Pharmacy Practice: Analyzing Communication, Management, and Law

This pharmacy assignment delves into critical aspects of pharmacy practice, focusing on communication, management, and law. The communication section identifies potential problems in prescription orders and interactions with patients, physicians, manufacturers, and pharmacy personnel, offering solutions to enhance clarity and accuracy. The management section addresses methods for removing outdated stock, including strategies like dedicated website pages, competitions, and donations, while also examining return policies of wholesalers and manufacturers. Finally, the law review section emphasizes the importance of interns understanding prescription dispensing procedures, storage requirements, ordering processes, inventory control, and relevant licenses to ensure regulatory compliance and maintain the credibility of pharmaceutical services. This assignment provides a comprehensive overview of essential skills and knowledge for pharmacy professionals.

Running Head: PHARMACY ASSIGNMENT 1
Pharmacy Assignment
Student’s Name
Institution Affiliation

PHARMACY ASSIGNMENT 2
Assignment 1: Communication
#1
Problems that arose
In the phone call conversation, the intern was given information such as the name of the patient,
address, the birth date, name of the drug, quantity to administer, the doctor’s name, the phone
number among other details. The problems that arose included not being able to spell the
patient’s name correctly due to absurd pronunciation, incorrect key-in of phone numbers or the
quantity of drug to administer.
Things you listen for while receiving a prescribed order
Check whether the prescription is valid and the prescriber prescribed the dosage within their
remit (Beardsley et al., 2012). The NHS prescription charge number should be recorded, the
name of the drug, doctor and patient’s name, and number of refill noted down.
Are there safeguards to avoid error? Discuss
Yes, there are safeguards to avoid errors as they can be misheard, mistranscribed or
misinterpreted. These include identifying the authorized prescriber, repeating all the order details
back to the transcriber for counter-checking, and requesting the indication for the medication
(Besley & Brigham, 2015).
#2 Communication problems between the pharmacist and;

PHARMACY ASSIGNMENT 3
Patient: Incorrect dosage or word-of-mouth transcriptions which results to the patient forgetting
what was instructed. Solve by double-checking the transcribed content before leaving (Rantucci,
2007).
Physician: Change of details without the doctor or lab coordinator being notified. Solved by
notifying the required personnel in case of any change of information on prescribed drug.
Manufacturer representative: Incorrect quantity in the order details in the case of a phone
conversation. Solved by repeating back the details to the person on the other end for counter-
checking and confirmation (Beardsley et al., 2012).
Pharmacy personnel: Giving out unrequired drugs without the confirmation of the person in
charge. This might result to wrong dosages. Can be solved through following proper channels
before giving out drugs.
#3
Examples encountered in solving communication problems
In solving communication problems, I have encountered people in the workplace using
the wrong communication tool to respond to messages, oversharing of information resulting to
the information falling on the wrong hands, and failing to communicate fully while responding to
queries. For example, answering ‘yes’ to more than one question in an email is not clear enough.
Personal communication problems encountered and how to solve them
Personal communication problems that I have encountered include a person failing to
listen to instructions or using a mobile while being spoken to. This can be solved by ensuring

PHARMACY ASSIGNMENT 4
total attentiveness while being spoken to or not having a gadget with you while in a serious
conversation.
Assignment 2: Management
#2 Methods of removing outdated items from stock
There are a number of methods to implement in order to get rid of the outdated stock in
one’s inventory. Outdated stock is very dangerous for a company since it may divert attention
away from more important products. According to Ross (2015), below are the ten smartest
methods to get rid of outdated products. These include dedicating a website page solely for
selling the products. Also running a competition of the stock in question may improve the
customer demand for it and even gather more contacts. Thirdly, double rewarding the people
who purchase these products, sending some of the stock to influencers, and donating excess
stock to the less fortunate will get rid of them. Another way is by advertising the outdated stock
as ‘back in stock.’ Although this may appear cold and immoral, it is the perfect way of having
your products purchased in bulk. Also, extending the returning policy of the products and trading
with other sellers will ensure that the outdated stock clears fast. Lastly, creating product bundles
and updating the product listing.
Examples of return policies of various wholesalers and manufacturers
Examples of return policies used by manufacturers include returning the product within
21 days from the purchased date if one is not satisfied by its contents (Carland & Carland, 1998).
Returning the product if seal is broken, tampered with or if the product is not in the condition is
supposed to be as per their advertising web page. However, manufacturers have the right to
refuse the return of products if they are damaged or exchanged.

PHARMACY ASSIGNMENT 5
Assignment 3: Law Review
#1 Intern should analyze procedures for dispensing prescriptions and storage requirements
This will ensure that the intern will be knowledgeable in the said field in case of order
prescription and strict requirements to be met. Analyzing the storage requirements will ensure
that drugs and other products are safe throughout the time that they are stored. Reading labels
and information on the drug enhances credibility of prescribed drug.
#2 Interns should be familiar with ordering procedures and inventory control
Becoming familiar with the ordering procedures and inventory control will enable the
intern to understand how to deal with outdated or new stock in the inventory. The ordering
procedure also ensures viability of prescribed drug when ordering them or taking inventory.
#3 Intern should be familiar with various licenses
The various licenses and documentations for operating a pharmacy will ensure that the
pharmacy is running in line with the rules and regulations of the country it is operating in
(Organization Mundial, 2007). This will also raise the credibility of the product and services
offered by the pharmacy.

PHARMACY ASSIGNMENT 6
References
Beardsley, R. S., Kimberlin, C. L., Tindall, W. N., & Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. (2012).
Communication skills in pharmacy practice: A practical guide for students and
practitioners. Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Besley, S., & Brigham, E. F. (2015). Principles of finance.
Carland, J., & Carland, J. A. (1998). Small business management: Tools for success. Houston,
TX: Dame Publications, Inc.
Organización Mundial de la Salud. (2007). Quality assurande of pharmaceuticals: A
compendium of guidelines and related materials. Geneva.
Rantucci, M. J. (2007). Pharmacists talking with patients: A guide to patient counseling.
Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Ross, D. F. (2015). Distribution planning and control: Managing in the era of supply chain
management.