Page 44 - Demo

CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
SUPPORTING PHARMACY PRACTICE
Operating a staged supply service
BY EMILY BIDDISCOMBE MPS
Sally is a 35-year-old female who has just started on your methadone program. She has been a regular patient of your pharmacy for quite some time and usually gets her diazepam prescriptions dispensed from you. In recent months you have noticed that Sally has become unstable and has been getting her diazepam prescription filled more frequently than usual. Sally presents with a new prescription from her doctor for diazepam 5 mg x 50 tablets, one tablet daily when necessary, which is what she usually collects. You notice that she has had these dispensed within the last fortnight. Given the circumstances you decide to have a chat to Sally and her doctor about a safer arrangement for her to collect her prescription.
Why staged supply?
To some degree the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and pharmaceutical companies create a version of staged supply by stipulating their pack sizes, often resulting in one month’s supply of medicine. For the most part, dispensing this monthly supply of medicine to a patient is safe and manageable. However, some patients may have difficulty taking their medicine correctly, whether this is taking too much or too little; they may be at risk of medicine misadventure, medicine abuse, or diversion; or may not be able to store their medicines correctly. To assist these patients a staged supply service may be useful.1
Staged supply was a part of pharmacy practice long before its inclusion in Community Pharmacy Agreements (CPAs).1,2 Since being included in the CPA, guidelines have been developed to standardise the service in order to provide the best care for patients. These guidelines only refer to the staged supply service in its purest form, however other forms of staged supply exist such as opioid substitution therapy (OST) and dose administration aids (DAAs).1
Emily Biddiscombe is a recently graduated pharmacist working in an independent pharmacy. She has an interest in mental health, wound care and opioid replacement and looks forward to expanding practice in these areas.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After reading this article, pharmacists should be able to:
• Describe the rationale for providing a staged supply service and
the relevant considerations to think about when establishing the
service
• Discuss how to identify potential service recipients
• Explain the components that are unique to a staged supply service
compared to the normal dispensing requirements. Competencies addressed: 1.1.3, 1.1.4, 4.1.2, 4.3.3, 7.1.4, 7.2.4. Accreditation number: CAP1701B
42 Australian Pharmacist January 2017 I ©Pharmaceutical Society of Australia Ltd.
This article has been independently researched and peer reviewed.