POMs 2 - wholesale dealing and dispensing errors Flashcards
other names for wholesale dealing
requisitions
signed orders
What is wholesale dealing?
selling of a medicinal product is classed as ‘wholesale dealing’ if it is sold to a person who:
a) sells or supplies it to someone else
OR
b) administers it to someone else in the course of their business
(they don’t take/use product)
sale -> money must change hands
What is needed to wholesale deal?
wholesale dealers licence
authority responsible for wholesale dealers licence
MHRA
Why don’t pharmacies need wholesale dealers licence?
don’t need licence providing supply to another pharmacy/hc practitioner:
- takes place not more than on an occasional basis
AND
- quantity supplied is small
AND
- supply is made on a not for profit basis
AND
- supply is not for onward wholesale distribution
When would community pharmacy need wholesale dealers licence?
if commercial trading in medicines takes place
Who can retail pharmacies wholesale deal meds to?
sale of POMs can only happen if purchaser is authorised to sell or supply the goods or to administer them to people in the course of their business/professional practice
ALSO:
- NHS trusts
- owner/master of a ship
- armed forces
What is the request for meds written on?
requisition AKA signed order
requirements for details on signed order/requisition
NO legal requirements for info on requisition
** UNLESS it’s a CD
hospital pharmacies and wholesale dealing
hospital pharmacies that are not registered pharmacies can not wholesale deal without wholesale dealers licence
records for wholesale dealing
** if pharmacy DOES NOT have licence:
- no legal obligtion to make a record in POM register as long as signed order kept for 2 YEARS from date of supply
- BUT good practice to make record in POM register (AND keep invoice for 2 years)
** if there is no signed order then LEGALLY a POM register entry must be made
details for POM register for wholesale dealing
- date when POM was sold
- name, quantity, form, strength of the med supplied
- name, address, trade, business or profession of the purchaser
- PURPOSE for which the POM is sold/supplied
pack size for wholesale dealing
preferable to supply whole packs
optometrist/podiatirst signed orders for patients
- optometrist/podiatirsts can’t write Rx for POMs unless SP/IP
- pharmacist in retail pharmacy can supply POMs to pt if they received a signed order from optometrist/podiatirst
- this signed order it not legally a Rx so no legal requirements
- list of meds that can be supplied (drugs for supply and drugs for admin)
- only ‘drugs for supply’ can be supplied to the optometrist/podiatirst pt
- med should be labelled as dispensed med product, PIL supplied
What is an ‘additional supply optometrist’?
optometrist who has undertaken additional training and can issue signed orders for a wider range of medicines
supply of meds to schools
- schools can obtain adrenaline auto-injectors (AAIs) and salbutamol inhalers from pharmacy on signed order
- can be admin in emergency by trained person to pupil prescribed them and parent consent
legal requirements for signed order from school for adrenaline and salbutamol
- name of the school
- name of the medicine and strength (if relevant)
- purpose for which the product is required
- total quantity required
- signed by the principal or head teacher
How long to keep the signed order from a school for?
2 years
record of signed order from schools?
good practice to make a record in the POM register
What to ensure when supplying to schools?
pharmacist should ensure the school knows how to store and use the medicine correctly
and draw attention to the expiry date
how to use salbutmol inhaler
What is a dispensing error?
an error made during the dispensing process from receipt of the Rx through to the supply of the dispensed medicine, where the error means the patient receives a medicine which differs in some way from that intended by the prescriber
examples of dispensing errors
- incorrect labelling of the medicine
- a medicine intended for another patient being
dispensed to the wrong patient - wrong med (drug ingredient) being dispensed
- med being dispensed at the wrong strength or in the wrong dosage form
- supply of an out of date medicine
What act controls dispensing errors?
Medicines Act 1968
SECTION 64:
‘No person shall, to the prejudice of the purchaser, sell any medicinal product which is not of the nature or quality demanded by the purchaser’
What offence is a dispensing error?
criminal offence
What provides leal defence that can be used if dispensing error is made?
Pharmacy Order 2018
Preparation and Dispensing Errors – Registered Pharmacies
(but still a criminal offence)
What is the legal defence?
Making a dispensing error is not a criminal offence if:
- meds are prepared by a registrant (pharmacist or PT) or acting under their supervision
AND
- meds were supplied from a registered pharmacy premises
AND
- registrant was acting in the course of their profession
AND
- meds were supplied in pursuance of a Rx or from the direction of a prescriber
AND
- if you’re aware of the error there was a prompt notification of the error
** if all of these apply, this is the legal defence to section 64
When would criminal charges apply in relation to dispensing errors?
if the intention was to cause harm (deliberate)
OR
criminal negligence was suspected
