The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 275 No 7368 p369
24 September 2005

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· Prescribing (2)
· Compliance (2)
· Residential care
· Metered dosage systems
· Reciprocity
· Proton pump inhibitors
· Registration examination
· The Society (3)
· New pharmacy contract

Letters to the Editor

Residential care

Avoid attaching extra labels to record

From Mr A. H. South, MRPharmS

Residential care homes have a contract with a particular pharmacy to have four-weekly cycle prescriptions supplied (preferably) in a monitored dosage system (MDS) together with a medicines administration record (MAR).

Occasionally the home may request a mid-term prescription from a nearer but more convenient non-MDS pharmacy. The home may ask that pharmacy to supply an extra label to stick onto the MAR sheet.

The guidelines of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society are that pharmacists must not supply these extra labels because they could be stuck onto the wrong resident’s MAR sheet, could “over-stick” existing information and could be removed after use or if an error were made.

The best and approved Commission for Social Care Inspectors method for the home would be to keep a photocopy of the prescription (as proof) and to hand write the details from the dispensed prescription label onto a blank space on the MAR sheet.

I urge all pharmacists to stop issuing extra labels for care homes in this mid-term situation.

Hugh South
Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire

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