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Posted by Crystal Zamudio on Friday, November 19, 2010
Tablet/Capsule Counting Machine VS. Counting Tray
(Antibiotics Edition)
As you can see these two methods above can be use to count tablets and capsules except for one thing some pharmacies do not allow any pharmacy staff to count antibiotics in a counting machine. It is much safer to count on a counting tray by 5's.
Why? Antibiotics are the most popular category of drugs to cause allergies in other words many people are allergic to antibiotics such as Sulfa, Penicillins, Cephalosporins, etc. This popular medication is always being counted on a counting tray and it's called TMP/SMX (Trimethoprim/Sulfamethoxazole). This medication falls in the antibiotic category called Sulfonamides.
Therefore if any pharmacy staff counts any type of antibiotics on a counting machine it is most likely to have small powder particles of the drug attached in the machine usually in tablet form. There are many medications being counted in this counting machine everyday for a number of patients.
[Lets say a patient is allergic to penicillin and she comes to pick up her diabetic medication with assurance that she will feel better when she takes her medication. She notices these unfamiliar skin rashes and swollen lips 1 hour later after taking her medication. She checks in with her doctor and hours later she comes to find out it was a Penicilllin allergic reaction]
So you see! These small powder particles can make it's way on another patients prescription, that's why we should count it on a tray because we can easily clean the tray with no hassle and ready to use for the following counting.
You are probably wondering well why can you just wipe and clean the counting machine after use?
Extra: There are also robotic dispensing machines to help dispense medication faster to prevent slow work pace also some machines can keep track on inventory..these medications are usually the ones dispensed daily or very often..so these medications are usually in the robotic machine or some can be placed on the speed shelf. There are no specific medications that are placed on the pharmacy speed shelf you would only know when you get to work or intern at your local pharmacy. Each community has specific patients with specific medications needs so I would not know what medications a certain pharmacy 20 miles from my home would have.
For the record there are so many robotic dispensing machines so not all pharmacies have this particular machine below. Medication speed shelf is usually located where you would fill the prescriptions vials for fast reaching access.
(Antibiotics Edition)
As you can see these two methods above can be use to count tablets and capsules except for one thing some pharmacies do not allow any pharmacy staff to count antibiotics in a counting machine. It is much safer to count on a counting tray by 5's.
Why? Antibiotics are the most popular category of drugs to cause allergies in other words many people are allergic to antibiotics such as Sulfa, Penicillins, Cephalosporins, etc. This popular medication is always being counted on a counting tray and it's called TMP/SMX (Trimethoprim/Sulfamethoxazole). This medication falls in the antibiotic category called Sulfonamides.
Therefore if any pharmacy staff counts any type of antibiotics on a counting machine it is most likely to have small powder particles of the drug attached in the machine usually in tablet form. There are many medications being counted in this counting machine everyday for a number of patients.
[Lets say a patient is allergic to penicillin and she comes to pick up her diabetic medication with assurance that she will feel better when she takes her medication. She notices these unfamiliar skin rashes and swollen lips 1 hour later after taking her medication. She checks in with her doctor and hours later she comes to find out it was a Penicilllin allergic reaction]
So you see! These small powder particles can make it's way on another patients prescription, that's why we should count it on a tray because we can easily clean the tray with no hassle and ready to use for the following counting.
You are probably wondering well why can you just wipe and clean the counting machine after use?
- Well for one you would slow working pace down by cleaning machine every time you use it...pharmacies can fill hundreds of prescriptions a day and the majority of them are tablets and capsules so it would take so much time to clean the machine each time of use...
- Cleaning a machine can be a hassle, there are so many parts in them who knows if you missed drug particles that were somehow stuck in a specific unnoticeable machine part...
- Even though you are not counting antibiotic tablets in a counting machine it is still required to clean counting machine at the end of the day, just to be clean and to prevent any allergic reactions or bacterial infections towards patients.
Extra: There are also robotic dispensing machines to help dispense medication faster to prevent slow work pace also some machines can keep track on inventory..these medications are usually the ones dispensed daily or very often..so these medications are usually in the robotic machine or some can be placed on the speed shelf. There are no specific medications that are placed on the pharmacy speed shelf you would only know when you get to work or intern at your local pharmacy. Each community has specific patients with specific medications needs so I would not know what medications a certain pharmacy 20 miles from my home would have.
For the record there are so many robotic dispensing machines so not all pharmacies have this particular machine below. Medication speed shelf is usually located where you would fill the prescriptions vials for fast reaching access.
