Pharmacy Management System

A simple online system for local pharmacies to manage users-role system, medicines, prescriptions, inventory, and orders efficiently.

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Introduction

Pharmacy Management System is a full-stack web application that enables pharmacies to manage:

• Inventory of medicines
• User roles and authentication
• Prescription uploads and approvals
• Order placement and tracking

It supports both administrators and pharmacists in managing pharmacy workflows and assists patients in ordering medicines with or without prescriptions.

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Problem Statement

Pharmacy management systems often struggle with inefficient inventory tracking and prescription processing, leading to medication errors and operational delays.

• Manual inventory tracking leads to 15-20% medication waste annually
• 40% of pharmacies report prescription processing delays >24 hours

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Tech Stack

Layer	Technology
Backend	Node.js, Express
Database	MySQL
Frontend	NOT SPECIFIED
Auth	JWT + Role-Based Access

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System Overview

Features

• User Registration and Role-Based Access (Admin, Pharmacist, Patient/Customer)
• Medicine Inventory Management
• Upload & Approve Prescriptions
• Order Medicines with Cart System
• Track Order History

Core Modules

• User Management
• Authentication
• Inventory Management
• Prescription Handling
• Order Management

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User Flow Diagram

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Task Breakdown

Task 1: System Design & Setup

• Purpose, Design, and Feature Overview
• Create ER Diagram and Plan DB Schema
• Setup project structure for frontend & backend
• Initialize package.json and install dependencies

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Task 2: Feature Development

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Authentication

• JWT-based login & registration
• Role-based access control

Steps:

1. Create registration & login forms (React)
2. Create /register and /login API routes (Node.js)
3. Hash passwords using bcrypt and issue JWT tokens
4. Store user info in MySQL users table
5. Enforce role-based route access

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User Management

• Handle different roles: Admin, Pharmacist, Patient, Doctor
• Define role hierarchy and permissions

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Setup Steps

1. Design Entity Relationship (ER) Diagram
2. Create MySQL tables from the schema
3. Create backend folder structure (Node.js + Express)
4. Initialize project using npm init -y
5. Seed database with sample data

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Medicine Inventory Module

Features

• Admin: Add, Edit, Delete, and View Medicines (CRUD)
• Patient: Browse available medicines
• Automatically subtract stock when an order is placed
• Restock when new deliveries arrive
• Alert on low stock levels

Implementation Steps

1. Backend APIs for CRUD operations (Node.js + Express)
2. Admin UI for inventory control (React/Next.js)
3. Patient UI to browse medicines (React/Next.js)

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Prescription Upload Module

Features

• Patients can upload prescriptions (PDF or Image)
• Pharmacists/Admins can approve or reject them

Implementation Steps

1. Setup file upload using Multer (Node.js)
2. Store file path and metadata in the prescriptions table
3. Admin/Pharmacist UI to view and approve/reject files

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Cart & Order Module

Features

• Patients can add medicines to cart
• Checkout process to place orders
• View order history and track statuses

Implementation Steps

1. Implement cart system (Frontend state management + backend persistence)
2. Checkout API to insert into orders and order_items tables

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Project Root Structure

pharmacy-app/
│
├── backend/                # Express + Node + MySQL
├── frontend/               # React (or Next.js if SSR)
├── database/               # SQL schema, ERD, migrations
├── docs/                   # Docs, flowcharts, UI mockups
├── .env                    # Global shared settings (if any)
├── README.md
└── docker-compose.yml      # (optional: for dev containers)

backend Structure

backend/
│
├── src/
│   ├── config/             # MySQL config, .env loader
│   ├── controllers/        # Business logic (e.g. userController.js)
│   ├── middlewares/        # auth, error handling, logging
│   ├── models/             # SQL logic or ORM (e.g. Sequelize/Knex)
│   ├── routes/             # Route files grouped by domain
│   ├── services/           # Logic used by controllers (e.g. token, mail)
│   ├── utils/              # Common utilities (validators, helpers)
│   ├── uploads/            # Prescription file storage
│   └── app.js              # Express app setup
│
├── tests/                  # Backend unit/integration tests
├── server.js               # Entry point
├── .env
└── package.json

frontend Structure

frontend/
│
├── public/                 # Static files
├── src/
│   ├── assets/             # Icons, images
│   ├── components/         # Reusable components (Button, Card, etc.)
│   ├── layouts/            # Page layouts (DashboardLayout, AuthLayout)
│   ├── pages/              # Route-level pages (Login, Inventory, Orders)
│   ├── services/           # API requests (Axios-based)
│   ├── contexts/           # React context (auth, cart, etc.)
│   ├── hooks/              # Custom hooks
│   ├── utils/              # Formatters, converters
│   └── App.jsx
│
├── tests/                  # Frontend tests (Jest + Testing Library)
├── .env
└── package.json

database (MySQL)

database/
│
├── schemas/                # SQL schema definitions
│   └── pharmacy_schema.sql
│
├── migrations/             # Optional: migration scripts
├── seeders/                # Mock data for testing/dev
└── erd/                    # PNG/SVG/Draw.io of ER diagram

docs Directory

docs/
│
├── system_design.md
├── feature_checklists/
├── screenshots/
└── api_docs.md

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Future Features (Extended)

• Admin Dashboard for full system analytics
• Advanced search & filtering on medicines
• Payment integration (Stripe/PayPal)
• Invoice generator on order confirmation
• Multi-store management for chain pharmacies
• Doctor module for digital prescription issuance
• Email notifications for orders and approvals
• Real-time chat support for patient queries