Inventory → Expiring containers
Purpose
A focused list of every container that expires within the next 30 days, sorted by urgency, so you can waste, dispose, or use up soon-to-expire controlled substances before they lapse. This is the full-page companion to the "Expiring soon" widget on the home dashboard (the widget caps at 10 rows; this page shows every expiring container).
Regulatory basis: DEA rules require accurate inventory records. Expired controlled substances still count as inventory until wasted or disposed with the required witness and documentation.
When to use it
- Weekly inventory review: check what's about to expire so nothing lapses unnoticed
- Pre-disposal batching: gather everything expiring this cycle to schedule a single witnessed disposal
- DEA audit prep: demonstrate you actively track and act on expirations
Walkthrough
Step 1 — Open the expiring list
Navigate to /home/<your-clinic>/inventory/expiring.
If nothing expires in the next 30 days, the page shows "Nothing expiring soon". Otherwise it renders the standard inventory list surface (the same ResponsiveDataTable used by the substances and containers pages) with a search box and an urgency filter.
Step 2 — Read the columns
| Column | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Substance | The substance name, with the container number beneath it. Click to open the container detail. |
| Expires | The container's expiration date (hidden on the smallest screens). |
| Balance | Current on-hand balance + unit (hidden below large screens). |
| Expiration | An urgency badge — the number of days until (or since) expiration — plus a label: Expired, Critical, or Expiring Soon. |
Urgency thresholds are the single source shared with the dashboard widget (getExpirationUrgency):
- Expired — past the expiration date (negative days)
- Critical — 7 days or fewer remaining
- Expiring Soon — within the 30-day window but more than 7 days out
Step 3 — Filter and search
- Search — type a substance name or container number to narrow the list.
- Urgency filter — show All, Expired, Critical, or Soon.
Step 4 — Act on an expiring container
Click a row to open its container detail. From there you can record a Waste transaction for remaining contents (a witness is required, per DEA rules) or Dispose the container (DEA Form 41 / on-site destruction). Expired containers can still complete their final waste/disposal — expiration is a soft warning, not a hard block (see ADR-006).
Edge cases
The window is fixed at 30 days
The page always shows the next 30 days (it reuses the mv_expiring_containers materialized view). Containers expiring further out don't appear here — they surface once they cross into the 30-day window. For a longer horizon, sort the containers list by expiration date.
Already-expired containers stay listed
An expired container remains on this list (labeled Expired) until it is wasted or disposed. That's deliberate — an expired-but-still-present container is still inventory you must account for.
Related
- Containers — the container lifecycle, waste, and disposal flows
- Substances § Reorder threshold & low-stock alerts — the low-stock companion to this expiring view
- Compliance → Alerts — expiration alerts also surface here