Self-administration of drugs to patients is an easy, effective and less costly method applied in the process of management patients’ health conditions. Although it remains useful for many patients both inside and outside hospital settings, some of them lack the ability to self-administer the drugs and require continued assistance with drug administration. Pharmacists play an important role in the process of drug prescription, dispensing and their administration (Seiter, 2010).

Due to the adverse effects posed by many self-administered drugs, pharmacists through Pharmacy and Poison Boards have a legal obligation in the administration of these drugs. They are required to provide a comprehensive counseling to clients on over the counter drugs as well as prescription only drugs. These include the right dosage and their intervals, the wrongful effects on the cardiovascular system and the immediate steps to be taken to correct them (Woodrow, Colbert & Smith, 2014).

For drugs that require a prescription especially by a physician, the pharmacist is required to ascertain the prescribedcontents, including calculating the dosage to ensure that it is correct for a person’s heart function. Whenever the pharmacist is required to prescribe, he or she is required to keep a record of the prescription as a reference in case of adverse reactions (Florida Department of Elder Affairs, 2012).

The pharmacist is obliged to provide a proper storage of the drugs. It includes the proper labeling of drugs and storage within the required drug storage conditions. When the drugs are dispensed to the patients, the pharmacist is required to provide clear storage instructions. These include well labeled pill organizers to help the patients in avoiding confusing the drugs (Florida Department of Elder Affairs, 2012).

In situations that require the pharmacist to assist the patient with drug administration, precaution to drugs that have a lethal cardiovascular effect. These include drugs like Digoxin whose effects on the heart are serious, and the patient’s pulse rate should be closely monitored. In drugs that lead to dependency and have cardiovascular effects, the dispensing is carefully evaluated and should include a prescription as well as periodic monitoring of the patient’s drug effects (Woodrow, Colbert & Smith, 2010).

These legal regulations were put into place to ensure advanced patient safety in the use of self-administered drugs. The safety will improve through reducing cardiac toxicity brought about by uncontrolled drug use. They were also put into place to ensure that drug dispensing is done by licensed pharmacists possessing the knowledge and the skills in drug handling, as well as management thus improving the responsibility (Seiter, 2010).

References

Florida Department of Elder Affairs, (2012). Assistance with Self-Administration of Drugs. Retrieved from:http://elderaffairs.state.fl.us/doea/pubs/pubs/2012Med_Guide.pdf

Seiter, A. (2010). A Practical Approach to Pharmaceutical Policy. Washington, D.C: World Bank Publishers.

Woodrow, R., Colbert, B., & Smith, D.M. (2014). Essentials of Pharmacology for Health Professions, P6. Boston; USA: Cengage Learning.