Adam James
In an industry where mistakes are life or death, we see them happening too often in pharmacies. Giving the wrong dose of medication or an incorrect amount of pills to a patient can cause severe consequences—on the patient and pharmacy. Not only can there be legal repercussions for the pharmacy and/or pharmacist but mistakes can cause very serious harm or even death to the patient.
It is essential for every pharmacy to have a standardized system to ensure mistakes like these don’t happen. Mistakes are made in every workplace, but there should be preventative measures that keep the amount of human errors to a minimum in medical industries.
Verification
When a pharmacist receives a prescription, each patient’s personal data: full name, birth date, address and phone number should be verified. They should double check that this information is entered into the computer correctly and it matches the information on the prescription. Read the patient’s information back to them, ensuring their information is still correct and hasn’t changed since their last visit.
Pill Selection
Be sure each drug is identifiable by a typed label and is spelled correctly for pharmacists selecting drugs. For added security, post a list of drugs with similar sounding names for pharmacists to reference when needed.
Pill Counting
Eliminate human counting error by investing in an automatic tablet and capsule counter. Not only does it save time for pharmacists to help more customers throughout the day, but it also helps for an error-free process. We can’t speak for other automatic counters, but the patented gate-flow design of the Rx-4 specifically eliminates the possibility of miscounts. Mistakes can happen due to distractions or even fatigue, but an automatic counter can be a fix to make your system even more effective.
Triple Checking
Before handing over your prescription medication, complete one last check to make sure everything is correct. Check everything from the strength of the drug to the dosage. Review the instructions provided by the doctor to make sure they match up and are clear for the patient to read. Before sending a customer off with their medication, ensure that they understand the doctor’s instructions.
Incorporate these guidelines into your system to prevent mistakes from occurring and catch them before the prescription is handed over to a customer.
Take the steps towards an error free system by trying the Rx-4 risk-free for 30 days. Contact us or call 949-250-4225 with any questions or to learn more about the Rx-4 Automatic Tablet and Capsule Counter.
