Clinical pharmacology and prescribing Flashcards
1
Q
What are the 4 main steps to take prior to writing a prescription?
A
- Make a diagnosis
(patients can come in with very general symptoms like a constant cough but you cant prescribe something for the cough until you are confident of a diagnosis) - Make a therapeutic decision
(identify what the treatment goal is eg is it to treat the symptoms or is it to treat underlying disease) - Choose a medicine
(for this you need to know the efficacy of the drug, the safety (any health risks/durg interaction/side effects - also does the patient have any allergies) and appropriateness (can the patient afford it/is it funded, how often do you need to take it - is the patient likely to adhere to the treatment plan, what is the route of administration) - Choose a dosing regimen
Choose a route of dellivery (IV injection, oral tablet, skin patch etc), choose the dose by population basis, group basis (for disease states that influence the response) or by individual basis (for drugs with lots of interactions).
2
Q
What are the essential pieces of information to have on a prescription?
A
Doctors;
Name, MCNZ rego number, physcial address, contact number and signature
Patients;
Name, full residential address and age if under 13
3
Q
What are the 3 main parts of a prescription?
A
- What is the medicine (Rx)
- How it is to be taken (Sig)
- How much does the pharmicist need to supply (M)
4
Q
What are the 3 main steps to take after writing a prescription?
A
- Counsel the patient
(you are their main source of info - tell them all about it and what to expect but dont overload with too much info) - Monitor the response
(know which drugs to look out for and know the tests, signs and symptoms of effects) - Review the medicine
(any drug prescription if ongoing should be reviewed on a regular basis to check up and often re go over the adverse effects and treatment plan). No drug can be prescribed for more than 3 months.
