Dispensing labels & medications
Record what you dispense on the patient's Medications tab, and print a 75×40mm dispensing label with the directions you type.
When you dispense a medicine, Wattle does two useful things for you at once: it records the drug on the patient's Medications tab, and it lets you print a dispensing label to stick on the bottle or box. You write the directions; Wattle fills in the rest.
This used to be a read-only list of what was prescribed at past visits. Now it's a working record you add to as you dispense — and the place you go to reprint a label later.
Built to NSW dispensing requirements. The label is laid out to meet New South Wales rules for dispensed-medicine labels. If you practise in another state, it's your clinic's responsibility to confirm the label meets your state's requirements before relying on it. Wattle gives you a compliant starting point, not legal sign-off for every jurisdiction.
Recording a medication as you bill
The usual path is straightforward: charging a medication on a visit also offers to record it as a medication and print a label. You bill the drug as you always have — Wattle picks it up from there.
Dispense a medication (and print a label)
Usually: vet or nurse.
Quick version — Charge the medicine on the visit → in the medication step, pick the product, enter the amount, type the instructions → Save or Save & print label.
Step by step
- Add the medicine as a charge on the consult the way you normally would.
- The dispensing step opens. Fill it in, top to bottom:
- Product — pick the medicine. The strength is the product — there's no separate strength box, because each strength is its own catalogue item (e.g. "Amoxicillin 250mg"). Choosing the right product is choosing the strength.
- Amount — how much you're dispensing (for example "30 tablets" or "100 mL").
- Instructions (directions) — type the directions for the owner, in plain words: "Give one tablet by mouth twice daily with food for 7 days." This is the part only you can write — see the label note below.
- Intent — what this medicine is for (see Intent below).
- Save it:
- Save — records the medication on the patient's Medications tab without printing.
- Save & print label — records it and sends the dispensing label to print straight away.
The medicine now appears on the patient's Medications tab, and (if you printed) the label is on its way to your printer.
If something looks wrong
- You clicked Save instead of Save & print label → no problem. The medication is recorded; you can print the label any time from the Medications tab (see Reprinting below).
- The strength you need isn't an option → strength comes from the catalogue product. If the strength you want doesn't exist as an item, an admin needs to add it in the catalogue. Ask whoever manages your catalogue.
What's on the label
The dispensing label is 75 × 40 mm — a standard small label that fits on a bottle or a box. You only ever type the directions; Wattle prints everything else for you.
Wattle fills in automatically:
- Your clinic details
- The prescriber (the responsible clinician)
- The patient (and owner)
- The medication (name and strength, from the product) and the amount dispensed
- The date
You write:
- The directions — how the owner gives the medicine.
That's the whole job. Pick the product, type the directions, print.
About the safety caution. The standard caution — "Keep out of reach of children · For animal treatment only" — is pre-printed on the label stock itself, so it deliberately doesn't appear in Wattle's printed output. Don't be alarmed that it's missing from the print: it's already on the physical label you're printing onto. (If you print onto plain label stock without that caution pre-printed, you'll need to add it another way to stay compliant.)
Reprinting a label
Lost the label, or the owner wants a fresh one? You don't re-dispense — you reprint from the patient's record.
Reprint a dispensing label
Usually: vet, nurse or front desk.
Step by step
- Open the patient and go to the Medications tab.
- Find the medication in the list.
- Choose Print label (or the reprint action) on that row.
- The same 75 × 40 mm label prints again, with the directions you originally typed.
Reprinting doesn't dispense again. It just re-prints the existing record — it doesn't add a new charge or a new medication. Reprint as many times as you need.
Adding a medication by hand
Not every medicine you record is something you're billing today. The patient may already be on a long-term medicine, or you're noting something that wasn't charged. For those, add a medication manually.
Add a medication manually
Usually: vet or nurse.
Quick version — Patient → Medications tab → Add medication → fill in the product, amount, instructions and intent → Save (or Save & print label).
Step by step
- Open the patient and go to the Medications tab.
- Click Add medication.
- Fill in the same fields as the dispensing step — product (the strength), amount, instructions and intent.
- Save to record it, or Save & print label if you want a label too.
This is the way to record chronic or ongoing medicines the pet is already on, or any medicine you're noting without putting it on today's bill.
If something looks wrong
- You added a medication by hand but no charge appeared on the bill → that's expected. The manual Add medication records the medicine on the patient's record; it doesn't create a charge. To bill for it, add it as a charge on the consult.
Intent (given today, ongoing, or take home)
When you record a medication, you set its intent — a short tag that says why this medicine is on the record. It helps anyone reading the patient's history later understand at a glance what was actually done.
| Intent | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Given today | A dose administered during the visit (an injection, a tablet given in the consult room). |
| Ongoing | A medicine the pet is on continuously — chronic or long-term treatment. |
| Take home | A medicine dispensed for the owner to give at home over the coming days. |
Pick the one that matches what you're doing. It doesn't change the label's directions — it's there to keep the medication record meaningful.
Quick reference
| I want to… | Where | One-line |
|---|---|---|
| Dispense + print a label | Charge the medicine on a visit | Pick product, enter amount, type directions, Save & print label. |
| Record without printing | Dispensing step → Save | Logs it on the Medications tab; print later. |
| Note an ongoing/chronic med | Patient → Medications → Add medication | Manual entry, not billed. |
| Reprint a label | Patient → Medications → Print label | Same label, same directions; doesn't re-dispense. |
| Say why it's on the record | The Intent field | Given today / Ongoing / Take home. |
Related sections
- Consultations — where you charge a medicine and the dispensing step opens.
- Patients — the Medications tab lives on the patient's file.
- The catalogue & prices — where each medicine and its strength is set up.
- Inventory & stock tracking — counting medicine stock as you dispense.
- The Schedule 8 register — controlled drugs have their own signed register.
- Printing & PDFs — printer setup and tips.