How should a pharmacy manage expiry dates to avoid write-offs?

Who this is for

This guide is for owners and pharmacists at independent pharmacies in Taiwan, and it covers one operational job: expiry and write-off cost on shelf stock. It is not patient medication guidance and says nothing about how to use any specific medicine.

The routine

1. 01

   Capture lot number and expiry at receiving

   The unit of expiry management is the lot, not the product. Two lots of the same medicine can expire months apart, so record lot number and expiry while you scan or key in the delivery. Without that, you cannot act on one lot at a time later.

2. 02

   Review by remaining shelf life, not by expiry date

   Group stock into tiers by days remaining — for example within 180 days and within 90 days, with the real thresholds set by each supplier's return rules. Every review starts at the top tier instead of discovering the problem on the expiry date.

3. 03

   Check each supplier's return rules and window

   Most suppliers set a minimum remaining shelf life for a return, and the threshold differs by supplier. For the fields to confirm first, seewhat to confirm before a return.

4. 04

   Decide before the window closes

   Make one explicit decision per near-expiry lot: file the return, cut the next reorder, move it faster by dispensing that lot first, or accept the write-off. Not deciding is itself the most expensive decision.

5. 05

   Record what actually happened to each lot

   How much was returned, how much write-off was avoided, which products keep reappearing — these records feed back into reorder quantity and review frequency, which is what makes the next cycle more accurate.

Where uYao fits

uYao connects a small box to the barcode scanner a pharmacy already uses. Deliveries are scanned as usual, and lot numbers and expiry dates are recorded automatically. As a return window approaches, uYao creates work in Store OS and sends a Web Push reminder; the pharmacist only approves, rejects, or corrects it, and the outcome for each lot is recorded. This is a prototype in pilot recruitment — for what is verified and what is not, seethe product evidence page.

Limits and what this guide will not do

• There is no public, unified standard for supplier return rules, so this guide gives no fixed number of days. Actual rules vary by supplier, product, and contract.
• This guide has not been reviewed by a licensed pharmacist and is not pharmaceutical or legal advice.
• It gives no advice on patient medication, dispensing, or product selection.

Sources

• Pharmaceutical Affairs Act, Article 21 (a drug past its expiry or storage period is classed as an inferior drug), Traditional Chinese only:全國法規資料庫
• Supplier return rules: governed by each supplier's contract and shipping documents. No publicly citable unified version exists.