7 Provision of OTC Medicine

Outcome:

Medication is safely, accurately and appropriately dispensed to the correct patient according to name, brand, strength, quantity and formulation with accurate instructions as intended by the prescriber.

Potential Risks:

Inappropriate and/or inaccurate dispensing may lead to individual patient harm and/or harm to the health and safety of the public

 

EPA Template

Element Performance Criteria Description
Introduction to Consultation - Greet consumer and introduce yourself and your role

- Ascertain the purpose of client visit to the pharmacy

- Establish patient identity

Patient Background Retrieve and contextualise relevant patient factors that may impact medicines management:

- Age, gender, weight, pregnancy/breastfeeding status
- Allergies and ADRs
- Medical conditions
- Previous history
- Medications (including CAMs and OTC medicines)
- Factors that may affect patient ability to use medicine (e.g. dexterity issues, swallowing difficulties, visual/hearing impairment, cognitive impairment, etc)

- Discuss patient preferences in the context of available treatment options

Questioning Technique - Consultation is conducted in a manner that maintains privacy and confidentiality of patient information

- Use an appropriate questioning technique to obtain relevant information from the patient/carer

- Use appropriate person-centred language (non-judgmental and avoids medical jargon)

- Use appropriate non-verbal communication skills to aid in questioning as appropriate

- Consider alternative method of communication of necessary, to accommodate for patients with barriers to communication (e.g. visual/hearing impairment, language proficiency, etc)

- Use a mixture of open and closed questions; avoids leading and/or negative questions

Diagnosis of condition Uses a structured and systematic approach to retrieving relevant information about the patient condition to allow differential diagnosis:

- Signs/symptoms of condition
- Duration of symptoms
- Previous experience with condition (including any treatment(s) that may have been tried previously and their effectiveness)

- Confirms specific information relevant for therapeutic area

- Demonstrates awareness of clinically relevant referral points that would warrant referral to GP

Selection of Appropriate Treatment and Provision of Information - Appropriate product(s) selected based on diagnosis of condition and within the context of patient preferences/factors that may affect use

Provision of clear instructions and information to allow safe use of selected product(s):

- Explain how the product works and link to diagnosis/symptoms
- Dose/frequency/timing/duration of use
- Application/demonstration if relevant (e.g. creams, eye drops, nasal sprays, ear drops, etc)
- Adverse effects (if appropriate)
- Precautions and contraindications (if appropriate)

- Provision of consumer resource if appropriate (e.g. written CMI or PSA Self Care Fact Card)

- Provision of non-pharmacological treatment options or preventative strategies

- Referral or follow up indicators

Confirmation of Patient Understanding - Provide consumer with opportunity to ask any questions

- Confirm understanding of condition and use of product(s) provided

- Confirm with consumer their needs have been satisfactorily met

Collaboration and Agency - Clarification is sought for any concerns identified and escalated to an appropriate stakeholder

- Identify and acknowledge any professional or personal limitations and seek support where necessary

- Consultation is conducted in a professional, efficient and respectful manner

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School of Pharmacy Preceptor Handbook Copyright © 2023 by The University of Queensland is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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