Dispensing

Question 1

What is the process?

Answer 1

Clinical and legal screen. Check details. Produce a label (nexphase), select the medicine, select packaging an course, count/measure, insert into packaging, attach labels, check, bag.

Question 2

What should be on a label?

Answer 2

Name of patient, name & address of the pharmacy, date dispensed.
“Keep out of reach and sight of children”. Name, strength and formulation of medicine. Directions for use. (For external use only - where appropriate), Cautionary/advisory label.s

Question 3

Cautionary & advisory labels

Answer 3

Important for the safe use of medicines. (BNF appendix 3)

Question 4

What must you always include when dispensing medication?

Answer 4

The patient information leaflet

Question 5

When packaging medicine. what should we remember to do?

Answer 5

• Label is legible & straight
• Do not cover important info on the box
• Expiry dates
• Storage instructions
• warnings
• Attach label to inner product and outer where appropriate
• Include spoons etc where appropriate

Question 6

Before providing the medication, what must we do?

Answer 6

check that everything is correct by two people - D, C

Question 7

What is the drug tariff?

Answer 7

List of prices of drugs and fees for pharmacies, including the NHS community pharmacy contract

Question 8

What types of medicines can nurses prescribe?

Answer 8

Community nurse practitioners - medicines for minor ailments e.g treatment for constiptation/emollients for eczema, mostly P/GSL medicines, limited quantities of painkillers.
- All appliances in the DT, stoma care, incontinence appliances, wound management

Question 9

When do we endorse a prescription?

Answer 9

• When there is more than one pack size of a product in the drug tariff e.g ibuprofen 28 and 84.
• When the prescriber has not stated a quantity of medicine and we have to calculate it e.g if antibiotics prescribed for 7 days but didn’t state a quantity- we had to calculate how many capsules to give and thus must endorse what we have given.
• When a prescriber prescribes a BRAND of medication e.g senokot (brand)

Question 10

What is the blacklist?

Answer 10

Where NHS restrictions apply and these medicines cannot be supplied on the NHS. I.e senokot 7.5mg tablets is on the blacklist, but we can prescribe generic Senna 7.5mg tabs

Question 11

What is packing down?

Answer 11

When the prescribed quantity is less than a full pack. Thus, we must remove the amount we want, with a PIL and transfer to a plain box.

Question 12

Who is exempt from prescription charges?

Answer 12

See lecture notes. (DT)

Question 13

if there are different strengths or flavours of the same item on the same FP10 form, how many charges are there?

Answer 13

One. e.g warfarin 1 and 5mg tablets.- there is 1 charge, 2 fees and 1 no charge item (NC)

Question 14

If there are different formulations of the same item on a form ,is there a charge?

Answer 14

There is a charge for each item, e.g prednisone EC 5mg tabs and prednisone 5mg tabs (2 charges, 2 fees)

Question 15

How many charges are there for combination packs?

Answer 15

If there is more than one item in a pack then there is more than 1 charge - e.g canesten oral and cream duo pack

Question 16

is there charges for contraceptive tablets?

Answer 16

There is no charge, the number of fees depends on the tablets e.g logy non 3 tablet types, no charge but 3 fees

Question 17

What should we remember to do in dispensing?

Answer 17

• Stamp
• Number of items
• Endorsement where necessary
• Bag label (& label on item)
• Did the product have more than one label?
• Was there an outer package to label too?
• Spoon or syringe if needed

Question 18

What to do if packing down?

Answer 18

White box, add PIL, submit original package too.