6 Standard Steps to Follow to Ensure Safe and Effective Medication Dispensing

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Medication dispensing is a very critical process and must only be carried out by professionals (pharmacists and pharmacy technicians).

Whether a patient will achieve a good therapy or not depends on the dispensing process.

Dispensing is the process of preparing and giving out medications to a named patient based on a prescription.

It involves the correct interpretation of the prescriber's wishes, accurate labeling of the drugs, and giving them to the patient.

The dispensing process involves all activities carried out, from receiving the prescription to issuing the prescribed medicine to the patient.

Dispensing of drugs should not be carried out by any random person. According to the standard operating procedures SOP, dispensing must only be carried out by a pharmacist and a pharmacy technician under supervision.

Now, before we delve into the?6 steps to follow to ensure effective dispensing, let's look at the characteristics of a good dispensing person

Characteristics Of a Good Dispensing Person

Patients rely on the dispensing person to provide them with information and advice about their medication.

The ability of the dispenser is to be able to safely give out drugs and advice to patients goes beyond being able to read or write.

Therefore, as a good dispensing person, you must possess the following;

●???Knowledge about the medicines being dispensed (common use, correct dose, common side effects, common interactions)

●?? Good calculation or arithmetic skills

●?? Skills in assessing the quality of preparation

●?? Attributes of cleanliness, accuracy, and honesty

●?? Attitudes and skills required to communicate effectively with patients.

Now, let's look at the 6 major steps to ensure a good and safe dispensing process.

Steps Involved in Dispensing

A good dispensing process enables the dispenser to be able to detect errors and correct them in all stages of dispensing.

According to SOPs, here are the 6 standard steps to follow to ensure safe and effective dispensing.

1. Receive and validate the prescription.

This is the first step of the dispensing process. Upon receiving the prescription, you're expected to validate it.

In addition, the patient's name and date of birth should be confirmed to avoid mix-ups of prescriptions especially when dealing with a large number of people.

2. Understand and interpret the prescription

Understanding the prescription involves being able to read the prescription, correctly interpret any abbreviations used, perform any calculations, and identify common drug-drug interactions.

Whenever you're unsure or in doubt about what is required by the prescriber, always check with the prescriber to confirm.

Checking a prescription may save a life.

All calculations should be double-checked or counter-checked by another staff because arithmetical errors can be very fatal.

3. Prepare and label items

This stage is the central part of the dispensing process.

It begins immediately after the prescription is clearly understood.

When preparing the drugs, always select drugs by reading the label and cross-matching them with the name and strength on the prescription and NDC number.

It is advisable to read the container label at least twice during the dispensing process.

Always use a counting device to count the tablets and capsules. DO NOT USE YOUR HAND.

However, in the absence of a counting device, a clean piece of paper, spatula, or lid of the container in use can be used.

The most important rule is that the dispenser’s hand must not be in direct contact with the medicine

4. Make a final check

At this stage, you should check the drugs against the prescription.

Check the appropriateness of doses prescribed and verify the correct medication, strength, sig code and quantity.

Look at the labels. After making the final check, you should countersign the prescription.

5. Record action taken

The next thing to do is record and document all issues.

Documentation is very essential in running the dispensary.

It allows you to be able to trace any problems with medicine issued to patients if the need arises.

2 methods can be used to record the medicines dispensed to the patient

• The prescription is retained and details of it are entered into a record book.
• When dealing with electronic prescriptions, the computer program retains the information that can be recalled when needed.

6. Issue medicine to the patient with clear instructions and advice

Lastly, give the medicine to the named patient or patient’s representative with clear instructions and advice.

Apart from information on dose, frequency, length of treatment, and route of administration, priority should be given to providing information that will maximize the effect of the treatment. Therefore, your advice should concentrate on:

●?????? When to take the medicine (about food and other medicine)

●?????? How to take the medicine (chewed, swallowed whole, taken with plenty of water, etc...)

●?????? How to store the medicine

●?????? Warning about possible side effects should be given cautiously. Common but harmless side effects (nausea, mild diarrhea, urine changing color) should be mentioned.

Always confirm that the patient understands the instructions and advice.

Treat every patient with respect and always maintain confidentiality and privacy when explaining the use of some types of medicine.

How to promote efficient management in dispensing

Good dispensing practices are most threatened when dispensing staff face a crowd of patients demanding immediate attention.

The need for speed must be balanced with the need for accuracy and care.

Here are ways to promote efficient management in dispensing:

●?????? Organizing patient flow, such as establishing systems to receive payments and prescriptions and issue medicines.

●?????? Giving information on the current waiting time

●?????? Pre-Package and label commonly used medicines

●?????? Having more staff at the peak hours

●?????? Working SOPs

Wrapping up!

The dispensing process must be able to identify errors and correct them at all stages.

By following the six major steps outlined by Standard Operating Procedures SOP, dispensing can be very effective and efficient.

So, when you're in the dispensary, always ensure to follow the six major steps, and double-check at all stages to avoid any dispensing errors.

Which part of dispensing do you enjoy most? What are your personal techniques for ensuring good and safe dispensing?

Feel free to share with us in the comment section.