> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.elateuk.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Recording medication
> Record a medicine as given, refused or another outcome during a visit in the Elate Care app, including witnesses for controlled drugs.
When your organisation keeps medication records in Elate, you record each dose on your phone during the visit. What you record goes on the person's medication chart (MAR).
**Who can do this:** anyone whose role includes **Record medication**. By default that is Organisation Owners, Service Provider Admins, Care Managers, Team Leads and Carers. Your organisation can change this in **Settings > Permissions**.
This needs the **Medication (eMAR)** module. If you cannot see it, ask your organisation owner. The Elate team turns the module on for your organisation.
Your organisation may use different words for some things, such as "Service users" instead of "Support recipients". Elate shows your organisation's words everywhere, so follow what you see.
## Record a dose
Open the visit and go to **Tasks**. The **Medication** block at the top shows how many doses are due. A label such as "2 to record" means doses are waiting, and **Allergy recorded** means a medicine conflicts with a recorded allergy. Tap the block to open it. You can also tap **Medication** on the **My day** card.
Read **Check the current instructions**: confirm the person, the medicine and the directions.
Tap the dose. Each shows its time, the dose and how it is taken, with **Outcome needed** until it is recorded. Medicines taken only when needed are listed under **As required**. Tap the one you need (it says **Tap to record**). If it says **Too soon since the last dose** or **Maximum for 24 hours given**, the minimum gap or the 24-hour limit on the person's record has been reached.
**Record medication** shows the medicine, the dose and the instructions, any warnings, and the person's allergies. Tap **NHS medicine guide** to read about the medicine on nhs.uk.
Under **What was the outcome?**, choose what happened. See the table below.
The app asks only what this outcome needs. See [What the app asks for](#what-the-app-asks-for).
Tap the button at the bottom. It names what you are recording, for example **Record as given**. If it is greyed out, the line above it says what is still missing.
Choosing an outcome does not record anything on its own. Only the button at the bottom does.
## Outcomes
| Outcome | Code on the chart |
| - | - |
| **Given** | ✓ |
| **Part given** | P |
| **Refused** | R |
| **Omitted** | O |
| **Not required** | N |
| **Self-administered** | S |
| **Prompted** | M |
A dose with nothing recorded shows as **Nothing recorded** on the chart.
## What the app asks for
| Question | When it appears |
| - | - |
| **How much was given?** | For **Part given**, or a medicine with a variable dose |
| **Why?** | For **Refused** or **Omitted**. Choose a reason, and add more in your own words if you need to |
| **Why are you giving it?** | When the medicine conflicts with a recorded allergy, or the allergy record is not shared with you, and the outcome means it was taken |
| **Who witnessed it?** | For a controlled drug, or a medicine that needs a witness, when the outcome means it was taken |
| **How much is left? (optional)** | When the outcome means it was taken. Choose **Plenty**, **Some**, **Running low** or **None left** |
| **Anything to add? (optional)** | Always, once you choose an outcome |
### Witnesses for controlled drugs
Under **Who witnessed it?**, choose a colleague from the list, or type a name in **Someone else, by name**. If nobody was there, choose a reason under **Or nobody was available**: **Working alone**, **Family member not present** or **Other**.
The witness's name is recorded on the chart. It is not a second signature. A refused controlled drug needs no witness.
## After you record
The dose shows its outcome and your initials. If you open a dose someone has already recorded, the app shows **Already recorded** with who recorded it. An entry on the chart is never deleted, only corrected, so if it is wrong, tell the office.
When you check out, the summary tells you if any medicine has nothing recorded yet.
## Recording with poor signal
You do not need signal to record a dose. The dose is saved on your phone, marked "On this phone. It will send when there is signal.", and sent later with the time you recorded it, not the time it was sent.
Elate cannot file a dose more than 7 days in the past, so make sure your phone gets signal well before then. See [Working with poor signal](/carer-app/poor-signal).
To see a visit's medicines with no signal, open the visit while you still have signal. If they are not on your phone, the app says "Medication is not saved for this visit on this phone".
## Common questions
The phone always records the time you tap the button, so you cannot record a dose for an earlier time in the app. Tell the office. Someone with **Record medication** can write up a missed dose on the web, no more than 7 days back. See [Medication (eMAR)](/support-recipients/medication-emar).
Nobody is booked to give that dose, so it cannot be recorded on this visit. Tell the office.
Your organisation may not use the eMAR module, your role may not include **Record medication**, or no medicines are due on this visit. Ask the office.
## Related pages
* [Delivering a visit](/carer-app/delivering-a-visit)
* [Medication (eMAR)](/support-recipients/medication-emar)
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