Issues That Require Pharmacist Intervention

Flashcards covering key terms and concepts from pharmacy technician training material.

Pharmacy Technicians

Essential members of the healthcare team and the backbone of the pharmacy. Their responsibilities include prescription processing, medication dispensing, medication ordering, inventory management, record-keeping, administrative tasks, and customer service.

Pharmacists

Healthcare professionals who specialize in medications and their use. Responsibilities include drug utilization review (DUR), drug interaction assessment, adverse drug event management, patient counseling, OTC medication recommendations, therapeutic substitution, drug misuse intervention, promotion of medication adherence, post-immunization follow-up, and allergy assessment.

Pharmacy Interns

Students currently enrolled in an accredited college of pharmacy. They can perform many activities that pharmacists can do under a pharmacist’s direct supervision.

Drug Utilization Review (DUR)

An ongoing review of prescribing, dispensing, and appropriate use of a medication. Activities include drug interactions, inappropriate dosages, therapeutic duplications, non-adherence, contraindications, and monitoring requirements.

Drug-Drug Interaction

Occurs when a patient’s prescription interacts with another prescription medication, OTC medication, or herbal supplement. Example: Warfarin interacting with aspirin.

Drug-Food Interaction

Occurs when a medication cannot be used with certain foods. Example: Statins and grapefruit.

Drug-Disease Interaction

Occurs when a medication used to treat one of the patient’s health conditions interacts with another health condition they have. Example: Beta-blockers and asthma.

Adverse Drug Event (ADE)

Any undesirable or harmful occurrence related to the use of a medication, ranging from mild side effects to severe, life-threatening reactions.

Patient Counseling

Can only be performed by a pharmacist. Pharmacy technicians can only ask if the patient has questions and refer them to the pharmacist.

OTC Medication Recommendations

Can only be done by a pharmacist, who uses their clinical knowledge to assess the patient’s condition and recommend an appropriate agent.

Therapeutic Substitution

A healthcare practice where one medication is replaced with another that is considered therapeutically equivalent or similar. Reasons include cost savings, medication availability, and insurance formulary preferences.

Generic Substitution

Using a generic version of the same medication.

Medication Misuse

Refers to a medication not being taken as prescribed, such as not understanding how to take medication correctly, dose splitting, taking excess medication, or taking extra medication to achieve euphoria.

Medication Adherence

Pharmacists promote medication adherence by educating patients and simplifying their regimens when possible.

Post-Immunization Follow-Up

After vaccine administration, the pharmacist can call the patient to assess tolerability and monitor for adverse reactions.

Allergy Assessment

It is a pharmacist’s responsibility to review the patient’s allergy list, determine the severity of the reactions, and recommend therapy changes if needed.

Pharmacy Technician Scope

Pharmacy technicians can provide information on prior authorizations, insurance copays, medication availability, location of OTC items, refills remaining, quantity dispensed, and status of the prescription.