Pharmacy Practice and Dispensing: Accuracy, Labels and Counselling
A legal prescription must be complete
Check patient name, date, drug name, strength, dose, frequency, route, quantity/duration, and prescriber signature with registration details. Incomplete, ambiguous or altered prescriptions should be clarified, not guessed. Keep controlled-drug records separate and complete.
High-risk writing habits
Most dispensing-error questions use a look-alike abbreviation. Traps include "U" for units (can be read as a zero - write "units"), trailing zeros (write 5 mg, never 5.0 mg), missing leading zeros (0.5 mg, not .5 mg), and ambiguous Latin abbreviations such as q.d., q.o.d. and 'as directed'. Safer practice is to write full words and include the indication on the label where appropriate.
Calculation and checking discipline
Show units at every step, convert grams to milligrams before dividing, and remember paediatric doses are often per kg per day divided into intervals. Perform an independent double check for cytotoxic, high-alert and paediatric preparations.
Storage and stock
Use first-expiry-first-out, keep the cold chain at 2–8 °C with temperature logs, segregate look-alike packaging, and keep refrigerated items out of the freezer. Never dispense a product past expiry or with a broken seal.
Counselling
Structure advice as: what it is for, how and when to take it, what to do about missed doses, key side effects, interactions (alcohol, food, other medicines), and storage - then confirm understanding.
Worked example
A 12 kg child needs 15 mg/kg/day in three divided doses. Total daily = 180 mg; each dose = 60 mg every 8 hours. If the suspension is 30 mg/5 mL, each dose is 10 mL.