Controlled Substance Medication Count and Reconciliation Log

This template covers the full controlled-medication chain in the health office: receipt, initial inventory, daily count reconciliation, secure storage, administration, returns, waste, disposal, and discrepancy sign-off. It is designed for medications that require tighter control than routine student medications. The log helps document who handled the medication, when the count changed, and whether the balance still matches the expected amount.

Use it at the interval required by your school policy, and at minimum after each administration, return, waste event, or removal from storage. Many schools also perform a start-of-day and end-of-day count for controlled medications. The key is that the physical count should always reconcile to the log before the medication is left unattended.

The log should be completed by authorized school health staff or other designated personnel who are permitted to handle controlled medications under district policy. When your policy requires a second check, a second authorized staff member should verify the count and sign the record. The template is built to capture both the primary entry and the witness or second verifier.

No. It supports your existing medication handling procedure, but it does not replace district policy, prescriber orders, parent authorization, or applicable state and federal requirements. Use it as the recordkeeping layer that shows what was received, what was administered, and what remains. If your policy is stricter than this template, follow the stricter rule.

Common mistakes include failing to document partial doses separately, skipping the count after administration, and leaving discrepancies unresolved without escalation. Another frequent issue is recording a dose in the MAR or student record but not updating the controlled count balance. This template forces those steps into one reconciliation flow so gaps are easier to spot.

Yes. You can add medication-specific fields, multiple storage locations, site identifiers, or separate sections for classroom-based versus health-office storage. If your district handles multiple campuses, duplicate the log by site so each location has its own count trail. You can also adapt the witness fields to match your internal approval process.

This log works alongside the student medication administration record, inventory sheet, and incident reporting process. It can be paired with a digital health record system, but the count itself should still be easy to review during an audit or handoff. If you integrate it into a broader workflow, make sure the medication name, strength, quantity, and balance match across systems.

Escalate any unresolved variance, missing dose, unexplained overage, or count that cannot be reconciled immediately by the authorized staff on site. Do not guess at the balance or backfill entries without a clear source document. The template includes a discrepancy section so the issue can be documented, reviewed, and closed out according to school policy.