2005 Edition Report on Drug Administration Procedure & Practices ...

Drug Name4.11 There should be a hospital Formulary available. This Formulary should be regularly updatedand be easily accessed by medical & nursing staff. This Formulary should list the approvednames, i.e. the generic names and the dosage formulations of the drugs in stock. The habit ofusing trade names for drugs should be discouraged particularly when generics are beingdispensed.4.12 Prescriptions should be made in the most appropriate conventional form and dosage of drugs,as according to the hospital Formulary.4.13 All drugs should be prescribed by their approved name and should preferably be printed infull in BLOCK LETTERS. It is essential that all entries made on the MAR are complete andlegible. Only approved abbreviations should be accepted.4.14 A list of standard, HA-wide approved drug name and frequency abbreviations has beenestablished. Doctors should either prescribe in full text or adhere to this list ofabbreviations (refer to Appendix 3).4.15 A ‘Hospital Authority Drug Formulary’ has been drawn up. The professional staff can referto this list for cross reference and information.Dosage4.16 The dose of medications should be prescribed using the METRIC system. Also dosageshould be expressed in terms of the active ingredients and NOT, for example, the number oftablets or volume of liquid, except in the case of compound preparations.4.17 Dosage abbreviations and decimal points should be avoided. eg. 0.5g should be expressed as500 mg. To avoid any confusion with milligram (mg), Microgram should be written in fullinstead of mcg or μg. Units should be written in full instead of i.u.4.18 It is recommended that standardized dosing and dilution methods for a list of commonlyused IV medications should be devised and endorsed by the hospitals’ DTC. Doctors shouldprescribe the IV medications by their standardized dilution concentrations and choice ofdiluents in normal circumstances.Routes of Administration4.19 A list of unambiguous, standard abbreviations should be drawn up. Doctors should eitherprescribe in full text or adhere to this list of standard abbreviation in prescribing the route ofadministration (refer to Appendix 3). In case of doubt, the staff member who is responsiblefor the drug administration must verify with the prescriber the abbreviations used.Times of Administration4.20 Times of administration schedule should be clearly given. As an alternative, this can be preprintedon the MAR for regular medications. Doctors should need only to select theappropriate times on the chart. This will save the doctors’ time in stating the frequency of23