^O13
RDS^O13 — Pharmacy/Treatment Dispense
RDS^O13 confirms that a medication has been physically dispensed to the patient or their caregiver. It carries the actual dispensing event details including the drug dispensed, quantity, lot number, and expiration date.
When Is This Sent?
When a medication has been dispensed to the patient — from a pharmacy dispensing cabinet, central pharmacy, or automated dispensing device. Triggers an update to the medication administration record (MAR).
Real-World Usage
RDS^O13 is the medication dispensing confirmation message that closes the loop between pharmacy and the medication administration record. It enables nurses to confirm what was dispensed against what was ordered. ADC systems (Pyxis, Omnicell) send RDS^O13 to the EHR when a nurse withdraws medication, updating the MAR with the dispense event. Missing RDS^O13 messages result in incomplete MAR records.
Message Structure
Segment names link to their field-level reference pages.
| # | Segment | Purpose in this message | Req | Repeat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MSH | Message header with RDS^O13 in MSH.9 | R | — |
| 2 | PID | Patient demographics | R | — |
| 3 | ORC | Order common segment linking dispense to the original order | R | — |
| 4 | RXD | Dispense details: drug dispensed, date/time, quantity, lot number, expiration date | R | — |
| 5 | RXR | Route of administration for the dispensed medication | R | — |
| 6 | PV1 | Patient location at time of dispense | O | — |
| 7 | RXA | Actual administration details (if administration was also recorded) | O | Yes |
Example Message
Realistic example with fake patient data. Paste into the HL7 Message Viewer to explore interactively.
1MSH||^~\&|ADC_SYSTEM|HOSPITAL_A|EPIC|HOSPITAL_A|20260310160000||RDS^O13^RDS_O13|RDS00001|P|2.5.1 2PID||1||123456^^^HOSP_A^MR||Smith^John^M^^Mr.||19850315|M 3PV1||1|I|4A^201^1^^^HOSP_A 4ORC||RE|ORD20260310005^EPIC|RX20260310001^PHARMACY||IP||||20260310160000 5RXD||1|0069-3060-68^Amoxicillin 500mg Cap^NDC|20260310160000|2|CAP||RX20260310001^PHARMACY||9876^Rodriguez^Maria^R|||LOT202612A|20261231 6RXR||C38288^Oral^NCIT|PO
Troubleshooting Scenarios
MAR not updating after medication dispense from ADC
Cause
RDS^O13 from the ADC is not reaching the EHR. Either the interface isn't configured or the RXD.2 drug code doesn't match the order in the EHR.
Fix
Verify the ADC-to-EHR interface is active and RDS^O13 messages are being sent. Check RXD.2 (dispense give code) — it must match the drug identifier format expected by the EHR for order reconciliation. Also verify ORC.2 (placer order number) matches the original order.
Dispense recorded for wrong patient — patient identification mismatch
Cause
PID.3 (patient identifier) in the RDS^O13 from the ADC doesn't match the EHR's patient matching criteria. ADC may be using a wristband scan ID that differs from the EHR's MRN format.
Fix
Review PID.3 from the ADC — confirm the identifier type and assigning authority match the EHR's patient matching configuration. Implement a transformation in the interface engine to normalize the patient ID format from the ADC to the EHR's expected format.
Common Confusions
RDS^O13 (Dispense confirmation) vs RDE^O11 (Encoded order). RDE^O11 authorizes dispensing (pharmacist verified); RDS^O13 confirms dispensing occurred (medication left pharmacy/ADC). Both are needed for complete medication tracking. Also: RDS^O13 vs VXU^V04 — RDS is for general medication dispensing; VXU^V04 is specifically for vaccine administration reporting to immunization registries.
Related Message Types
Segment Reference
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