Can lpns dispense medications?

[clbnurse]

I work in longterm care. When we discharge a patient home or they go on loa can we legally send all their meds with them? I was taught we had to get them from the pharmacy or call them in to a pharmacy but not send them home. Can anyone help?

[churdlpn]

At my ltc facility we can send home a 3 day supply with a dr's order. If they discharge to another facility then we can send all of the meds with them.

[charebec65]

I would check with your state board of nursing. Here in Ohio I've known where patients go on vacation with their families. Obviously they still need their meds so the nurse would send what is needed for the time they would be gone and it would be carefully charted.

[yadda_yadda_yadda, LPN, LVN]

"Dispensing" entails filling a container with meds and labeling it.

If there is a valid order, and the meds have been filled by a pharmacy, providing the meds to a patient or family is NOT dispensing.

[jetscreamer101]

We use bubble cards. When someone goes on a home visit, we pop the pills and put then in med envelopes with the administration time on them. Is this wrong? Does in constitute dispensing? When discharged, we send the whole card.

[morte, LPN, LVN]

We use bubble cards. When someone goes on a home visit, we pop the pills and put then in med envelopes with the administration time on them. Is this wrong? Does in constitute dispensing? When discharged, we send the whole card.

yup, need to get them "prepackaged" from the pharm......i have commonly seen pt go home "with meds and sevices" go home with what ever they have left on the bubble cards....except for narcs, which would be a separate order...

[txspadequeenRN, BSN, RN]

:yeahthat:

"Dispensing" entails filling a container with meds and labeling it.

If there is a valid order, and the meds have been filled by a pharmacy, providing the meds to a patient or family is NOT dispensing.