Role Of Responsible Pharmacist

The Medicines Acts 1968 and various amendments cover the legal management of medication. While care staff are not expected to have detailed knowledge of the legislation, they do need to be aware of the legal difference between types of drugs and the legal framework that allows them to handle medicines on behalf of the service user.

Roles and responsibilities of the person dispensing the medication is to check to make sure the prescription is legal and signed by a qualified person, ensure there are no errors, to dispense the right quantity and dose of medication, make sure the medication is clearly labelled with the instructions of the dose, the name of the medication and person, provide advice and treatment for any minor illnesses and health concerns. Pharmacies will also provide a repeat prescription service.

A pharmacist must check any medication that is administered to a patient. This is the

The rules and regulations surrounding dispensing errors in the UK are governed by the Medicines Act of 1968 ‘the Act’, and the Health Act 1999, which legislates the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) through the Pharmacy Order 2010. The Act is an Act of Parliament which governs the control, manufacture and supply of medicines in the UK. It was introduced to help control the use of medicinal compounds and to increase patient safety, although much of it has been modernized and repealed. It also gives power to the courts to charge any dispensing mistakes as a criminal offence.

According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA 2009), the wrong route of administrating medication accounts for 1.3 million injuries each year. An article published in September issue of the Journal of Patient Safety estimates there are between 210,000 and 400,000 deaths per year associated with medical errors. This makes medical errors the third leading cause of deaths in the United States, behind that comes heart disease and cancer. To prevent medical errors always follow the Three Checks and most importantly the Rights of Medication Administration. The “Rights of Medication Administration” helps to ensure accuracy when administering medication to a patient. When administering medication the administer should ensure they have the Right Medication, Right Patient, Right Dosage, Right Route, Right Time, Right Route, Right Reason, and Right Documentation. Also remember the patient has the right to refuse, assess patient for pain, and always assess the patient for signs of effects.

There are several current legislation, guidelines, policies and protocols relevant to the administration of medication. These are The medicines Act (1968), Misuse of Drugs Act (1971), Misuse of Drugs Regulations (2007), Health Act (2000) The Care Standards Act (2000), Domiciliary Care Agencies Regulations (2002) Control of Substances Hazards to Health (2002), Hazard Waste Regulations, Controlled Waste Regulations (1992), The Handling of Medic9ines in Social Care and The Safe and Secure Handling of Medicines; a Team Approach.

The Act controls supply of the medications. This act states that medicines supplied or sold at a pharmacy under the management of a qualified pharmacist. Then again, a few medications can be sold at different premises, for example, stores, the length of their repackaging and the premises can be shut to bar people in general. It's unlawful to offer medication from business stalls or from vehicles, for example, at auto boot

M1 – discuss organisational policies and procedures are by influenced legislation and guidelines with regard to the administration of medication

1. In the workplace there is a generic Medication Management Policy and Procedures for Adult Services (Issue 10, 2012) document. This is kept to hand in a locked cupboard, readily available to read. It requires that all Healthcare Staff are given mandatory training and refreshers are provided. Legislation which surrounds the administration of medication includes The Medicines Act 1968, The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, The Data Protection Act 1998, The Care Standards Act 2000 and The Health and Social Care Act 2001

There are several legislations in place with protocols for the administration of medication which I have listed below. The main policy re admin of drugs and storing of drugs and medicines is the Control Of Substances Hazardous to Health or COSHH but along with this there are other policies in place as per the list below.

4. Patient care policy of pharmacist review of medications that is in place fails to address the allergic reactions of the patient as the number one priority of the pharmacist. According to the Joint Commission policy all medications ordered must be reviewed for patient allergies or potential sensitivities.

Managers need to ensure that targets are met and improvements if necessary are made. They need to plan ahead to ensure that their targets are achievable and control the workload to ensure all activities are carried out effectively.

a.) The Medicine act 1968 -governs the manufacture & supply of medicines. This requires that the local pharmacist or dispensing doctor is responsible for supplying medication. He or she can only do this on the receipt of a prescription from an authorised person eg a doctor.

- The chemist’s role is to dispense the medication that is written on the prescription. It is his/ her responsibility to make sure that the items they give out are correct and are exactly the same as what is written on the prescription. If there are any mistakes then they should contact the doctor who prescribed the medication.

There are other pharmacy staff who also have roles in relation to the safe dispensing of medicines. A pharmacist is responsible for: Overall checking of a prescription to make sure that it is legal and written by a person qualified to do so, dispensing the right quantity of the correct medicine, ensuring that medicines are correctly labelled with the person’s name, the name of the medicine and the dosage, providing advice and treatment for minor illnesses, injuries and health concerns, providing a repeat prescription service in co-operation with GP