Medication management standards are guidelines set forth to guide the manner in which healthcare organizations and professionals practice the management of medication. The main aim of the implementation of medication management standards is the desire to protect the welfare of patients who are catered to by these healthcare organizations. As such, the medication management standards may be used in places like assisted living facilities, hospices, clinics and hospitals. The best practices outlined in the standards help ensure a more uniform approach toward the implementation of practices that will ensure a safer drug administration regimen.
One of the provisions of the medication management standards relates to the relationship between the pharmacists and these healthcare facilities due to the nature of their professional obligations. As such, these pharmacists must apply the provisions of the medication management standards in all aspects of the dispensation of drugs, including the maintenance of a representative database that has a list of patients and their medications. Those who may serve as consultants to any of these facilities may also perform services that that are derived from the provisions of the medication management standards. Other duties relating to pharmacists in the medication standards include clearly labeling the drugs in order to indicate the content, recommending the regimen of dosage, and properly packaging the medication. Once a prescription is received, they must ensure that they fill it out as quickly as possible and also that it gets to the proper recipient in a timely manner.
Another requirement of the medication management standards is for those administering drugs to patients to obtain the medical history of the patients with the view of eliminating drugs that might have an adverse side effect, or for the purpose having a clear understanding of the patient's history with the aim of knowing how to better manage him or her. An important inclusion in the standards is the area of the storage for such medication and the respective health facilities, which is provided for through certain guidelines that the facilities must follow in order to increase drug safety. Part of the duty of the administration for places like assisted living facilities is to constantly assess the individuals living there who may have been allowed to personally take the drugs themselves, with intention of assessing whether they still have the full cognitive ability to safely self-administer the drugs.
