Courtney
Education Specialist
Container tracking is one of the most common ways for veterinary professionals to account for the movement and quantity of every controlled substance bottle, vial, or container.
By federal law, all the DEA registrants have to keep “a complete and accurate record of all controlled substances on hand”.
Such accuracy can only be achieved with container tracking, which allows clinics to document the exact usage of controlled substances (overfill, underfill, closed or opened containers, and their remaining balances).
Although The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) does not explicitly state to track drugs at the container level, DEA registrants are required to document detailed information about the drug, including its commercial container. According to the Inventory Requirements (21 CFR, Part 1304.11), your records should include controlled substance name, dosage form (tablets, fluid, etc.), units or volume of the substance in the commercial container (bottles, vials), and number of containers.
This is why proper container tracking is so important. Without it, veterinarians would face a variety of controlled substance issues:
- Reconciliation discrepancies and inaccurate inventory counts
- Missing or undocumented drug usage
- Difficulty identifying diversion, loss or theft
- Increased compliance risks that may lead to fines
- Time-consuming internal investigations.
Container Tracking: from Ordering to Destruction
Ordering and Receiving: The moment the practice receives a new container, they add it to their inventory list by assigning its storage location (safe, locker, or automated dispenser, etc.), documenting its key details, and labeling a container with a specific identifier. Container labeling is unique to each hospital, but common naming protocols are numbers added sequentially and dates to track usage throughout the year.
Administration: Every time the authorized person in a practice withdraws a container to administer a drug, they need to log this activity. After each partial use of a controlled substance from an opened container, they should update the remaining balance. It’s also essential to document transfer of a controlled substance between different locations. For example, when a container is moved from its original location to a treatment room or another storage location.
Reconciliation and audit: Regular reconciliation allows identifying discrepancies between what you currently have in your containers and the quantities in your records. When you routinely compare actual counts with your logs, you can quickly spot errors and keep everyone accountable.
Destruction and disposal: Whether you do it yourself or choose a provider (VetSnap strongly recommends our partner EasyRxCycle), you should make a detailed record about the remaining container balance, date it, describe the method of disposal, and have witnesses sign it. If you need to dispose of damaged or expired containers, first separate such containers from your active inventory, documenting this in a logbook. Then proceed with the standard disposal steps.
How VetSnap Digital Logbook Integrated with Smart Lockers Simplify Container Tracking
VetSnap supports veterinary best practices for container tracking and helps clinics comply with all the inventory and logging requirements. This well-designed, easy-to-use feature ensures maximum traceability and transparency while speeding up reconciliation and physical counts.
Using a digital logbook itself simplifies tracking the balances of controlled substances and allows fixing all detected discrepancies. Yet, without connection to the storage, you will have to manually keep track of all controlled drug movements.
The integration between the VetSnap Digital Logbook with our Smart Lockers (2-Bay / 6-Bay / 14-Bay) lets you automatically track all the transactions.
Together they make a comprehensive inventory management system that ensures the complete digital trail. You get the entire picture of all accesses and activities around your controlled substances. Along with the status reporting that shows the history of every change, such as container transfers between locations. This also includes the ability to view, move, and track containers through different hospital areas, such as moving from pharmacy to surgery bays.
In day-to-day use, veterinary teams can track which containers are actively opened, their current balances, and have automatic updates of the balances (math errors will no longer be a problem!). VetSnap also notifies and automatically displays if the balances are negative or when a controlled drug has expired but is still in the active inventory.
Overall, the container-level tracking in VetSnap helps clinics understand:
- Where exactly the controlled substance is physically stored
- Which bottle / vial / container was used
- When the container was opened
- How much remained after each use
- Who accessed the storage and why
In terms of traceability, VetSnap lets you know exactly what happened with a specific container at what time and stage of a controlled substance lifecycle. You can see the most detailed container change history and create a downloadable report to bring it to an inspector whenever it’s needed. Any human error can be traced back to the person who accessed the container and addressed in full compliance with the DEA regulations. Basically, the VetSnap system allows tracking controlled substance containers in near-real-time, significantly reducing all manual work.
Have a look at what our customer of 2-years have to say about using both VetSnap Digital Logbook and a 6-Bay Smart Locker in their dental clinics across the country:
The Offer You Can’t Miss
This summer 2026 you can have the VetSnap logbook and integrated Smart Locker for a very affordable price. Our new 2-Bay Smart Lockers are now available on the market and ready for implementation. They’re designed for compact inventories, smaller practices, mobile vets, and satellite clinics. When you opt into annual hardware integration, you’ll receive $1,500 off any Smart Locker, including 2-Bay, 6-Bay, and 14-Bay units.
For the new 2-Bay, that brings your price down to just $500 — making it the most accessible way to introduce DEA-compliant controlled substance storage into your practice.
Use this amazing opportunity to upgrade your container tracking for the most affordable price!
Contact us to know more about it!