New pharmacy guide for generic isotretinoin
A pregnancy prevention programme that includes a pharmacist’s guide to dispensing isotretinoin has been devised by Beacon Pharmaceuticals to coincide with the launch of its new generic form of the drug.
The programme has been developed to ensure that female patients are not
pregnant when starting therapy or do not become pregnant for at least
one month after stopping therapy. It consists of three sections: an educational
programme, therapy management and distribution control.
The guide for pharmacists forms part of the educational section and outlines
dispensing restrictions for the product such as that prescriptions should
be limited for 30 days of treatment and are only valid for seven days.
It reminds pharmacists that they should not accept telephone, computer-generated
or repeat prescriptions for isotretinoin and lists advice that pharmacists
should give to patients such as not to donate blood. The potential risks
of the drug and the conditions under which the drug may be prescribed
are also outlined.
Copies of the materials are being sent to all hospital trusts that use
isotretinoin manufactured by Beacon Pharmaceuticals.
Notice-board p10 |
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