CH HM3 Dispense herbal medicines and products

Overview

This standard details the requirements for activities to be carried out either by you as a herbal practitioner, or a trained dispenser acting on your behalf. You will at all times work within Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that relate to the way in which you provide the herbal medicine dispensing service. You will also work within the ethical and legal requirements for the provision of a herbal medicine dispensing service. The first element covers how you, or your dispenser, would receive and validate a herbal prescription. The second element covers the actual preparation of the prescribed items, it also covers extemporaneous dispensing. You will need to accurately calculate the quantities of the ingredients needed, make, pack and label the product, correctly taking account of relevant legal requirements. Health and Safety and Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) regulations are especially important. The third element covers the issuing of the prescribed medicine(s) or product(s) to the client and the giving of information and advice to ensure that the client receives the correct treatment. When reading this standard it is important to bear in mind that some of the criteria will refer to a herbal dispensers activities and that these may not always be relevant to practitioners making up their own prescriptions. Users of this standard will need to ensure that practice reflects up to date information and policies. Version No 1

Knowledge and Understanding

You will need to know and understand:

1. the limits of your own authority and (for a dispenser) when to refer to the herbalist
2. the importance of maintaining dispensary records
3. the current ethical and legal professional requirements that govern the dispensing and issuing of a herbal prescription
4. that some clients will have special needs
5. the different reference sources that are available and when you need to use them
6. the importance of Standard Operating Procedures and reasons for following them
7. the basic principles of modern herbal medicines management
8. exactly what client details are required on a prescription and why they are necessary
9. research regulations and procedures
10. the procedures for dealing with clients with special needs
11. the transactional and administration procedures as required by government regulations and those that apply to your workplace
12. how to use herbal reference sources and guidelines for dispensing
13. the procedures for validating prescriptions and reasons for following them
14. how to recognize a possible forged prescription and actions to take
15. the requirements to be satisfied for a complete, unambiguous and valid prescription and actions to take if validity is questionable
16. the prescribing conventions and abbreviations
17. the botanical terms used to describe herbs including Latin terms and/or tradition specific names where relevant, for parts of plants
18. how herbal medicines are administered and the affect they have on basic human physiology
19. different strengths, doses and quantities of medicines and why they are used
20. the actions and use of drugs including different drug interactions and contra-indications
21. why and when Prescription Records are used
22. the regulations relating to the prescription requirements for restricted herbs
23. the current legislation relating to the validity of prescriptions
24. procedures for dispensing prescriptions plus principles underlying these
25. basic hygiene and the importance of maintaining a clean working environment and equipment; personal hygiene and use of protective clothing
26. labelling requirements and conventions; measurement and transfer of medicine from bulk; properties of container types and when to use
27. factors which cause deterioration of stock: microbial contamination; environmental and storage conditions
28. handling and storage of hazardous materials and procedures to minimise risk
29. principles of calculations, weights and measures
30. the correct use and maintenance of dispensing equipment
31. the procedures for preparing products plus principles underlying these
32. chemical, physical and energetic properties of ingredients relevant to formulation and compounding
33. the procedures and principles for issuing dispensed medicines and products and the local Standard Operating Procedures that relate to this.
34. why it is important to confirm the client’s identity; provide information on use of medicines and products; provide information on storage and maintenance of herbal medicines and products, provide information on possible side effects, to ensure the safe, effective use of treatments.

Performance Criteria

You must be able to do the following:

1. ensure that client confidentiality is maintained at all times
2. check the client details on the prescription and confirm that they are clear and correct
3. give the appropriate information to the client
4. carry out all transactions promptly and correctly
5. forward the prescription for validation and preparation
6. check that prescription is correctly written
7. refer the prescriptions to the relevant person if you are unsure about any aspect, you must make the appropriate annotation on the prescription
8. handle all queries in a courteous manner
9. confirm that prescriptions are valid and are not a forgery.
10. ensure that the medicine(s) or product(s) matches the prescription
11. ensure that the medicine(s) or product(s) will remain in date for the course of treatment (as stated on the prescription)
12. ensure the preparation area and equipment are clean and ready for use
13. ensure that the ingredients you select and quantity you calculate and measure are accurate and meet the prescription requirements
14. prepare the medicine(s) or product(s)  using the correct equipment and process
15. produce the required labels that meet all the legal and local requirements
16. ensure that the medicine(s) or product(s)  is/are checked, packed and labelled appropriately
17. endorse the prescription appropriately
18. complete all relevant records legibly and accurately
19. ensure the work area and equipment is cleaned and maintained ready for use
20. follow the health, hygiene and safety procedures and avoid all distractions whilst fulfilling the prescription
21. ensure that client confidentiality is maintained at all times
22. confirm the client’s identity and that it correctly matches with the prescription
23. provide to the client advice and information relating to the use of the prescribed medicine or product clearly and accurately and in the most appropriate  format
24. confirm the client’s understanding of any advice or information you give
25. correctly identify any over the counter needs and assess when the client should be referred to a herbalist
26. issue the medicine or product correctly, checking it matches the prescription, all details are correct and all the necessary consumables are provided

Additional Information

This National Occupational Standard was developed by Skills for Health. This standard links with the following dimension within the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework (October 2004): Dimension: HWB10 Products to meet health and wellbeing needs