(Pharmacy users only)
MethCheck is fully integrated into Eagle for Windows' Pseudoephedrine Tracking feature, and communicates with a national pseudoephedrine database that tracks the purchase of over-the-counter products containing pseudoephedrine. MethCheck also provides a web service interface that pharmacies' computer systems can use to obtain this information in real time at Point of Sale and provide updates back to MethCheck. This topic gives an overview of what happens when your Eagle communicates with MethCheck.
To use MethCheck, the following setup must be in place:
When POS submits the consumer's ID information, it looks to see if the ID matches one in the Eagle's RXT file. If it does, the consumer information displays on the screen for the clerk to validate. If not, the clerk is prompted to enter the customer data. If the ID was originally entered from a driver’s license magnetic track swipe or barcode scan, the personal information is obtained from the license. The data is sent to MethCheck.
How POS works with MedCheck:
If MethCheck's response indicates that the amount of pseudoephedrine on the transaction is below the purchase limit, the transaction proceeds to the totals screen, where the customer is prompted to sign the pin pad to acknowledge the purchase of a pseudoephedrine product(s). When payment has been tendered, and MethCheck indicates the transaction is approved, the pseudoephedrine sale and signature are stored in the Eagle for future reporting needs.
If MethCheck indicates a failed status, the system reports the error to POS. POS informs the clerk that the pseudoephedrine inquiry failed, and why. The clerk can either correct the error condition and resubmit the transaction, or void the sale. In addition, a manager can override the failure condition and complete the sale, and the customer must sign the pseudoephedrine purchase acknowledgement. The sale data is submitted to MethCheck. Again upon receipt of a successful purchase response from MethCheck the local Eagle RXT file will be updated to include this sales information.
When POS is started, it checks to see if C:\3apps\UserData\MethCheckPurchaseFailures folder exists, and if it has any files in it. If so, POS warns the clerk that off-line pseudoephedrine tracking files exist on the PC and that they should verify with management that connectivity to the MethCheck database is intact.
On transaction reversals that include a pseudoephedrine item(s), POS calls MedCheck indicating a return request is required. The local RXT file is updated to reflect the transaction upon completion of a successful return or return response.
Warning: When a MethCheck response indicates that the value in a specific field is not correct, such as the zip code. The clerk can correct the problem and resubmit the transaction.
Limits violation: When customer data is not accepted, such as when the customer is over their purchase limit, don’t meet the minimum age requirement, etc. POS checks the clerk’s security to determine if the transaction can continue, or if a manager override is required. If the proper security level is not available, the clerk must remove the pseudoephedrine item(s) from the transaction.
Fatal Error: When there is a processing error, such as the system cannot connect to the MethCheck data base. In the case of a sold request, the transaction is set to postsale, and is written to the folder C:\3apps\UserData\MethCheckPurchaseFailures for later processing. In client/master setups, this folder resides on the master PC. If the system cannot connect upon inquiry, information is obtained from the Eagle RXT file and is used to validate that local quantities have not been exceeded. In both cases the request will be considered a postsale transaction. The Pseudoephedrine class will not report an issue to back to POS.
An offline state for MethCheck can exist in two different forms:
The POS station is off-line from the Eagle server. In this situation, the POS client is still able to make contact with the MethCheck server for real time queries and responses. When successful purchases, voids, and return responses occur, Off-line POS updates the offline RXT file with the pseudoephedrine information. When the off-line upload is performed, the off-line RXT file is uploaded and merged into the Eagle RXT file.
The MethCheck Database is unavailable to the POS station. This is a condition that may exist when a POS client is online or offline. In either case, the solution is the same: During a purchase, void, or return request, if the POS client cannot reach the MethCheck server, the Eagle completes the transaction. A copy of the MethCheck request file is saved on the local PC in the 3apps\catapult\temp folder. POS periodically looks to see if any MethCheck files exist in the 3apps\catapult\temp folder and if so calls MethCheck to process these transactions. In the case of a Purchase request, the purchase flag is set to “post-sale” to cause a forced sale on the MethCheck side.