.

Questions, answered

What is a medication storage audit in a care setting?

It is a recurring check of the medicines environment and process: controlled-drugs cabinet compliance and security, room and fridge temperatures, stock in date, security of trolleys and treatment rooms, and the temperature log. It is separate from the eMAR, which records administration to residents. Quickler audits the storage environment; it does not touch the clinical record.

How often should medication storage be audited in a care home?

There is no single statutory frequency. Many care services run a monthly medication storage and environment audit, with fridge and controlled-drugs checks recorded far more often, often daily, as your own medicines policy sets out. Follow your own policy and the current CQC medicines-optimisation guidance and safe-custody rules, which are updated over time, and audit more frequently after an incident or a failed check.

Does Quickler replace the eMAR?

No. Quickler audits the environment, premises and process around medicines. The eMAR is the clinical record of what was administered to which resident and when, and quickler has no part in it. The two complement each other: the eMAR proves administration, the storage audit proves the medicines were kept safe.

What temperature should a medicines fridge be kept at?

Medicines fridges are commonly kept between 2 and 8 degrees Celsius, with the temperature monitored and logged, but the correct range depends on the products you hold. Confirm it against your own stock and current guidance. Quickler records the reading and flags an out-of-range value the moment it is entered; it is not a continuous data logger.

Can I run a medication storage audit over WhatsApp?

Yes. Quickler's workflows run over the WhatsApp Business API. The staff member receives each question in their existing WhatsApp chat, replies with text, a voice note or a photo of the thermometer or cabinet, and the completed audit report generates automatically. No separate app or login is required, and quickler manages the WhatsApp Business API account on the firm's behalf.

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