Pharmacy Case Study

APNPs need to discuss medication effects and reasons for prescribing meds with their patients. Adherence to medication is dependent upon proper education for patients. As for reducing errors, the more that a patient understands about the medications they are taking, the more control they have over changes or mistakes by the pharmacist or the RN giving the patient the medication, thus reducing errors. Medications should be prescribed only for the prescribed length of use, especially for opioids. For long term medications, prescriptions should expire in one year. In addition, prescribers should keep blank, “tamper-resistant”, prescription documents safe so they cannot be taken and used illegally. Prescribers should never use them for anything other than prescribing and never sign prescription blanks prior to use with a patient. Also, prescribers should ensure that the actual amount is written (not just a number) which can deter someone from changing the original script. Prescribers should collaborate with pharmacy to ensure that the prescriptions are filled …show more content…
APNP federal licenses are to be renewed every three years. But to do so, they must be compliant with the state guidelines and regulations. Therefore, the DEA license is only good for the state in which it was authorized. If APNPs wish to practice in multiple states they will need multiple state licenses and separate DEA registrations for those states, unless they are prescribing under an organizations DEA license. DEA registration is not required for federal offices, such as the military or Bureau of Prisons (United States Department of Justice - Drug Enforcement Administration, (2006). Clearly, this can be a complicated process for some APNPs and continues to be the responsibility of the prescriber to ensure that he or she is licensed