Selling medicines Flashcards
Do GSL medicines come in small or large quantities?
They come in small quantities as they do not require the presence of a Pharmacist so they can be sold by people who have no pharmacy knowledge (e.g Supermarket cashier).
What determines whether something is POM?
High strength
Large pack size
Type of medication it is
What is the difference between the proprietary and generic name?
Proprietary name is essentially the brand name and therefore is the name to the medicine provided by the manufacturer. Generic name is the active ingredients present within the medication.
What does WWHAM stand for?
Who is the patient? What are their symptoms? How long have the symptoms been present? Action taken? Medication on?
What is the clearest sign of medicine abuse?
Excessive purchasing or very specific items
Describe some of the OTC medicines that are commonly abused?
Aerosols: can be sniffed Anti histamines: for drowsiness Co-codamol: opioid addiction Laxatives: appropriate use by dieters Paracetamol: for suicide attempts Citric acid: dilute drugs Acetone: abused as a solvent Night nurse: dextromethorphan Ephedrine and pseduoephedrine: used to make methamphetamine
What OTC is commonly used to dilute drugs?
Citric acid
Which OTC product is used to fuel a dextromethorphan addiction?
Night nurse
How are laxatives abused?
Dieters use them as a harmful form of weight loss
How are aerosols abused?
Can be sniffed
What is the Pharmacy protocol?
Each pharmacy has a set of rules/ guidelines they need to follow to ensure the safe and effective sale of medicines.
What are some examples of things included within a Pharmacy protocol?
When and how to refer to the Pharmacist
High risk patients where any query should be referred straight to them
How to provide the patient with advice
Products you should always refer to the Pharmacist about
What must be signed before selling medicines?
SOPs
Describe some of the roles and responsibilities of the Responsible Pharmacist.
For every Pharmacy there is a responsible Pharmacist that is named who is responsible for that individual store and takes ownership of every sale and item dispensed.
There registration number and name must be present and visible for the public to see.
They review the SOPs.
What happens if the Responsible Pharmacist is absent for more than two hours?
If they are absent for more than two hours and no other Pharmacist is present then they can only take in prescriptions.
If a second Pharmacist is present then they take leadership of the store and it runs again normally.
