This guide covers the most common medication issues in August Schools. For an overview of the medications module, see Medications Overview.

OTC Medications Not Visible or Accessible

A staff member can't see OTC medications

This is almost always a role permissions issue. In August Schools, access to OTC medications is controlled by the user's assigned role.

Confirm the staff member has been assigned one of the following roles that includes medication access: Nurse, Clinic Aide, Medication Administrator, or Secretary Medication Administrator.
If the staff member only has a non-clinical role (such as School Administrator, Counselor, or Learning Specialist), they will not have access to the medications module by default. A Sysadmin can add the appropriate medication role.
After a role change, ask the staff member to log out and log back in to refresh their permissions.

For a full breakdown of which roles have medication access, see August Schools Roles.

OTC medications are visible but greyed out for a specific student

OTC medications must be individually permitted per student before they can be administered. A greyed-out OTC medication means permission has not been set for that student.

Navigate to the student's card and open the Medications tab.
Scroll to the bottom and click Edit OTC Permissions.
Select the permitted medications and click Save OTC Permissions.

For a step-by-step walkthrough, see Setting OTC Medication Permissions and How to Manage OTC Medication Permissions.

Can't Find a Medication in the List

August Schools syncs with the National Library of Medicine's FDA-approved medication database, which contains thousands of medications. If you can't find what you need:

Search by full name and dosage. Searching by brand name alone often returns too many results. Try the generic name with dosage (e.g., "ibuprofen 200mg" instead of "Advil").
Check the common medications reference. August Schools maintains a table of common school medications that maps brand names to database entries.
Add a non-formulary medication. If the medication is compounded, homeopathic, or otherwise not in the database, users with the Manager role can add it directly. See How to Add Non-Formulary Medications.
Check clinic inventory. If you are administering a medication that should already be in the clinic, confirm it has been added to the clinic inventory first. See Adding Medications to Clinic Inventory.

Medication Not Showing in an Encounter

I administered a medication but it's not showing in the encounter

Confirm the medication was administered through the Medications tab within the encounter, not just added to the student's medication list. Adding a medication to a student's card does not automatically log it as administered.
Check the Medication Administration Log (MAR) to confirm whether the administration was recorded. Navigate to the Medications module and use the Administration Log view.
If the administration appears in the MAR but not in the encounter, the medication may have been charted separately from the encounter. This can happen if medication administration and the encounter were documented at different times.

For instructions on administering medications within an encounter, see Administering Medications within an Encounter.

The medication dropdown in my encounter template is empty

Confirm that medications have been added to your clinic inventory. Encounter medication fields pull from the clinic inventory — if inventory is empty, no medications will appear as options.
Check that the student has a medication order or OTC permission on file that applies to the medication you are trying to chart.
If the encounter template uses a custom medication field, confirm it has been configured correctly in template settings.

Medication Inventory Issues

My inventory count appears incorrect

Review the medication's administration history in the MAR to check whether administrations were recorded that you weren't expecting.
Confirm whether the medication was recently restocked or adjusted. Any manual inventory adjustments should be logged in the medication record.
If the count is consistently wrong despite accurate records, contact August Schools support.

A medication I need has been set to inactive

Navigate to the clinic inventory and look for the option to display inactive medications.
Once you locate the medication, reactivate it. Users with the Manager role or a full Nurse role can manage medication active/inactive status.

See How to Set Medications to Inactive for reference.

Scheduled Medication Issues

A student's scheduled medication isn't showing up for administration

Confirm the scheduled medication has been set up on the student's card with the correct schedule, dates, and times. Navigate to the student's Medications tab and review the scheduled medication record.
Check that today's date falls within the scheduled medication's active date range.
Confirm the scheduled medication not archived.

For a full walkthrough of scheduled medications, see Creating Scheduled Support.