Your register protocol

Wattle enforces most of what a controlled-drug register has to do in software: entries are append-only, hash-chained, vet-signed, witnessed and printable on demand.

Some duties can only be met by people following a procedure. Nominating who is responsible. Reviewing who still has access. Reading the audit log. Coping with an outage. No software can do those for you, and the electronic-register standards expect them to be written down.

This page is that procedure. Fill it in, sign it, keep it with your poisons records.

How to use it: print this page (Ctrl/Cmd + P) and fill in the blanks by hand, or copy the headings into your practice's own document template if you have one. What matters is that the decisions are written down, dated and signed by the person responsible - not that they are on our letterhead.

Why the responsibility sits with you

This surprises people, so it is worth saying plainly. Electronic drug register standards are not written for software vendors. They are written for you.

In NSW, for example, the standards require a system authorising officer - named in the standards as, for example, "the proprietor of a veterinary practice" - who must approve use of the electronic drug register at the premises and must be satisfied that the electronic drug register meets the standards. Nobody certifies the software on your behalf. You decide, for your practice.

Our job is to make that decision easy and well-evidenced: to build to the standards, to tell you plainly where we sit, and to give you this protocol so the parts that are yours are written down rather than assumed.

1. Responsible person

One person is accountable for this protocol and for use of the register at these premises.

• Responsible person: ____________________________
• Position (e.g. principal vet / practice manager): ____________________________
• Nominated on: ____________

Record them in Settings → Schedule 8 so they appear on the compliance card. Update both this protocol and Settings within 14 days if the responsible person changes.

2. Access management

• Access is per person. Never share a login or work under anyone else's - every entry is signed by whichever account is signed in. Screen-unlock PINs are personal and must not be shared.
• The responsible person reviews the team list (Settings → Team) and everyone's register access every ____________ (recommended: quarterly, and whenever someone joins or changes role).
• When someone leaves, revoke access within 14 days, sooner where practicable.
• Deactivate, don't delete. Removing a person preserves their historical entries; deleting the attribution would damage the register.

3. Audit-log review

• The trail is at Settings → Schedule 8 → Audit log.
• Reviewed at least monthly while you hold Schedule 8 stock at volume, otherwise at least ____________.
• The reviewer should not be someone who routinely makes entries - a practice manager where vets make the entries. Where no such person exists, a second vet reviews entries they did not make.
• Reviewer: ____________________________
• Look for: entries at odd hours, repeated corrections or discards, sign-in lockouts, and discrepancies from stocktakes. Raise concerns with the responsible person and investigate without delay.

4. Inspector access

• On request, any staff member can immediately provide read access, a printed register report and an electronic export (Settings → Schedule 8 → Reports; printing is not restricted by role).
• Inspectors do not author entries. If one needs an entry made, a vet makes it at their direction, or the inspector is recorded through the witness path with their name, profession, registration number and signature.
• Issuing an inspector pass takes the vet's PIN. See Inspections.

5. Downtime procedure

• Keep a compliant bound paper register book on the premises as the fallback.
• If Wattle is unavailable, record every Schedule 8 transaction in the paper book, in full, as it happens.
• On recovery, enter each affected drug's closing balance as a stock check with a note giving the outage dates and stating that the interim transactions are in the paper book. Keep the paper book alongside the electronic register for your state's retention period.

6. Stocktakes

Count physical stock and record it as a blind stock check (the expected figure stays hidden until you enter your count) at least:

Investigate discrepancies promptly. Loss and theft notification duties apply regardless of when you last counted - Wattle shows you your state's reporting obligations when you record a loss.

7. Adoption and review

Reviewed at least annually, and whenever the responsible person changes, your state's requirements change, or we tell you about a relevant product change.

• Clinic name: ____________________________
• Responsible person signature: ____________________________
• Date signed: ____________
• Next review due: ____________

Next

The register overview · Inspections · Reports and exports