Colorado WIC Program Policies and Procedures Section 2: Nutrition Services Revised: 01/01/2025

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Ordering Instructions for Products Not on Retail Shelves

Policy: Local agency WIC staff may special order infant formulas and WIC-eligible nutritionals when a formula is not locally available within the needed time frame, in the quantities needed, or is excessively priced. Orders must be submitted on a monthly basis; no more than one month’s issuance of formula may be ordered at a time. All special order formula requests must be sent to the state office. Ward Road Pharmacy and Sentido Healthcare are the Colorado WIC Program’s authorized retailers for formulas not available at local retailers.

Regulations: Colorado WIC Policy

Procedure/Additional Guidance: Perform the following steps to special order formula:

1. Ensure that the correct formula is assigned to the client’s food package for that month and will be picked up by the endorser/client during the valid benefit period.

2. Issue benefits to the family’s PAN.

3. Complete the Special Formula Order Form for each formula requested.

a. Enter the clients’s first name only. If a household has two or more clients needing the same formula, please submit separate orders for each client. b. Enter the benefit start date (always the first day of the benefit month) and the appointment date. The appointment date is the date the formula is needed and must be within the monthly benefit date range. c. Enter the PAN (eWIC card number) in this format: first 6 digits, hyphen, last 10 digits. d. Choose the formula type: standard, specialty, or metabolic. e. From the drop down list of formulas, select the specific formula, ensuring the correct form (powder, concentrate, RTF), size, and flavor (if available). Verify that the formula being ordered matches the formula that is issued to the client and is included in their benefits. If a requested formula or flavor doesn’t display*, enter it in the other comments field. *Note: If a desired formula or flavor does not display, it may be because it is not available through the specialty ordering process. f. Indicate the order amount and the unit (can, case, or 6-pack). The unit type must match what is issued on the eWIC card in Compass. g. Indicate the amount already in the clinic (if any). h. Select the WIC clinic name from the drop down list. If the clinic name doesn’t display, enter it in the other comments field. i. Enter any additional information in the other comments field, such as clinic closure dates. If the formula is being delivered to the client’s home, include the endorser’s full name and the delivery address in the comments field.

4. If printing the Family Food Benefits list, draw a line through the formula name and note “ordered from Ward Road Pharmacy/Sentido Health.” Instruct the family not to purchase the formula at a retail store; they will pick it up at the clinic or, in rare situations, it will be delivered to their home. If picking up at the clinic, schedule a time within the valid food benefit date for them to return to the clinic to pick up the formula.

5. Submit subsequent month’s orders by the 15th of the current month (when possible).

Confirmation of Orders Local staff ordering the formula will receive three emails: 1) automated confirmation of submitted order; 2) copied on email from state office to our pharmacy vendors. This email includes an authorization code and serves as confirmation that the order has been fully processed 3) email from one of the pharmacy vendors with the date the

Colorado WIC Program Policies and Procedures Section 2: Nutrition Services Revised: 01/01/2025

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formula should arrive at the clinic. Email cdphe.wicformula@state.co.us if any of those confirmation emails are not received.

Order Changes Email cdphe.wicformula@state.co.us to cancel an order or change quantities of a formula that has already been ordered prior to making any changes to the family’s eWIC card in Compass. Wait for directions from State Office before making Compass changes.

Formula Pick-up Confirmation When the formula is picked up at the clinic, obtain the endorser’s signature on the packing slip (from the pharmacy shipment box), record the date and save the form in a specialty formula order file. Signed packing slips may be destroyed 3 ½ years from the end of the applicable fiscal year.

When endorser/client does not pick up the special formula Make every effort to contact the endorser/client to learn whether the formula will be picked up. If formula will not be picked up, learn why and document details in the client’s care plan.

1. If formula that has never left the clinic is not provided to the client for whom it was originally intended, the formula may be issued to another WIC client, donated to a local hospital, or destroyed. If reissue is preferred and a recipient is not identified within the local agency, Email the state office at cdphe.wicformula@state.co.us. 2. If a new recipient is identified for the unclaimed formula, follow the instructions below. The original clinic: a. When a new client is identified within the same agency: Emails the state office at cdphe.wicformula@state.co.us with the name, FID and, clinic/agency of the new recipient. Make no changes in Compass until state office staff have reviewed the situation to ensure payment for the formula has been processed.

OR

b. When the new client identified is served at a different agency: Works directly with the other clinic/agency RD to arrange transfer of the formula, which may be in person, by courier, or by mail. Include the Ward Road Pharmacy/Sentido Health packing slip in the shipment. a. The receiving clinic: i. Provides the formula to the new recipient within the client’s valid benefit period. ii. Obtains the endorser’s signature and date on the packing slip and keeps the packing slip in the Ward Road file. iii. Notifies the state office Formula Inbox (cdphe.wicformula@state.co.us ) to remove the formula benefits from the new client’s account for that month.

3. If the formula is donated or disposed of and not issued to a client, staff must document the disposition on the packing slip, sign, date, and retain in the Ward Road order file.

Home Delivery In rare situations and with state office approval, special formulas can be delivered to client homes. For home deliveries, WIC staff must notify clients in advance of the delivery date and confirm that clients still need the next month’s formula order, including verifying that the formula name and quantity have not changed. Confirmation of successful home delivery is maintained in a central file at the state office and includes tracking information provided by Ward Road Pharmacy and Sentido Health.

All Other Questions/Issues Related to Specialty Formula Orders Local agency staff should email cdphe.wicformula@state.co.us for guidance on all specialty formula order situations not specifically addressed.

Colorado WIC Program Policies and Procedures Section 2: Nutrition Services Revised: 01/01/2025

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