Pharmaceutical Services, Drug Orders and Medication Administration
Sets how the Agency procures, stores, labels, orders, administers and accounts for drugs and biologicals; the licensed pharmacist who approves the Agency’s medication procedures and is available 24 hours a day; who may order drugs and receive verbal orders; the Georgia rule that only licensed nurses or physicians administer medications for the hospice; the drug profile review; self-administration by patients and families; and how medication errors are handled.
About this policy
- Policy number
- GA-HSP-MED-01
- Version
- 1.0
- Main rule
- Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-37-.21
- Library
- Georgia hospice · 60 policies
- Category
- Clinical tasks
- Sections
- 23
In short
- Only licensed nurses or physicians give medications for the hospice. Aides and volunteers never do, not even liquid morphine.
- Aides may remind the patient, bring and open the bottle, and read the label.
- Take a verbal order only if your license allows it: write it down, read it back, and write "repeated and verified".
- A pharmacist is available 24 hours a day. Call (404) 555-0158 or the pharmacy line on the on-call sheet.
- Teach the family how to give each medicine and check they can do it safely.
- Report any medication error or reaction to the nurse at once.
What's inside
23 sections. The full text comes with the One-time Policy Pack.
- Terms of Reference
- 1. Purpose
- 2. Scope
- 3. Definitions
- 4. Policy Statement (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 111-8-37-.21)
- 5. The Consultant Pharmacist
- 6. Which Drugs the Agency Provides
- 7. Drug Profile Review
- 8. Ordering Drugs and Verbal Orders
- 9. Obtaining and Delivering Drugs
- 10. Who Gives Medications
- 11. Self-Administration by the Patient and Family
- 12. Labeling and Storage
- 13. Liquid Morphine in Assisted Living Communities
- 14. Control and Accountability
- 15. Medication Errors and Adverse Reactions
- 16. Responsibilities
- 17. Records and Compliance Monitoring
- 18. Staff Training
- 19. References
- 20. Related Policies and Forms
- 21. Approval
- 22. Revision History
An inspector may ask
- Who is the licensed pharmacist who approved your medication procedures, and how do staff reach a pharmacist at 2 a.m.?
- Show me the drug profile review in this patient’s comprehensive assessment.
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