Pharmacy Practice and Administration: Jurisprudence and Ethics
Pharmacy Practice and Pharmacy Administration tests Philippine jurisprudence, ethics, dispensing, and management. RA 10918, the Philippine Pharmacy Act, governs licensure and practice; RA 9711, RA 9165, RA 6675, RA 9502, RA 9994, and RA 10173 shape daily decisions.
Core rules
- Only a licensed pharmacist may dispense; the pharmacy must be under pharmacist supervision; prescriptions are not refilled unless authorized.
- Generics: use the generic name; a brand may be added; substitution is allowed unless the prescriber writes no substitution.
- Senior citizens receive a 20% medicine discount and VAT exemption; remove VAT before applying the discount.
- Dangerous drugs require proper prescriptions, records, secure storage, and DDB/PDEA compliance; report losses.
- Ethics: confidentiality, informed consent, competence, conflict-of-interest avoidance, and no misleading advertising. Management includes FEFO stock rotation, cold-chain control, and recall handling.
Worked example
A senior citizen buys a VAT-inclusive medicine priced at P1,120. Remove 12% VAT: 1,120/1.12 = P1,000. Apply the 20% discount: P1,000 × 0.80 = P800. Charging P896, which is 20% of P1,120, is wrong because it does not grant the VAT exemption.
Traps
Applying the discount to the VAT-inclusive price; dispensing prescription-only drugs without a prescription; ignoring generic substitution rules; breaching patient privacy; failing dangerous-drug records; assuming the cheapest generic is always bioequivalent.