"How to read a prescription label, also understanding the filling process of a new prescription"
Here are some steps that will occur when filling a new prescription.
1. When receiving a new Rx at the In-window of the pharmacy, you should always read the prescription and check if any information is missing before you start to begin the filling process. Missing information such as quantity of the drug, dea # of the medication if it's a controlled substance, or if pharmacy is out of stock of that specific drug, etc. If you are missing any medication information please call the patient's doctor. If you do not have full drug quantity on stock please tell the patient before you start the process, ask the patient if she/he would like a partial fill. If the patient does not want the partial fill then she/he would tell you she will come back at a later time when stock is replenish (this is when you tell the patient when you will ahve stock replenish) or some will go and fill their medication some place else. If everything seems to be on the Rx you would start to type the information in the computer system. You will pretty much type what the computer asks such as patient's info, doctor's info, medication info, insurance info.
2. After all information has been typed you would file the Rx in bin for any future reference, and another tech who is in the filling station will fill the medication you processed. The tech will look for the drug and scan the drug to see if it matches to the one prescribed. The tech will need to count tablets or pour liquid into vials (depending on what kind of drug was prescribed). All this information will be on the computer screen. At times you may not have the full drug quanity on hand so in this case the tech will partial fill the prescription (partial fill tutorial). At this station the Rx label will print out also you can label an auxiliary label on the vial if necessary. This is the type of information a Rx label should have. Study picture below:
3. After the prescription has been filled into it's vial the tech will put the prescribed filled vial in its basket or at times just slide the precription to the pharmacist so he/she can verify it and allow it to be dispensed. The pharmacist will then put the vial in a plastic bag for the tech to store it in the pick up area.
4. Now we are at the out window of the pharmacy meaning this where patients pick up their medication. So let's say your patient's name is Angela Collins. You will need to go to the pick up area where all the verified prescriptions are and look for Angela's Collins medication (You would start looking by their last name) in this case you will start looking in the C's. If you can't seem to find it try to look in the A's because it was probably misplaced, if you still can't find it, the next step will be to search in the computer system (type Angela Collins) and it will give you an update on her medication filling process. If it says it's ready for pick up then you will need to ask your co-workers who filled the medication or ask the pharmacist for help. Always apolozize for the wait and inconvenience.
Extra Information Below:
* Understanding how to read a OTC drug label
