Ask the Expert: pharmacy discretion when filling orders
Accreditation Connection, July 25, 2005
Pharmacists will not have to call a prescriber if they can read the order and understand what the abbreviation means, Rich said. (It was unclear at press deadlines when the JCAHO will make a formal announcement.)
If pharmacists have doubt about the abbreviation in the context of the order, they must call the prescriber, Rich said. A call-back will not eliminate the occurrence of an abbreviation, and surveyors will still cite the hospital, he said.
The JCAHO is changing its stance because of "the old cry-wolf syndrome," Rich said. Prescribers received so many calls about unapproved abbreviations that they would not return the calls, which could put patients at risk, he said.
Pharmacists also should not be charged with mandating compliance, Rich said. "This is a medical-staff issue. This is not a pharmacy police responsibility."
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