Lessons · Pharmacy · the final check
The final check
The last look compares the finished prescription against the original, item by item: the patient, the drug, the strength, the quantity and the directions.
Hone is a place to practise a career, one idea a day. This is one of its lessons, written out in full and free to read without an account.
What it is for
Everything before this can be fixed. After this, the bag goes into somebody's hand. The check is short and it is only worth anything if it is done against the original script rather than against the label that was made from it.
How to think about it
Read in one direction, original first, finished product second, one item at a time, out loud if the room allows it. Never read the label against itself: a typing mistake reads perfectly when it is compared with its own copy.
Worked example
Patient name and date of birthThe right bag going to the right person is the first thing and the easiest one to get wrong at a busy counter.
Drug and strength against the stock bottleSay the strength out loud. 50 mg and 500 mg look alike in a hurry.
Quantity counted against the quantity writtenThirty means thirty.
The label's directions against the sig, word for wordNot from memory, and not from the label alone.
Your turn
The final check reads the label's directions against which line of the prescription?
the label's directions against the
Solve one, graded on the server
The trap
Checking the label against the vial's own auxiliary label or the printout it came with. Both were made from the same entry, so both carry the same mistake. Only the original script is independent.