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Bluttin December 2012 - Issue No.2
Guide to Dispensing for
Junior Pharmacists and Pharmacy Students
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ispensing of medicines is one of the 6. Label the medications. major continuous roles of pharmacists. 1. Accept prescription Appropriate dispensing is an important aspect in rational use of medicines. • Greet the patient/client and initiate good The pharmacy setting is friendly and less friendly communication. inhibiting to patients, the relationship between • Establish the identity of the patient, age the pharmacist and patient is a friendly one with and his/ her gender. Many prescriptions are obtained on behalf of patients by easy interaction. The pharmacist has a good family members or friends. opportunity to advise and counsel patients, and further explain the doctors’ instructions.
Steps of rational dispensing 1. Accept prescription and establish good communication with client/patient. 2. Check prescription for medication related problems. 3. Revise the Patient Medication Record (PMR) or obtain medication history. 4. Retrieve items from shelves (dispense). 5. Inform and instruct.
2. Check prescription for medication related problems 1. Over dose (dose too high). 2. Under dose (dose too low). 3. Adverse drug reactions. 4. Drug interactions: drug-drug, food-drug or drug-laboratory test interaction.
3. Revise The Patient Medication Record (PMR) or obtain medication history
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treatment. You may briefly explain about the disease. What effects will be seen, and when. What side effects will occur and how to manage them. When to consult pharmacist/doctor. Should certain foods be avoided e.g. grapefruit. Whether to refill prescription; what to do with the remainder of medication. Remember to summarize the given information and stress important parts
To perform this step you need to obtain information from the patient/client. You need to know their age, gender, if female whether pregnant or lactating, if the patient has any co-existing diseases or health condition, if the patient is taking other medications (or home remedies). Remember; you must ask to obtain this information. Do not assume anything.
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4. Retrieve the medication from the shelf
To help patients to remember the important information, label the medication with clear writing.
Make sure that you checked the generic name of the medicine to ensure that you have selected the correct items from the shelves. Check the expiry date and the total amount to be dispensed is correct.
The label should contain:
5. Inform and instruct This is a very important step, with good information and instruction you ensure that patients understand their medication/s and use them appropriately and so ensure benefits. Time spent to explain to patients is time well utilized. What information should be given to the patient/client? • How to use medicines: explain the method of administration. You may open the package and demonstrate use. • Dosing regimen: when to take medicines, what amount, for how long, with meals or not and what to do if the patient misses a dose. • The importance of medication in
Federal Ministry of Health
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6. Label medication
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The patient name. Dose and frequency of use. Route of administration. Duration of use. How to store.
Dispensing of POM must be supervised by the pharmacist. No prescription should be dispensed without the pharmacist overseeing it, because this is the legal and professional obligation of the phamacist in charge Assisting staff can help with dispensing e.g. they can retrieve items and write labels (approved by pharmacist).
Directorate General of Pharmacy