what should i do?!?!
This is a sample CPJE question found on the Board of Pharmacy website:
A patient brings in a prescription for Propecia written by a known physician on a plain piece of paper. The paper is not a prescription blank, but just a plain white sheet of paper with all the needed information hand written. The pharmacist should
A. fill the prescription as written and file
B. not fill the prescription as it represents a forgery
C. tell the patient that this is a non-prescription medication
D. have the patient obtain the prescription on a formal prescription blank
What should I do?!?! These not-quite-common-but-certainly-can-happen-reality type questions really confuse me (like the NJBOP's favorite question: what if the prescribe dies...). So if it happens I'll just give the MD office a call to verify that it was in fact written by the doctor and give the med to the patient. The NJ state law states that EVERY prescription has to be written on a blue, pre-printed prescription paper so I'll have to re-write the information using the store's prescription pad. But that's it.
Propecia is not a controlled substances as it doesn't have addiction potential. But it is an Rx-only drug which in the law book it is defined as a "dangerous drug" and can only be obtained with a prescription. What if the "known prescriber" signs his/her name as a big circle or big "L" like Dr. Long/Lukenda/Lee/Lala so anyone can just grab a piece of plain paper and start writing his/her own prescriptions.
I'm not sure if there's a section in the law book that refers to the specific situation as described in the question, I just don't think any of the given answers is absolutely correct.
posted by ~~ tomato ~~ at
5:00 PM
3 Comments:
this is the only time i start to think pharmacist from the legal pt. of view... hmmm... so what should u do (the right way)?!
8:27 AM
the correct ans is "a"
11:58 PM
Should an ambiguous situation like this happen in the "real world" and you have to make a decision quickly, sometimes it's a good idea to diffuse the situation with humor. For example, in this case you could say something like "I can't fill this prescription because the glare off the top of your head is blinding me! Jesus, chrome dome, why don't you take this to Walgreens?"
Kidding of course. In all seriousness I can offer you this bit of advice. I once had a boss who was serving on the state pharmacy board who told me "No matter what you do, if you can frame it as 'I did what's best for the patient', you'll be fine" If you have every reason to believe that the doctor did indeed intend for the patient to have the med, then fill it. Any state board member will tell you their rules and regulations are never to get in the way of patient care.
3:28 AM
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