Working in the Pharmacy Setting

Question 1

What are some of the pharmacy technicians jobs?

Answer 1

• maintaining and announcing changes to polocies and producure manuals.
• keep the pharmacy running efficiently by managing:
• medication orders and prescriptions
• patient profiles
• inventory
• purchasing control systems
• ensuring quality improvement

*anything that doesnt require an educated judgement*

Question 2

The Policies and Procedures Manual

Answer 2

• found in most pharmacy settings.
• used to establish requirements, principles, and protocols to ensure safe and effective operations.
• the basis for the training of new staff.

Question 3

Chart orders

Answer 3

-may include medications, treatment, nursing procedures, or orders for diagnostic procedures.

Question 4

What must a chart order contain?

Answer 4

• name of the medication
• strenght
• route
• frequency
• (in certain circumstances) indications for use and/or length of therapy
• *do not need to specify the quantity to be dispensed*

Question 5

How long must chart orders be maintain?

Answer 5

for a three-year period and must be readily accessible to a board of pharmacy inspector

Question 6

Hand-written chart orders must have?

Must not have?

Answer 6

Must have?

• dated and timed
• legible
• have the require elements
• signed by the presciber

Must not have?

• unapproved abbreviations

Question 7

What are the four ways outpatient prescriptions can be generated?

Answer 7

1. Handwritten by the presciber, on a preprinted prescription form
2. Generated by a computer and communicated to pharmacy via fax machine
3. Telephoned to the pharmacy by the presciber or the presciber’s agents
4. communicated electronically to the pharmacy via e-mail

Question 8

If a traditional prescription pad does not have the physician’s information preprinted or just the physician’s signature or stamp, what should the CPhT do?

Answer 8

verify the authenticity of the signature of the prescriber and have the presciber’s information on file.

Question 9

How do telephone prescriptions work?

Answer 9

• acceptable for all drug except CII (unless used for clinical research in which there is designated person to call in for the drug)
• must be put in writting by the pharmacist, or intern

Question 11

Inpatient setting, if the pharmacy copy is difficult to read, where can you find the order?

Answer 11

the orignial order is in the patients chart.

Question 12

If any order can not be read with certainty, what should be done?

Answer 12

contact the physician, never guess on a medication order

Question 13

A complete inpatient order contains?

Answer 13

• patient name
• date
• drug name
• dose
• route
• frequency
• prescriber’s signature closing the order

ideally, the time the order was written and the patient’s room number should also appear

Question 14

What factor effect the priority of an order?

Answer 14

• time the medication is needed
• the seriosness of the condition being treated
• the urgency of other orders waiting to be processed

Question 15

The turnaround time for a routine order is?

Answer 15

No more than an hour or two, as defined by the hospital pharmacy.

Question 16

What are the four areas of importance when interpreting an order?

Answer 16

1. identifying the patient
2. selecting the drug products
3. dosage
4. scheduling medication times

each section must be enter into the computer to prevent error

Question 17

Identifying the patient in the hospital and retail setting.

Answer 17

• Hospital setting: compare the patient data on the chart order with the information on the computer. Check carefully for allergies to medication.
• Retail setting: identified by the information on the prescription and is matched to what is already stored in the database.

Question 18

Selecting drug products in the hospital and retail setting.

Answer 18

• Hospital setting: requires working knowledge of generic and brand name drugs, dosage form must be compatible with the route of medication delivery. The physician must be contacted if the drug is not on the formulary. After selecting the drug the computer will cross check for alleriges, conflict or duplications of other medications
• Retail setting: medication are automatically filled as a generic drug unless otherwise identified by the prescriber. The system will cross check for allergies and current medications.

Question 19

Scheduling medication times?

Answer 19

• defined by institutional policy or by drug therapy protocol.
• define times for common dosing frequencies or indicate adminstration time for specific drugs.
• example: a “qd” (everyday drug) will be given at a certain time every day.
• for outpatients, it is the physician’s responsiblitiy to inform the patient when to take the medication.

Question 20

Steps of processing a medication order?

Answer 20

1. Pull up the patient’s profile and verify that it is the write person.
2. Verify the insurance information.
3. Select the physician (if the wrong physician is on the prescription there is potential for an insurance audit)
4. Enter medication to be dispensed (the NDC).
5. Enter the quantity to be dispensed.
6. Enter sig codes.
7. Enter the day supply (the total quantity divided by how many times day the med. is to be used).
8. Enter the exact number of refills on the prescription.
9. Enter the expiration date (which comes diretly from the stock bottle).
10. Process through insurance.

Question 21

All pharmacies must maintain patient-specfic profiles of medicaions dispensed to the patient.

True or False?

Answer 21

True

Question 22

What must be included on the patient profile?

Answer 22

• patient’s name
• date of birth
• address
• drug allergies
• adverse reactions to drugs
• insurance information
• who is allowed to pick up the medication