Use of Medicines

Question 1

What is pharmacokinetics?

Answer 1

What the body does to a drug.

Its movement into, through and out of the body.

The ADME of a drug.

Question 2

What is the ADME of a drug?

Answer 2

• Absorption
• Distribution
• Metabolism
• Excretion

Question 3

What is pharmacodynamics?

Answer 3

What a drug does to the body.

How it interacts with receptors and chemicals in the body.

Question 4

List the 6 aims of medicine regulation

Answer 4

1. To ensure medicines have required quality, safety and efficacy.
2. To ensure medicines are appropriately manufactured, stored, distributed and dispensed.
3. Allows detection of illegal manufacturing and trade.
4. Provides health professionals / patients with information to enable safe use of medicines.
5. Ensures promotion and advertising is fair.
6. Provides framework to allow access to new medicines.

Question 5

What is the role of the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)?

Answer 5

Approve and licence medicines in the UK.

Issues clinical trial authorisations and marketing authorisations.

Question 6

What is prescribing unlicenced medication?

Answer 6

Prescribing medication with no marketing authorisation.

This includes ‘special/bespoke’ formulations, imported drugs and chemicals.

Question 7

What is prescribing off-label medication?

Answer 7

Prescribing medication which has a marketing authorisation but prescribed outwith the terms of licence. For example:

• Different dose
• Age of patient
• Indication
• Route
• Contra-indication

Question 8

List examples of a class A drug

Answer 8

• Cocaine
• Heroin
• Methadone
• Magic mushrooms

Question 9

List examples of a class B drug

Answer 9

• Cannabis
• Mephedrone

Question 10

List examples of a class C drug

Answer 10

• Anabolic steroids
• Benzodiazepines

Question 11

What is the purpose of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001?

Answer 11

• Specifies import, export, production, supply, posession, prescribing and record-keeping for controlled drugs.

Question 12

Describe how controlled drugs are classified

Answer 12

• There are 5 schedules of controlled drugs
• Schedule 1 drugs are considered to have no reasonable medicinal use

Question 13

What are the 5 Rs of medicine safety?

Answer 13

1. Right patient
2. Right drug
3. Right dose
4. Right route
5. Right time

Question 14

What are black triangle drugs?

Answer 14

Newly licenced medicines that require intensive monitoring

Question 15

What is a medicine formulary?

Answer 15

A list of prescription drugs used by practitioners to identify drugs that offer the greatest overall value in terms of safety, efficacy and cost.

Should be up-to-date and evidence-based.

Question 16

Summarise the general principles of legal, safe and effective prescribing

Answer 16

• Prescriber is responsible for what they have signed
• Must be able to justify your decision to prescribe
• Work within limits of competence
• Keep up to date
• Take account of evidence-based, clinical guidelines
• Report adverse events