06-02-201011:31 AM - last edited on 06-02-201002:19 PM
We hope you enjoyed our presentation, "The Joint Commission: Medication Storage Compliance Issues and Solutions A to Z" with Darryl Rich, PharmD. He discussed the common reasons for non-compliance and the common issues related to medication storage.
Have a question for Dr. Rich? He will be monitoring this thread for a limited period of time. Please post your questions here and he will do his best to answer them.
Looking for suggestions or best practice for storage of medication, after removal from an ADC, in a procedural based area such as endoscopy-where the sedation is titrated. Hence more medication removed than may be required and kept out until the procedure is over.
I teach a very rigorous pharm tech program in CA. As the Pharmacy Tech Program Driector and employed at a school I am not privy or have access to the sites that you mentioned in your presentation.
I am however interested is presenting some of the points you made to my students and or my colleagues in
a professional associationTown Hall or updates in a newsletter.
How can I get ahold of such information on the Medication Storage updates if they are only for accredited hospitals via intranet ?
06-02-201004:26 PM - last edited on 06-02-201004:37 PM
Q: Looking for suggestions or best practice for storage of medication, after removal from an ADC, in a procedural based area such as endoscopy-where the sedation is titrated. Hence more medication removed than may be required and kept out until the procedure is over
A: Most organizations state in their policy that only medications anticipated for the procedure should be removed from storage/automated dispensing machine, and drugs are returned to the storage area or automated dispensing machine immediately after the procedure is over. Some have a timeframe - e.g. "within an hour". It really is up to you to decide what is best in terms of practicality and safety. We only require that you establish the requirement in a policy.
06-02-201004:33 PM - last edited on 06-02-201004:38 PM
Q: I teach a very rigorous pharm tech program in CA. As the Pharmacy Tech Program Driector and employed at a school I am not privy or have access to the sites that you mentioned in your presentation. I am however interested is presenting some of the points you made to my students and or my colleagues in a professional associationTown Hall or updates in a newsletter. How can I get ahold of such information on the Medication Storage updates if they are only for accredited hospitals via intranet ?
A. Unfortunately some material is only made available to accredited organizations. I suggest that you call or write to the Joint Commission to see if you can get a copy, but you would have to be specific on what you want (i.e. BoosterPak on MM.03.01.01), not just "send me any information on medication storage...". They may distribute it for educational purposes if you are clear about that. I would call the Standards Interpretation Group at 630-792-5900 first - they can refer you from there. If you write, the address is One Renaissance Blvd, Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181. Be advised I don't work in the central office so putting my name on anything will just prevent gettting a timely response.
06-02-201004:35 PM - last edited on 06-02-201004:39 PM
Q: I have a question about products such as Betadine soln that comes from supply, also Phisohex etc,
How long of an expiration do they have ones they are open. Is it the same 28 days or is it Manufacturers exp date?
A: The 28 day requirement is for sterile injectable multi-dose vials - not for bulk topical solutions. We would expect that you adhere to manufacturer's recommendations. If there are none, then the pharmacy department can decide on the appropriate date after reviewing the literature. Of note, the USP states that most oral or topical solutions should be discarded 1 year after opening, but we are not requiring organizations to use this date.
This question is regarding patient medications from home. We have in our policy that the practice of patients using their medications from home is discouraged. There are of course circumstances that arise that allow for patient own medication use. These would be done on a case by case basis when the medication is not obtainable by pharmacy and the patient needs the medication. My questions is regarding the storage of the medication and the standard regarding the need to supply medications in ready to use (unit dose) packaging. I do not think we could unit dose package medications from a retail medication bottle and/or what the feasibility of repackaging a bulk container of some alternative drug [i.e. multiple vitamins, nutraceuticals, etc.] for a patient. In addition, the storage and dispensing of these becomes a significant challenge. Can a patient’s home medication be stored at the bedside with the patient and does it have to be in some type of locked cabinet in the room? What are some best practices that other facilities have adopted?
Is there any standard that the surveyors are using to determine how many crash carts are adequate per occupied bed or other measure for patient load and acuity?
