Actions of community pharmacists

in society
 Procurement of medicines that are suitable for
human consumption
• Storage of medicines in appropriate conditions
(temperature, humidity, cleanliness, stock
monitoring)
• Dispensing of medicines chosen by patient or as
pharmacist-recommended products or on
presentation of a prescription
 Compounding and ensuring quality of
compounded products
• Patient medication review, advise patients on use
of medicines and participate in adverse drug
reaction reporting
• Ensuring rational and safe use of medicines by
patients, developing care plans and collaborating
with prescribers to establish a therapeutic plan,
implement it and monitor patient outcomes
Monitoring of self-care, responding to symptoms
and identifying cases warranting referral
• Point-of-care testing
• Health promotion and promotion of healthy
lifestyles (nutrition, physical activity, smoking
cessation, sexual and reproductive health)
• Ensuring safe disposal of unwanted or expired
medicines
Other responsibilities:
nutritional supplements,
special foods (e.g. gluten-free products, food for
diabetic people), colostomy care and urinary
incontinence devices, disability and mobility aids
(e.g. wheelchairs, walking aids), oxygen supplies
and ventilation equipment, veterinary medicines.
 Organization of a community
pharmacy
 Personnel present
 Premises
 Equipment
 Documentation and information
Dispensary area
 Area should be spacious and designed in such a way as to
promote communication between pharmacist and patient.
• Space should be available for patient advice and counselling in
privacy.
• Consultation areas should provide for space to carry out point-
of-care testing.
• Adequate facilities for dispensing must be provided –
cleanable floor and surfaces, adequate fixtures and fittings,
clean refrigerator with appropriate temperature monitoring
and control, clean sink, logical layout of stock and a natural
workflow.
Storage of medicines
 Sufficient storage space to store medicines in a dry
place
• Temperature control of areas where medicines are
stored
• Prescription-only medicines not accessible to the
public
• Area available to store medicines that require
controlled access
• Stock rotation, monitoring of expiry dates and systems
to ensure that medicines are not damaged
• Pricing
Patient consultation area:
Space dedicated for patient advice and counselling in
relative privacy.
May be used to provide patient monitoring and follow-
up, medication review and point-of-care testing.

Controlled drugs cabinet:

cabinet where medications that require limited access
are stored.
The extemporaneous preparation area:
is the part of the dispensary area dedicated to the
preparation of medications (e.g. dilution of
creams, mixing different creams)
Dispensing prescriptions
 Receiving the prescription
 Reading and checking of prescription
• patient’s name and address
• age of patient if under 12 years
• name, dose and quantity of medicine date
• prescriber’s name and address
• signature of prescriber
• legality and authenticity of document
 Examples of administration
instructions
 a.c. before food
 b.d. to be taken twice daily
 o.d. every day
 o.m. every morning
 o.n. every night
 p.c. after food
 p.r.n. as required
 q.d.s. to be taken four times daily
 stat immediately
 t.d.s. to be taken three times daily
 Collection of medicine
During this step, pharmacist intervention to decrease
occurrence of dispensing errors includes:

 care in selecting appropriate medicine

 care in selecting the appropriate strength; there are

medicines that are available in different strengths

 care in selecting the appropriate dosage form; there are

medicines that are available in different dosage forms
Label production
The label should be clear and legible to ensure that
the patient takes the medicine as prescribed. The
information presented has to be understood by the
patient.
Details to be included on label:
 patient’s name
 date of dispensing
 name of pharmacy
 name of medicine
 strength
 dosage form
 quantity dispensed
 dose with clear instructions
 cautionary labels.
To avoid confusion, where several containers of the
same medicine have to be dispensed, it should be
indicated on the label that there is more than one
container of the same medicine (e.g. 1 of 4, 2 of 4).
Rechecking
Recheck that the prescription and the medicine
prepared are consistent and that the right
medicine in the right dosage form and strength
has been identified, that the right label is attached
and that the right patient instructions are
provided.
Handing over the medicine
The pharmacist hands over the medicine and
explains to the patient when and how to
take the medication.