Week 17 & 18 / POM Flashcards
(48 cards)
Flashcard 1
Q: How is a Prescription Only Medicine (POM) legally defined?
Flashcard 2
Q: According to HMR Regulation 214, who may sell or supply a POM?
Flashcard 3
Q: Where can the classification of a medicine as POM be found?
Flashcard 4
Q: What is the legal definition of a prescription?
Flashcard 5
Q: What is a Patient Specific Direction (PSD)?
Flashcard 6
Q: How common is medicine supply by prescription in England?
Flashcard 7
Q: How does a Patient Specific Direction (PSD) differ from a Patient Group Direction (PGD)?
1A: As a medicine listed in the POM Order or if its marketing authorisation lists the classification as POM.
2A: Only in accordance with a prescription given by an appropriate practitioner.
3A: In the POM Order or within the medicine’s marketing authorisation documentation.
4A: There is no strict legal definition, but a prescription is generally accepted as a patient specific direction (PSD).
5A: A written instruction from a prescriber for a medicine to be supplied or administered to a named patient after individual assessment.
6A: In 2023/4, there were 1.21 billion prescriptions in England costing £10.9 billion.
7A: A PSD is for individual patients after assessment, while a PGD allows supply/administering to groups without individual prescriptions (covered separately).
Flashcard 1
Q: Who must sign a prescription for it to be valid?
Flashcard 2
Q: Name three types of ‘appropriate practitioners’.
Flashcard 3
Q: Which independent prescribers are considered ‘appropriate practitioners’?
Flashcard 4
Q: Besides independent prescribers, who else qualifies as ‘appropriate practitioners’?
1A: An ‘appropriate practitioner’.
2A: Doctor (registered medical practitioner), Dentist, Community Practitioner Nurse Prescribers.
3A: Nurse, Pharmacist, Optometrist, Physiotherapist, Podiatrist, Therapeutic Radiographer, Paramedic independent prescribers.
4A: Supplementary prescribers.
Flashcard 1
Q: What is the rule for signing a prescription for a POM?
A: It must be signed in ink by the appropriate practitioner unless it is an electronic prescription.
Q: What particulars must a prescription contain?
A:
Address of the appropriate practitioner
The appropriate date
Indication of the type of practitioner
Name and address of the patient
Age of the patient if under 12
Q: How must a prescription be written?
A: In ink or otherwise indelible. NHS prescriptions (not for Schedule 1, 2, or 3 CDs) can be written by carbon paper or similar.
Q: How long is a prescription valid for POMs?
A: 6 months from the appropriate date.
Q: What is required of the practitioner issuing the prescription?
A: They must be registered in the UK or be an approved health professional in an approved country.
Q: What must happen if the full quantity of medicine cannot be supplied?
A: An owing slip must be given, and the remainder must be collected within the prescription’s legal validity.
Q: How must the medicine be dispensed according to the prescription?
A: Exactly as written—form, strength, dose, frequency, and quantity.
Q: What happens if a medicine is prescribed by brand name?
A: Only that branded product may be dispensed; no generic or alternative brand substitutions allowed.
Q: Do electronic prescriptions for POMs need to meet the same legal requirements as paper prescriptions?
A: Yes, all legal requirements for a POM prescription apply.
Q: What is the main challenge with electronic prescriptions regarding the prescriber’s signature?
A: There is no physical signature; instead, an advanced electronic signature must be used.
Q: What are the key features of an advanced electronic signature?
A:
Uniquely linked to the prescriber
Capable of identifying the prescriber
Created using means the prescriber controls
Linked to the prescription data so any changes after signing are detectable
Q: How must electronic prescriptions be sent?
A: Electronically to the person dispensing, possibly through intermediaries.
Q: Can all drugs be prescribed electronically?
A: Yes, all drugs can legally be sent via electronic prescriptions.
Q: How are NHS electronic prescriptions transmitted?
A: Sent from prescriber to pharmacy via the NHS spine system.
Q: What is a ‘dispensing token’ in electronic prescriptions?
A: The printed version of the electronic prescription at the pharmacy (form FP10DT).
Q: What can be done with undispensed or error-containing tokens?
A: They can be sent back to the NHS spine for cancellation by the GP.
Q: Where are NHS prescriptions submitted after dispensing?
A: To the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), Prescription Services Division (PSD) at the end of each month.
Q: What does the NHSBSA do upon receiving submitted NHS prescriptions?
A: Reimburses the pharmacy for the cost of the drug plus a dispensing fee and other professional fees.
Q: Are private prescriptions submitted to the NHSBSA?
A: No, private prescriptions are not submitted because they are not NHS prescriptions.
Q: Since when has the use of fax machines been discouraged in NHS settings for transmitting confidential info?
A: Since April 2020.
Q: Is a faxed prescription legally valid?
A: No, it is not legally valid as it is not signed in ink by the prescriber.
Q: What does a faxed prescription confirm?
A: That a valid prescription exists somewhere at the time of receipt.
