Owing prescriptions – are you courting danger?
The recent devastating bushfires across Australia have meant pharmacists have needed to dispense emergency supplies of medications without prescriptions. Temporary special authorities have recently been issued for the supply of some prescription medicines from community pharmacies in emergencies in bushfire-affected areas in NSW, Victoria and the ACT. The usual arrangements for emergency supply and continued […]
New and improved incident reporting
PDL currently supports around 30,000 members across Australia. Hundreds of incident reports are received each year and members have access to numerous resources to assist with error management and safe pharmacy practice. PDL acknowledges that pharmacy practice is evolving and have updated our online Incident Reporting System to reflect the broadening scope of practice that […]
You have received a notification – what now?
The practice of pharmacy is highly regulated and modern society is becoming increasingly litigious. With that in mind, pharmacists should anticipate that they may be contacted by a statutory authority or investigator at some stage during their careers. In 2017-18, 1.9% of pharmacists in Australia were the subject of notification to AHPRA. Common statutory authorities […]
Opioid replacement therapy – regulations and adherence
Pharmacists breaching regulations involving opioid replacement therapy (ORT) are quickly referred to the regulators. A recent blitz from NSW Health against pharmacies that provide opioid-replacement services is resulting in members of PDL seeking support in handling regulator inquiries. Penalties such as restrictions on practice for pharmacy owners and employed pharmacists may be involved. These incidents highlight the importance of adhering to current State-based legislation when dealing with all S8 medications, including […]
Aggressive behaviour of the public towards pharmacists
Aggression towards pharmacists is sometimes used as a bullying tactic by an individual to get their own way in such matters as the early supply of staged supply or the prompt dispensing of a prescription for a restricted drug that requires further checking with a prescriber. Rude and aggressive behaviour is also often displayed towards pharmacy staff who […]
Another dose of Atropine
Atropine 0.01% eye drops are not commercially available and Atropt 1% should not be supplied. Despite warning its pharmacist members against this error in 2018, PDL continues to receive incident reports relating to the dispensing of Atropine eye drops 1%, when 0.01% was prescribed. The weaker form of atropine eye drops (0.01%) is typically prescribed to children […]
Small details
A pharmacy’s dispensing history was once a closed loop within the pharmacy walls. However today, with the advent of My Health Record and real time monitoring, the situation is very different. A pharmacy’s dispensing records are now visible to other health professionals, as well as some statutory organisations. This visibility has created some problems for […]
Steroids and hormone therapies
Off Label Use or Misuse/Abuse Pharmacists are expected to have a contemporary knowledge of the drugs that are subject to abuse or misuse, both generally and in their own localities. Steroids and hormone therapies are one of many groups of medications that are the subject of abuse/misuse. Many individuals source anabolic steroids illicitly from coaches, […]
Staged supply
Set rules early The provision of medicines via a staged supply process is common practice in many pharmacies. While the benefits are apparent for the patient, prescribers and pharmacies, there are also challenges for pharmacists responsible for managing the supply process. These challenges may be prevented or better managed through the use of good procedures and clear […]
Concentration confusion
The colder weather sees a predictable increase in the prescribing of prednisolone oral liquid for children. Often these prescriptions are written by after hours or hospital-based doctors and many will be handwritten. As dosages are typically based on the child’s weight, the prescribed dose is frequently written in milliGRAMS instead of milliLITRES. The seasonal increase in prescribing of […]
