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Discussion

what is dispensing and is it illegal?

I am an LPN in NV and LVN in CA, I have worked through registries in long term ICU, SNF, acute, locked teen facility, prisons and jails. I have been licensed since 2004 and am working on my RN. I was working in a NV SNF and one of my coworkers, an RN, told me it was "dispensing" to package a dose of pt's meds for an outing with family or doctor's appointment, (I always wrote all info on whatever I packaged it in- pt name, dose, time to take, name of med, etc. ) I had done this in every SNF I had worked at before as it was common practice for other LPN's/LVN's there. Since I thought we were "dispensing" meds daily to pts anyway, what is the difference and why would it be illegal? I always OK'd the procedure through my superiors, so I assumed it was hospital policy.

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    When you give meds at work you are taking the medications out of a package the pharmacist put them in. I believe that even though it was done for years the way you are doing it, it is now required for the pharmacist to package the doses for the patient. When you repackage the meds you are essentially dispensing the drug. Check your procedures at your facility. Maybe even discuss it with your nurse manager. Your coworker is correct.

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    I also believe your coworker is correct, but check laws in your state. Some facilities continue this practice. However, the way it was explained to me, if I give something to a patient for their use in the facility, it's administration of a medication. However, if I give "take home" or otherwise so the patient leaves the facility with the medication that was not packaged by the pharmacist, it's dispensing. Nurses administer, pharmacist dispense. If you need a patient to have "take out of facility" medications it should come from a pharmacy or be dispensed, packaged, by the pharmacy.

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