AQ ePSFAQ ePSF · Electronic pharmacy site file

Every vial accounted for, every log in its place.

The electronic pharmacy site file for NHS Trusts, CRDC hubs and spokes, academic units and CROs. IMP accountability, dispensing, cold chain and calibration held as tracked slots with due dates and named owners — readiness calculated straight from the file.

IMP CHAIN OF CUSTODY · STD-63822 · ALDER HEY Reconciled 100% AI assist
Received 480 CC VER
In storage 312 DIP LOG
Dispensed 148 CDL
Returned 14 RET
Destroyed 6 DST
Cold chain · 30 days · 2–8 °C 1 excursion
Day 19 — 9.4 °C for 40 min. Excursion report filed, CAPA-118 closed.
Accountability reconciled 480 / 480
Storage logs filed 30 / 30
Calibration overdue BSCCERT
ICH-GCP E6(R3) ALCOA+ 21 CFR Part 11 NHS DSPT UK-hosted
Where control breaks down

Four ways the pharmacy file drifts out of step with the product it accounts for.

01

Temperature excursions surface after the fact

A fridge log is reviewed weekly. An excursion is discovered days after the product was already dispensed.

Detected 6 days
Typical gap between excursion and review.
02

IMP accountability is reconciled retrospectively

Receipt, dispensing, return and destruction are recorded separately, then reconciled at the next monitoring visit.

Detected Next visit
Reconciliation happens when a monitor asks.
03

Calibration certificates lapse unnoticed

Fridge probes, balances and freezers each renew annually. Nothing counts the days for you.

Detected On expiry
Nothing counts down to the renewal date.
04

Pharmacy sits outside the site file

The investigator file is governed; the pharmacy file is a lever-arch folder in a locked cupboard.

Detected Never
Pharmacy readiness is not reported at all.
1 in 3 IMP findings trace to accountability records
Days between an excursion and its review on paper
Annual calibration renewals nothing counts down to
Operational scope

8 controls over product, record and signature.

Product movement, storage conditions and sign-off are held under one governed structure — each control writing to the record the next one reads.

Pharmacy binders

A pharmacy binder created from its own template, applied across one site or every site.

Temp logFiled
DispensingPending
CalibrationDue 2d
Binder type — eISF or ePSF — is chosen when the binder is created, and shown in the breadcrumb thereafter.

Pharmacy milestone library

Reusable definitions for the pharmacy events a study expects, each with its document set.

DIP LOG milestone88%
Signatures14/16
Codes appear throughout the module — CDL for the cumulative dispensing log, CC VER for cold-chain receipt verification.

Roles & permissions

Configurable roles governing who may upload, sign, certify or administer the pharmacy file.

UpSignCertTechPharmMon
Permissions grouped in Role Management
Roles are fully configurable by the System Administrator to match your organisation’s structure.

Accountability placeholders

Every expected log and certificate held as a tracked slot with a status, a due date and an owner.

Temp log
05.01
Fulfilled
Calibration
08.02
Overdue 2d
Dispensing log
03.04
Due 30 Sep
Pending, Overdue, Awaiting dates, Fulfilled or Waived — each status defined and calculated, not asserted.

Uploading records

Uploads fulfil the placeholder they were opened from, with metadata captured at intake.

Drop into the slot
DIP_LOG.pdf · ID DIP-0912 required
Select the placeholder and the upload panel opens pre-linked to that slot — from the tree or from Site overview.

Signature & certification

Re-authentication at the moment of signing, and a formal wizard for certifying a true copy.

Password••••••
Access code3 digits
CertifiedSHA-256
Signing requires the user’s password and specified digits of their access code, with a recorded reason.

Dashboard & reporting

Six views and four exports, every one drawn from the live pharmacy record.

94%
Ready
7
Pending
3
Overdue
HUB · S02 · S03 · S04 · S05
Command Centre, Signatures, Inspection Readiness, Missing Required, Overdue & At-Risk, Site Comparison.

Versions & governance

Revision, locking and removal — each retained in full, each requiring re-authentication.

v3Current · locked
v2Superseded
v1Superseded
A revised log supersedes its predecessor; the earlier version stays available and the signature requirement resets.
AscensionQ The temperature log the template anticipated is the log the inspector reads.
Anticipated by the template
Configuration
Filed against its placeholder
Documentation
Signed and certified
Compliance
Evidenced in the readiness figure
Oversight
Captured at the point of handling, attributable from receipt to destruction.
Connected, not bundled
ePSF holds the pharmacy record that the wider AQ platform reads.

Adopt the pharmacy file on its own, or extend the same governance across the rest of the platform.

Two binder types

Pharmacy and investigator files, governed separately.

Pharmacy and investigator documentation are governed as distinct binders under one module. Choose the type at creation; each then runs its own folder library, template, reference date and readiness figure.

ePSF · Pharmacy Site File
Binder type selected at creation
This module
Folder library — sample
03.01 IMP Receipt & Shipment
03.04 Dispensing Logs
05.01 Storage Temperature
08.02 Equipment Calibration
The file a pharmacy inspection examines.
Owned by the pharmacy team.
Its own template and reference date.
You are here
eISF · Investigator Site File
Same module, separate binder
Separate file
Folder library — sample
02.05 Protocol & Amendments
04.02 IRB / REC Approvals
06.01 Informed Consent Form
07.03 Delegation of Authority
Protocol, approvals and consent.
Owned by the research team.
Runs alongside ePSF, independently.
Explore AQ eISF
Identical mechanics, either side
Learn the pharmacy file and you already know the investigator file — a study may run both, each from its own template.
A separate folder library per binder type
The same five placeholder states
Identical signature and certification rules
The same readiness arithmetic
One permanent audit trail
Inside a study binder

From expected record to filed accountability.

One screen, four steps. Select a step to move the same temperature log through it.

AscensionQ STD-63822 · ePSF · Alder Hey Children's Conduct phase
Folder tree
01.02 Pharmacy Team & Training
03.01 IMP Receipt & Shipment
03.04 Dispensing Logs
05.01 Storage Temperature Log Pending
Required 30 Sep 2026
08.02 Equipment Calibration
09.03 Return & Destruction
Document placeholder

The template has created the slot: folder 05.01, milestone DIP LOG, due 30 Sep, owner named, signature required. Nothing has been filed, and the gap already counts against readiness.

Daily IP Storage Temperature Log
05.01 — Storage and Environment · Required · Pending
Required Required
Status Pending
Milestone DIP LOG
Due rule Recurring monthly from the reference date
Due date 30 Sep 2026
Owner Pharmacy technician
Signature
Signer role: Chief Pharmacist
DoneMC
PendingTS
One record, read from four benches

What changes for the person handling the product.

Pharmacy technician
Temperature and dispensing logs file themselves into place.
0
paper logs to transcribe
Before
Recording fridge temperatures on paper, filed weekly.
Dispensing entries reconciled at the next visit.
Chasing the pharmacist for a signature.
AscensionQWith AQ ePSF
Each log is a placeholder with its own due date.
Dispensing files to its slot as it is recorded.
The signer is notified before the date, not after.
Aligned to the standards a pharmacy inspection applies
Validation packs and assurance evidence supplied on request.
ICH-GCP E6(R3) UK CT Regulations MHRA ALCOA+ 21 CFR Part 11
The gate between one study phase and the next

A phase closes only when the pharmacy file is clear.

Progression runs forward through five phases and never back. A closed phase reopens read-only, so the pharmacy record proves what it held then as well as now.

Pre-study
Start-up
Conduct
Close-out
Post-study
Gate held · start-up → conduct
Spoke 04 · BSCCERT calibration — overdue 2 days
Spoke 04 · CDL dispensing log — awaiting signature
Advance unlocks when both items clear
The arithmetic
Doc readiness 96%
46 fulfilled ÷ 48 applicable
Signatures 93%
41 signed ÷ 44 required
Waived placeholders leave the applicable count, with the reason on the record.
Authority rests with a person
Signature, following re-authentication
Certification of a true copy
Closing a record
Advancing the study phase
The readiness figure
Each requires re-authentication at the moment it is taken.
Alongside what you already run

Paper logs answer to nobody until the monitor arrives.

IMP accountability, fridge logs and calibration certificates still live on paper and in spreadsheets at most sites. None of it reports its own state.

SHA-256
hash verified on every certified copy
6-digit code
required to sign or certify, every time
UK-hosted
aligned with NHS DSPT expectations
G-Cloud listed
published pricing, service, exit terms
Capability an inspection asks for
Paper logs
Sponsor portal
IMP system
SharePoint
AQ ePSF
The expected pharmacy-record list, per study and per site
Every expected log and certificate is a tracked slot
Recurring log due dates calculated automatically
One shipment date drives every recurring due date
Calibration expiry surfaced before it lapses
Owner notified −7d, due, +1d and +7d
Continuous IMP accountability, not retrospective
Partial
Partial
Receipt, dispensing, return and destruction on one trail
Signature bound to the version signed
Partial
Partial
Password, access-code digits and a recorded reason
A defensible pharmacy readiness figure
Partial
Fulfilled ÷ applicable, with the working shown
Permanent, read-only audit trail
Partial
Partial
Partial
Every receipt, dispense, signature and version, exportable

MHRA inspection findings repeatedly cite investigational product accountability and storage records — the documentation most often held on paper, and the least able to report its own state.

“Receipt through to destruction sits on one accountability trail. When a monitor comes to pharmacy we open the binder rather than clearing a bench and starting a reconciliation.”

CP
Chief Pharmacist
NHS Foundation Trust · named on request
ePSF solution story
Global clinical-logistics & specimen provider
~60
days to go-live across the network
Real-time
sponsor & CRO visibility at every facility
ALCOA+
audit trail from receipt to destruction

Continuous IMP accountability and cold-chain visibility extended upstream, across a global clinical-logistics network.

AQ ePSF sits over the network as the electronic accountability layer.
Sponsor and CRO visibility at the depot and kit-production layer, not just at the site.
One audit trail from receipt through to destruction.
Read the case study
Before you commit

Questions research teams ask.

Not covered here? Write to us at enquiries@aq-trials.com.

The controlled repository for pharmacy-level study documentation: investigational product receipt and accountability, dispensing and cumulative dispensing logs, storage temperature records, cold-chain verification, equipment calibration certificates and, where applicable, environmental monitoring. It is the pharmacy’s own record of how it handled the product, and the file examined when an inspector visits the pharmacy.

Take control

Request a live AQ platform
demonstration.

Thirty minutes on your own studies — documentation, study activity, quality processes and pharmacy, in one governed record.

BOOK A DEMO

Request a Guided AQ Tour

Practical walkthroughs aligned with active research delivery.

We’ll only use your details to arrange your demo and
send relevant AQ updates. No spam.

AQUsed only to arrange your demo. No spam, no third parties.REPLY WITHIN ONE WORKING DAY
01The modules that match your study operations
02A real workflow, end to end, with the audit trail
03Onboarding, configuration and your timeline
21 CFR PART 11ICH-GCPDSPTCYBER ESSENTIALSG-CLOUD
Free guides · PDF
Find the right guide for you

Pick a module, your organisation type, or both — we'll match the guides and email them to you.

Most popular guides
Explore
15+ guides

Free guides · PDF

Guides matched to you.

Written for first-in-human & Phase 1 sites

Inspection-ready checklists & templates

Aligned to MHRA, FDA & EU Annex 11