At Good Day Pharmacy Long Term Care, we are committed to providing the best possible care for our residents. To ensure their safety and well-being, we follow strict guidelines when it comes to physician orders and medications requiring labs. We will outline the essential information you need to know about these crucial aspects of medication management.
Physician Orders:
Valid physician orders are the foundation of our medication dispensing process. To be considered valid, a physician's order must contain the following information:
Date
Resident's name and address
Practitioner's full name, address, and DEA number
Drug name
Strength
Dosage form
Quantity prescribed
Directions for use
Number of refills authorized
Furthermore, the prescription must be either handwritten in ink or typewritten and manually signed by the prescriber on the date it was issued. Electronically prescribed medications must also contain all the listed information.
Physician Order Forms are typically completed on-site during physician visits. If any of the required information is missing, the order is considered invalid, and Good Day Pharmacy must seek clarification from the physician. Please note that it can take up to 24 hours for a valid order to be received from the physician.
Medications Requiring Labs:
Certain medications, such as Coumadin and Clozapine, require regular monitoring through laboratory tests. Here's how we handle these medications:
Coumadin is dispensed upon receipt of INR (International Normalized Ratio) results. The quantity dispensed will be enough to cover the period until the next scheduled INR test.
Clozapine necessitates accompanying blood work, initially on a weekly basis. If the resident remains stable for six months, the frequency of blood work can be reduced to bi-weekly for another six months. After one year of stability on the same dose, labs can be conducted monthly.
Any alteration to the Clozapine dosage is considered a new prescription, requiring weekly labs.
It's crucial to note that medications requiring labs must be dispensed within seven days of the laboratory tests. Failure to do so renders the prescription invalid. The facility is responsible for tracking all labs and blood work to ensure timely dispensing.
At Good Day Pharmacy Long Term Care, the safety and well-being of our residents are our top priorities. Adhering to strict guidelines for valid physician orders and managing medications that require labs is essential to providing quality care. We appreciate your cooperation in following these procedures, as they help us maintain the highest standards of medication management and resident safety. If you have any questions or need further clarification, please do not hesitate to reach out to our dedicated team.
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