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የሥ ራ ናክህሎ ት ሚ ኒስቴ ር OF/MoLS/TVT/029

MINISTRY OF LABOR AND SKILLS
Title: Issue No. Page No:
Training module format 1 Page 1 of 1

Pharmacy Level-IV
Based on December 2024,
Curriculum
Module Version
Title: Good Dispensing Principles II
Module Code: HLT PHS4 M03 0324
Nominal Duration: 380 Hours

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(HCT=Hydrocortisone/Hydrochlorothiazide) Abbreviations can kill or cure!
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 Unit One
Dimensional Analysis
1.1Introduction to principles of good dispensing practice
 Good dispensing practice is a critical component of:
 pharmaceutical care,
 ensuring that patients receive the correct medication in an appropriate form,
 dose, and
 schedule to achieve optimal therapeutic outcomes.
 Dispensing is not merely the act of providing medication but involves a series of well-
coordinated steps that :
prioritize patient safety,
 effectiveness of treatment, and
 ethical standards. Abbreviations can kill or cure! (HCT=Hydrocor
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 Key principles underpinning good dispensing practices
 Accuracy in dispensing
 Ensuring that the right medication is provided to the correct patient in the prescribed dosage and form
is fundamental.
This includes double-checking prescriptions, verifying calculations, and ensuring proper labeling.
 Patient safety
 Preventing medication errors
 adverse drug events is a core objective.
 Pharmacists must be vigilant
contraindications,
drug interactions,
potential allergies, while also ensuring the medication is within its expiry date and stored
correctly. Abbreviations can kill or cure! (HCT=Hydrocor 07/07/2025 3
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 Clear communication
• Proper counseling and providing clear instructions for use are essential to avoid misuse or non-
compliance.
• Patients should understand the purpose of the medication, how to take it, and any potential
side effects.

Confidentiality and ethics

• Protecting patient information and maintaining professionalism are vital.
• Dispensing practices must adhere to ethical standards and comply with legal and regulatory
frameworks.

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 Proper record keeping
• Maintaining accurate and complete records of all dispensed medications is essential for legal
accountability, patient follow-up, and quality assurance .
 Education and competence
• Dispensing personnel must have adequate knowledge and training to understand the
pharmacological aspects of medications and their proper handling.

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 Quality assurance
• Ensuring the quality of medications through :-
proper storage,
handling, and
 monitoring of environmental conditions (e.g., temperature, humidity) preserves the integrity
of the products.
 Minimizing errors
 Implementing systems to detect and reduce errors, such as using barcode verification or automated
dispensing systems, enhances reliability and safety.

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 1.2 Prescription and types of prescription
A. Definition
 Prescription is a paper document written, typed or computer generated detailing the medication (s)
or other pharmaceuticals to be dispensed for an individually named patient and issued by an
authorized prescriber.
 A prescription is a written order from registered medical practitioner or a physician to a pharmacy
professional to compound and dispense a specific medication for the patient.
 The word "prescription" is derived from the Latin term praescriptus (Prae - 'before' and scribere-
meaning 'to write'). Therefore, Prescription means 'to write before' which means prescription had to
be written before a drug could be compounded and administered to a patient.
 ℞ is a symbol meaning "prescription.
 Late Latin verb recipe, the imperative form of recipere, "to take" or "take thus". Literally, the Latin word
recipe means simply "Take...." and medieval prescriptions
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B .Types of prescription
i) Based on health care providers sector
 Private sector/private prescription: is normally written on a form that
includes the name, address and qualifications of the prescriber.
 The symbol ℞ is often used.
 All veterinary prescriptions are private prescription
National health sector/service /NHS prescription: NHS prescriptions
are only issued for NHS patients.
NHS prescriptions are available in different forms based on the prescriber
(GPs, specialists, Nurses), purpose of the prescription (for controlled drugs,
emergency drug) and level of health service (Hospital, primary health care
sector).

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ii) Based on legal issue
(A) Ordinary prescription – is used for any medicines & supplies.
Ordinary prescription can be used for ordering all medicines except which needs special
prescription paper and medicated supplies
(B) Narcotic and Psychotropic prescription – is used to prescribe Narcotic drugs and
Psychotropic drugs respectively
• Both are used for controlled drugs to treated special health conditions by specialist
who has legal right to prescribe.
• They must be written by specialist in their special form and filled and reported for
regulatory body.

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iii) Based on health services department
(a) In patent prescription – to be used within the facility
for confirmation of administration by nursing.
(b)Outpatient prescription – to be used in out patient
℞, dispenser’s information and price of medication
(c) Stock out prescription – to be sent out of facility
has only patient information, prescriber and medication
Is a document pharmacist to inform that prescribed medication is currently unavailable due
to stock shortage

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C. Components of a prescription
(i)Date of the prescription:
 This identifies when the prescription was written.
 Some legal requirements require prescription to be dispensed with in a certain time
from the date of prescription
 . E.g. - Controlled drugs should not be dispensed within 15 days.

(ii) Name, address and telephone number of prescriber:

 This identifies who was the prescriber and where and how to contact him/her.
 the preprinted portion of the prescription may contain multiple prescribers' names.
Prescribers typically circle themselves to indicate who is prescribing or there may be a
checkbox next to their name

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(iii) Name, strength, dose and dosage form of the medicine:
o Name of the medicine
 The name of the medicine can be written as either the generic or proprietary name.
 Prescribers are encouraged to use generic name for cost-saving reasons due to generic substitution
and reduces confusion of proprietor name
 also allows for a larger no of products from different companies.
 Generic name is also known as the approved name.
 All drugs are given an approved name by the world health organization (WHO) and are known as the
recommended International Non proprietary Name (rINN).
 E.g. Amoxil is a proprietor name, whereas Amoxicillin is a Generic /rINN/ name.

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 Proprietary name /brand name refers the name given to the drug by the company
that produces it.
 The company apply a trademark in respect of the proprietor name.
 This brand name exist from date of discover until expiry of the paten, 15 years in
some country (e.g. UK). This name usually short, distinct, and easy of remember
and write.
o Strength
 the amount of drug in the dosage from.
 expressed in a number of ways.
 Strength of oral liquids – amount of drugs/usual dose volume. E.g.
Amoxicillin 250 mg/5ml.
 Expressed in units of active agent in 1ml of preparation. E.g. Nystatinsusp.
100,000 Units/ml of susp.
 Concentration – percentage in prep. E.g. chloramphenicol eye drop 0.3%
(3gm/100 ml), Lidocaine /lignocaine/ injection
Abbreviations 0.5%.
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 o Single dose form.
 one suppository (expressed as the amount of drug in one dosage forms.

E.g. Diclofenac 25mg suppository).

o Dosage form–.
 refers to the type of formulated product for example as tablet, capsule, cream,
ointment, drops (ear, eye, nasal), aerosol, rectal suppository, vaginal pesaries.
These dosage forms may also presented in a number of specialized from.
  E/c -enteric coated tablet
  Chewable tablet
  Soluble tablet (tablet for solution), etc

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(iv) Dose and dosage regimen
 Dose

 is the amount of drug taken at any one time (at time)

 expressed as weight of drug
(e.g. 500mg) or volume of liquids (5ml =tsp, 2drops) or number of dosage from (2 capsules, ½
tablet, 15 sachets) or quantity of product (2 puffs).
Dosage regimen
 – refers the frequency of administration or the number of times the dose is to be taken.
 it is schedule of medications to be taken throughout the duration of therapy.
E.g. Amoxicillin 250 mg capsule every eight hours or Amoxicillin 250 mg capsule Tid.

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(v) Length of treatment or treatment duration
 refers to the period of time over which a particular therapeutic intervention or medical regimen
is administered to a patient.
 It represents the duration for which the treatment plan is expected to be implemented, typically
based on factors such as the nature and severity of the condition being treated, the
effectiveness of the treatment, and the individual patient's response to it.

(vi) Direction for use

 refers to indication for how to use the product.

 (E.g. Spread thinly,

 dissolve in warm water,
 take when effervescent) and
 where to use/apply (e.g.
 in the eye,
 in the right ear,
 on the scalp,
 on the affected area, etc.) Abbreviations can kill or cure! (HCT=Hydrocor
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(vii) Name, Age, Sex and Address of patient
 this identifies who the patients, where he/she lives, his/her age (child or adult).
(viii) Prescriber’s signature and qualification –
 it is a legal requirement of prescriptions, and need to answer questions like;
− who is the prescriber?
− What he is? (Specialist or nurse, etc.).
• According to the individual country police and type of prescription some information may
be included in prescription. E.g. Prescriber’s code no, prescription serial number, etc.

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components of prescription can be summarized as follows:
 Prescriber’s name , degree, address and telephone number: in the case of prescriptions
coming from a hospital or a health center, the hospital or health centers name appear at the
top. In such a case,the physician’s name, specialty and address would appear near his/her
signature.
 Patient’s name, address, age,sex and date of prescription.

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 superscription, which is represented by the lattin sign. ℞.
 inscription is the general content of the prescription. It states the name and strength of the
medication. In case of compounded prescriptions, the inscription states the name and
strength of active ingredients.
 subscription represents the directions to the dispenser and indicates the type of dosage form
or the number of dosage units, the subscription is written using English or Latin

abbreviations.

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3.1 Steps in dispensing of prescribed medications
o Dispensing
 process of preparing drugs and distributing them to their users with provision of appropriate
information.
 It may be based on a prescription or an oral request of users (patients or care providers) depending
on the type of drugs to be dispensed.
o The dispenser
 is a person who is authorized to dispense drugs and medical supplies to recipients.
 Depending on the level of dispensaries, pharmacy professionals of varying level of qualification
may be licensed for dispensing practices.
• The dispensing process involves the correct interpretation of the prescription or oral request, accurate
preparation and labeling of drugs with provision of appropriate information.
• there are different steps to be performed in the dispensing cycle during the dispensing process.
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Step 1: Receive and validate prescription or verbal request
 Ask the patient to give his/her name
 check the name with that on the prescription If in doubt, ask for identification card. Cross
checking the name and identity of the patient must also be done when issuing the drugs.
 Check the following information on the prescription.
 Patients name, sex, age, card number, address
 Diagnosis

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 Drug name, strength, dosage form, course of treatment
 The prescriber name, qualification, signature, registration number
 Date of the prescription
 Whether appropriate prescription form is issued or not (e.g. for controlled drugs)
 Seal of the health institution, if available.
 Verbal request can be done only for OTCs with justification.

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 Step 2: Understand and interpret prescription
 Carefully read the prescription or validate verbal request
 Check if the prescription is legally and currently written
 Correctly interpret any abbreviations used by the prescriber
 Confirm that the doses prescribed are in the normal range for the patient (noting sex
and age)
 Identify common drug- interaction(s)
 Verify inadequately written prescription and make necessary correction with the
prescriber’s consent.
 Correctly perform any calculations of dose and the quantity to be issued

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 Step 3: Determining cost of medication
 Perform the necessary calculations related to quantity and cost of medicines to be
dispensed.
 Conduct billing and recording of transactions (products and services) using serially
numbered sales tickets.
 Record and document medicines dispensed as proof of transaction between the patient and
the pharmacy professional. Prescriptions can therefore be traced back if the need arises.

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 Step 4: Prepare items for issue
 Select stock container of pre-pack ,
 reading the label ,
 cross
 matching the drug name
strength against the prescription.
 Read the container label at least twice during the dispensing process.
 Do not select the prescribed drugs according to the color or location of container.

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 Do not open many stock containers at the same time. This trend will lead to errors and/or
expose the drugs to air and eventually leads to deterioration in quality.
 Open and close containers once at a time.
 While counting, pouring or measuring, the following points should be noted:
• Short and/or over counting should be avoided
• Clean counting tray and/or spoon used
• Graduated measuring cylinder and/or flask must be used for measuring liquid reduction. If small
volume is to be measured, small measuring cylinder/flask has to be used.
 Appropriate balance should be used

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 In dispensing liquids:
 Must be measured in a clean vessel and should be poured from the stock bottle with the label kept up ward.
This avoids damage to the label by any spilled or dripping liquid.
 Pour the measured liquid preparation into the container/bottle and label it.
 Provide appropriate bottles with caps for repackaging liquid preparations
 Dispense liquid preparations in suitable containers

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 Do not use patient’s own bottle
 Dispense each drug in a different bottle
 In dispensing tablets and capsules:
 Do not use fingers to count tablets as this can lead to contamination of drugs
 Use a spoon to put tablets and capsules onto a counting tray
 Count and put them in a labeled drug container or pack
 Close stock containers tightly after dispensing
 Keep the spoon clean at all times
 Do not keep the spoon inside the container

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 Step 5:Packaging and labeling
 The packaging materials for dispensing:
 Must maintain quality and potency of medicines.
 Should provide protection from moisture, light, and contamination.
 Capped bottles are preferred over plastic and paper bags.
 Labeling of dispensed drugs should be clear and legible. All drugs should normally
be labeled with the following particulars:
 The drug name (use generic name),
 Strength (usually in mg)

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  The dose, quantity dispensed and frequency
 Direction for use in a familiar language
 Expiry date or use by date
 The name of the patient
 Owner name (for veterinary drugs)
 The name and address of pharmacy
 Dispensing date
 Dispenser name and initials
• Special caution (whenever applicable)

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 : Issue drugs to patient with clear instructions and advice
The prepared, packaged and labeled drug is handed over to the right patient or care providerwith appropriate
drug information. The information in the form of verbal and/or writteninstructions should include the following:
 How much and how often to take the drug
 When to take the drug (e.g., before or after meals)
 How long the treatment is to last (e.g., why the entire course of an antibiotic treatment must be
taken)
 How to take the drug (e.g., with water, chewing or swallowing)

 How to store the drug (e.g., avoid heat, light and dampness)

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• Not to share drugs with other persons
• To keep drugs out of reach of children
• demonstrate to the patient on how to administer the dispensed medications in case of inhaled
administration and suppository application.
• Patients should also be informed not to stop treatment when side effects occur or in the absence of
response without consulting the prescriber or dispenser.
• Finally, check whether patients have understood the information provided (see

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 Step 6: Recording, documentation and reporting
A. Recording
 Three different methods that can be used to keep a record of drugs dispensed. These
are:
 When a prescription is retained :the dispensing staff should put initials and annotate the
prescription and either files or enters the details into a record book.
 When the prescription is returned to the patient details of the drugs dispensed must be
entered into a record book before the items are issued to the patient.
 When computers are used in the dispensing process the computer program should retain

the information, which can be recalled to generate summary report .

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 The following information should be included into the record book and or computer:
• The date, the patient’s name, sex, age, name of the owner (for veterinary drugs)
• The drug name, dosage strength and dosage form
• The name, address and qualification of the prescriber
• The date on which the drug was prescribed
• The amount issued and the dispenser’s name and initials
• The date of dispensing
• Details of any repeat indications

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 B .Documentation and report
Documentation
 The receipts for requisition, receiving as well as the prescription registration book
 should be kept properly
 Blank prescription should be kept carefully, only prescribers have access to them.
 Filled prescription should be kept as a receipt. Prescriptions for narcotic and psychotropic substances
should be kept for 5 years and other prescriptions for 2 years. Thereafter, they should be disposed
carefully in the presence of inspectors from the drug regulatory body.

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 Reports
 Regular reports on drug consumption and prescribing pattern from patient
prescription registration book should be prepared and report to the concerned drug
authority timely.
 Information obtained from prescription registration book could be used for further
planning and efficient utilization of resource.
 The report on physical inventory shall be documented.

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