Record an Allergy

Add a patient's drug or substance allergies or intolerance to their record.

About this task

Record the patient's allergies in the record allergy_iconAllergies / Adverse Reactions section.

Procedure

To record patient's allergies:
  1. In the patient's record, locate and click Add adverse reactions iconCheck For Allergies / Adverse Reactions at the top of the window.
    Tip:
    If the patient already has a drug allergy recorded in their record, select it.
  2. In the record allergy_iconAllergies / Adverse Reactions section, if the patient has no known allergies or adverse reactions, set No known allergies/adverse reactions and skip the remaining steps. Otherwise, record the patient's drug allergies.
  3. In the Enter Allergy /Adverse Reaction field, click and start typing the patient's drug allergy and select the ingredient, trade product or brand from the list.
    Medication Precautions window, showing list of allergies and adverse reactions

    Showing list of allergies and adverse reactions
  4. For ingredient allergies, in the Enter Reaction field, record the type of adverse reaction.
    Tip:
    • Safety-checked allergies are flagged with the Green tick icon icon in the Interaction alerts column.
    • If you enter an allergy and it is not known to the system, it will be considered 'non-coded' and will not be safety-checked against medications you prescribe. If you enter an allergy and it is not known to the system, it will not be safety-checked against medications you prescribe and is flagged with the Not codedNot Coded icon in the Interaction alerts column.
  5. For brand or trade product allergies, record the patient's allergy details in the Confirm Allergy / Adverse Reaction panel:
    1. Select an appropriate allergy item, such as ingredient, drug class, brand and so on.
      Confirm allergy and adverse reaction panel
      Tip:
      If the patient is allergic to the specific ingredients in the selected brand or trade product, in the Active ingredients section, select the ingredients.
    2. In the Reaction field, record the type of allergy or adverse reaction.
    3. Click Add Allergy.
  6. From the Enter severity list, select an appropriate severity for the drug allergy.

Results

The patient's allergies are recorded in the record allergy_iconAllergies / Adverse Reactions section and displayed next to the medication precautions (if any) at the top of the window.
Recorded patient's allergies
A new allergy is also recorded in the Consult iconConsult > Consult Actions > Other Actions section. When you click on the allergy item, its information is displayed in the Allergies / Adverse Reactions section.
Record allergy in consult actions
Tip:
If a patient's allergy is recorded during their consultation, it is displayed in the existing consultation. Otherwise, a new consultation is created automatically to record the changes.
If you selected no known allergies for the patient's allergies, a No known allergies_iconNo Known Allergies / Adverse Reactions message is displayed next to the medication precautions (if any) at the top of the window.
No known allergies

What to do next

To view details of who updated the patient’s allergies and when, hover your mouse over the Information iconInformation icon in the required item.
Example of who updated the patient’s allergies and when
An alert is displayed if you attempt to prescribe medications that the patient is allergic to. Red indicates the highest severity, followed by orange, and then yellow.
Example allergy alert message