An e-MAR implementation checklist for home care.

Define the workflow before choosing the start date.

Write down who maintains the medication information, who records support during a visit and who reviews the MAR chart. Include cover and temporary staff. Identify the people responsible for approving the move and checking that your medicines policy reflects the intended process.

This is an operational planning guide, not advice about which medicines to give or how to administer them. Your medicines lead should check the plan against your service’s responsibilities and current professional guidance. The CQC and NICE sources linked below relate to services in England; providers elsewhere should use the relevant national guidance.

• Who can create or change medication information?
• Who checks changes before staff rely on them?
• Who records each visit’s medication support?
• Who reviews incomplete or unexpected records?

Check the record and permissions.

NICE NG67 recommends accurate, current and accessible medicines records, with medicines support recorded for each medicine on each occasion. It also addresses who is trained and competent to make and check changes. Use those responsibilities to shape your record checks and access arrangements.

In MyRoster, ask to see the client’s Medication and MAR Chart sections, then the medication workflow within a carer visit. Establish how your team will check the initial information and subsequent changes. Do not assume that a move to new software automatically reconciles existing records or replaces a pharmacist’s input.

Further guidance: NICE NG67: recommendations on managing medicines in community social care

Rehearse the office-to-carer journey.

Use agreed demonstration records to follow a medication schedule into a visit and back to the MAR chart. In MyRoster, the visit workflow includes administered, refused and not-administered outcomes, with reasons where required. Rehearse the recording process with the staff who will use it.

Check that the team understands the difference between recording what happened and deciding what should happen. Any question about a person’s medicines or support should follow your medicines policy and the appropriate professional advice, rather than being resolved by choosing a convenient software option.

• Can the carer locate the correct client and visit?
• Can staff find the current medication information they need?
• Can they record the relevant outcome and explanation?
• Can the office find and review the resulting record?
• Does a covering or temporary carer understand the same process?

Prepare training and a downtime plan.

CQC’s eMAR guidance highlights transition planning, appropriate access, staff training and competence, ongoing support, arrangements for downtime and regular audit. Include temporary staff in those preparations and update the relevant medicines procedures.

Write down what staff should do if a device, connection or system is unavailable, who they contact and how records are reconciled afterwards. Agree this with your medicines lead and software provider. A written continuity plan is still needed; this checklist does not imply that MyRoster provides offline e-MAR or an automatic fallback record.

Further guidance: CQC: electronic medicines administration records

Pilot, review and decide whether to expand.

Choose a manageable pilot with your responsible team, clear start and review dates, and a named person who can resolve questions. Agree how the authoritative record will be maintained during transition so staff are not left guessing between conflicting versions.

At review, check whether staff can complete the agreed workflow and whether the office can understand the resulting records. Investigate gaps before expanding. Keep a list of process, training and software questions, with an owner for each one.

For your MyRoster demonstration, bring a description of the workflow and the questions below without sharing identifiable client or medication records. The discussion can then focus on the product’s actual screens, your setup needs and what must be checked before a pilot.

• Which record is authoritative at each stage of the transition?
• Who checks that initial records are ready for use?
• What must every participating staff member demonstrate before starting?
• Who reviews the first records and unresolved questions?
• What evidence will the team use to approve the next stage?

Common questions