Research Article
Automated Drug Expiry Detection and Alert System Via Email Notifications
Ebole Alpha Friday*
,
Tiamiyu Olalekan Sorlihu
Issue:
Volume 14, Issue 1, 2025 2025
Pages:
1-9
Received:
10 December 2024
Accepted:
22 December 2024
Published:
24 January 2025
DOI:
10.11648/j.ajnc.20251401.11
Downloads:
Views:
Abstract: Effective pharmaceutical management is vital for healthcare systems, where timely identification of drug expiry dates is crucial to ensure patient safety and regulatory compliance. This paper presents an automated system for drug expiry date detection and email alerting, aimed at enhancing the efficiency and reliability of pharmaceutical management. Traditional manual tracking methods are often prone to errors and inefficiencies, leading to potential health risks. The proposed system automates this process, ensuring prompt notifications to relevant stakeholders. The system features a centralized database for storing drug information, barcode or QR code scanning for data entry, an expiry date detection algorithm, and an integrated email alerting mechanism. The database, managed using MySQL, contains detailed records of each drug, including its name, batch number, manufacturing date, expiry date, and quantity. Barcode or QR code scanners facilitate quick and accurate updates to the database, implemented through a Python-based application. The expiry date detection algorithm runs periodically, comparing current dates with stored expiry dates to identify drugs nearing expiration within a specified threshold, typically 30 days. Upon detection, the system triggers email alerts with detailed drug information sent to pharmacists, healthcare providers, and inventory managers, prompting timely action to prevent the use of expired medications. Testing in a controlled environment with a sample dataset demonstrated that the algorithm accurately identified drugs nearing expiry and generated appropriate email alerts. User feedback indicated significant improvements in efficiency and a reduced risk of expired drug usage. This automated system offers a proactive approach to managing drug inventories, minimizing human error, and enhancing compliance with health regulations. By automating expiry date tracking and alerting, it improves pharmaceutical safety and streamlines inventory management. Future enhancements could include additional notification methods, such as SMS alerts, and expanding the system’s capabilities to manage other aspects of pharmaceutical inventory.
Abstract: Effective pharmaceutical management is vital for healthcare systems, where timely identification of drug expiry dates is crucial to ensure patient safety and regulatory compliance. This paper presents an automated system for drug expiry date detection and email alerting, aimed at enhancing the efficiency and reliability of pharmaceutical management...
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