diff --git a/src/__tests__/retired-route-links-guard.test.ts b/src/__tests__/retired-route-links-guard.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b5d11d6d5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/__tests__/retired-route-links-guard.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+/**
+ * Links point at a route that renders, not at a retired one that only
+ * redirects: every hop through a redirect is a round trip on a phone, and
+ * the redirect stubs exist for old bookmarks, not for the app's own links.
+ */
+import { readdirSync, readFileSync, statSync } from "node:fs";
+import { join, relative } from "node:path";
+
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+
+const ROOT = join(__dirname, "..", "..");
+
+/** Retired route → where it redirects. */
+const RETIRED: Record<string, string> = {
+  "/medications/new": "/medications?new=1",
+};
+
+function walk(dir: string): string[] {
+  return readdirSync(dir).flatMap((name) => {
+    if (name === "__tests__" || name === "generated") return [];
+    const abs = join(dir, name);
+    if (statSync(abs).isDirectory()) return walk(abs);
+    return /\.tsx?$/.test(name) ? [abs] : [];
+  });
+}
+
+describe("no link targets a retired route", () => {
+  const files = walk(join(ROOT, "src"));
+
+  it("scans the source tree", () => {
+    expect(files.length).toBeGreaterThan(100);
+  });
+
+  it.each(Object.entries(RETIRED))("%s is linked as %s", (route) => {
+    const pattern = new RegExp(
+      `(?:href|push|replace)[=(]\\s*\\{?\\s*["'\`]${route.replace(/\//g, "\\/")}["'\`?#]`,
+    );
+    const offenders = files
+      .filter((file) => pattern.test(readFileSync(file, "utf8")))
+      .map((file) => relative(ROOT, file));
+    expect(offenders).toEqual([]);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/components/charts/medication-compliance-chart.tsx b/src/components/charts/medication-compliance-chart.tsx
index 0a5e1659b..13697a4c7 100644
--- a/src/components/charts/medication-compliance-chart.tsx
+++ b/src/components/charts/medication-compliance-chart.tsx
@@ -564,7 +564,7 @@ export function MedicationComplianceChart({
           action={
             canWriteDomain("medications") ? (
               <Button asChild size="sm">
-                <Link href="/medications/new">
+                <Link href="/medications?new=1">
                   {t("charts.medicationsEmptyAction")}
                 </Link>
               </Button>
diff --git a/src/components/layout/__tests__/sidebar-nav.test.tsx b/src/components/layout/__tests__/sidebar-nav.test.tsx
index cbc5566a8..45500ad35 100644
--- a/src/components/layout/__tests__/sidebar-nav.test.tsx
+++ b/src/components/layout/__tests__/sidebar-nav.test.tsx
@@ -559,3 +559,16 @@ describe("<SidebarNav> width transition never overflows the nav", () => {
     );
   });
 });
+
+describe("<SidebarNav> carries no rules for a viewport it never shows on", () => {
+  it("has no short-touch variants, which the phone shell owns", () => {
+    // A touch screen at most 520 px tall gets the phone shell (the
+    // `shell-mobile` variant), so the rail is hidden there and a class keyed
+    // on that query can never apply.
+    const source = readFileSync(
+      join(__dirname, "..", "sidebar-nav.tsx"),
+      "utf8",
+    );
+    expect(source).not.toMatch(/pointer:coarse\)_and_\(height<=520px\)/);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/components/layout/sidebar-nav.tsx b/src/components/layout/sidebar-nav.tsx
index 88031141a..68ea65357 100644
--- a/src/components/layout/sidebar-nav.tsx
+++ b/src/components/layout/sidebar-nav.tsx
@@ -334,20 +334,15 @@ function SidebarUserSection({ collapsed }: { collapsed: boolean }) {
 // Disjoint height ranges, not nested max-heights: two arbitrary media
 // variants on one property cascade in stylesheet order, not by how narrow
 // the query is, so a nested pair let the 36 px step win on a 720 px window.
-// The height steps apply to a mouse only. Under a finger (a touch tablet,
-// a phone held sideways past the md breakpoint) the rows keep the 44 px
-// touch floor and the list scrolls behind its fades instead.
+// The height steps apply to a mouse only. Under a finger (a touch tablet)
+// the rows keep the 44 px touch floor and the list scrolls behind its fades
+// instead. A phone held sideways never sees the rail: it keeps the phone
+// shell (`shell-mobile`).
 const RAIL_ROW_HEIGHT =
   "min-h-10 pointer-coarse:min-h-11 [@media(hover:hover)_and_(pointer:fine)_and_(740px<height<=820px)]:min-h-9 [@media(hover:hover)_and_(pointer:fine)_and_(height<=740px)]:min-h-8";
 const RAIL_LIST_GAP = "space-y-1 [@media(max-height:940px)]:space-y-0";
 const RAIL_SHORT_PY = "[@media(max-height:940px)]:py-1.5";
 
-// Literal class strings: Tailwind only generates what it can read whole.
-const RAIL_SHORT_TOUCH_COLUMN =
-  "[@media(pointer:coarse)_and_(height<=520px)]:overflow-y-auto [@media(pointer:coarse)_and_(height<=520px)]:[scrollbar-width:none] [@media(pointer:coarse)_and_(height<=520px)]:[&::-webkit-scrollbar]:hidden [@media(pointer:coarse)_and_(height<=520px)]:[&>*]:shrink-0";
-const RAIL_SHORT_TOUCH_NAV =
-  "[@media(pointer:coarse)_and_(height<=520px)]:flex-none [@media(pointer:coarse)_and_(height<=520px)]:overflow-visible";
-
 /** Rail row, collapsed (icon only) or expanded (icon + label). */
 function railRowClass(collapsed: boolean): string {
   return cn(
@@ -698,11 +693,6 @@ export function SidebarNav() {
           data-slot="sidebar-column"
           className={cn(
             "flex h-full w-full flex-col",
-            // A phone held sideways crosses the md breakpoint at ~390 px of
-            // height: the fixed footer and user rows left the list three
-            // rows. There the whole column scrolls as one (no native bar),
-            // so every entry stays reachable at the 44 px touch floor.
-            RAIL_SHORT_TOUCH_COLUMN,
             !collapsed && SIDEBAR_EXPANDED_CONTENT_WIDTH,
           )}
         >
@@ -743,7 +733,6 @@ export function SidebarNav() {
             // the focused row clear of them.
             className={cn(
               "flex-1 scroll-py-6 [scrollbar-width:none] overflow-y-auto [&::-webkit-scrollbar]:hidden",
-              RAIL_SHORT_TOUCH_NAV,
               collapsed ? "p-1.5" : "p-3",
               RAIL_SHORT_PY,
             )}