Guest guest Posted January 23, 2004 Report Share Posted January 23, 2004 Hi Jeanetta and All, With no quantity being given by the doctor I would have calculated the stat dose separate from the " QID x 10 days " and dispensed 84 tablets. But as I thought about, we have a dentist in town who pre-prints his scripts. His antibiotics are usually " 2 stat then 1 q6 to completion " . The quantity is never an even amount. I'm having a hard time explaining this so bear with me if it sounds a little stupid. We like things to be exact or even. Like when doctors write for 30 day supply not 40 supply. A 40 day supply interferes with insurance company co-pays and stuff. Getting back to the dentist I mentioned, his Rx's usually end up with the patient taking one dose on the last day rather than a full day of 4 doses. If he had written 2 stat then 1 tab q6 x 10 days we would fill the Rx so the patient has a full 10 days of medication with 4 doses on day 10. I think it's a matter of bookkeeping between retail and hospital pharmacies. I could be wrong. But I can't find a definite answer. Lynch-Brunozzi, CPhT -- To love what you do and feel that it matters - how could anything be more fun? -- Graham . . . for my heart rejoiced in all my labour . . . Ecclesiastes 2:10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 25, 2004 Report Share Posted January 25, 2004 Hi Everyone, I posted this question at another site and here is one of the answers I received. Just another way to think about it. *********************************************************************** I guess that I am with the other incorrect pharmacists. To me, the physician is ordering 41 doses. The first dose requires 4 tablets and the remaining doses require 80, thus 84 total tablets. The author of the question is assuming that only 40 doses are being prescribed with the first dose requiring 4 tablets and the remaining 39 doses requiring 78 tablets, thus 82 total tablets. Would you assume the author dispenses a different number of doses if the patient presents the prescription at 09:00 than he does at 20:00? At 09:00 the patient could easily take 4 doses the first day. Would he/she recommend the patient take 4 doses (2.5 grams) between 20:00 and 24:00? Lucky for the patient that the clinical and financial outcomes from either 84 or 82 tablest are basically the same in this situation. Wantz -- To love what you do and feel that it matters - how could anything be more fun? -- Graham . . . for my heart rejoiced in all my labour . . . Ecclesiastes 2:10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 25, 2004 Report Share Posted January 25, 2004 , Yes, it can be taken in more than one way. Generally, if a doctor writes for a specific number of days, we figure the number of tabs as enough doses for the number of days required. So, I took it as the * 10 days means that the patient gets a total of 10 days of medication. But, yes, I can see that it could be figured for the 500mg a dose for 10 days at that, in addition to the initial 1 gm dose. It does depend on what type of practice you are in, as well as how you were trained. Della Cat Haven, Inc A No-Kill Cat Rescue (501c3) Houston, Tx www.cat-haven.org Re: Re: Disp Problem Hi Everyone, I posted this question at another site and here is one of the answers I received. Just another way to think about it. *********************************************************************** I guess that I am with the other incorrect pharmacists. To me, the physician is ordering 41 doses. The first dose requires 4 tablets and the remaining doses require 80, thus 84 total tablets. The author of the question is assuming that only 40 doses are being prescribed with the first dose requiring 4 tablets and the remaining 39 doses requiring 78 tablets, thus 82 total tablets. Would you assume the author dispenses a different number of doses if the patient presents the prescription at 09:00 than he does at 20:00? At 09:00 the patient could easily take 4 doses the first day. Would he/she recommend the patient take 4 doses (2.5 grams) between 20:00 and 24:00? Lucky for the patient that the clinical and financial outcomes from either 84 or 82 tablest are basically the same in this situation. Wantz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 26, 2004 Report Share Posted January 26, 2004 OK Everyone, This is my last post on this subject - cross my heart. Another pharmacist at work gave me this perspective to the 82 answer. She would dispense 82 tablets if the Rx read " Metronidazole 250 mg 1 gram stat .5 grams qid qs 10 days. " If the Rx read " Metronidazole 250 mg 1 gram stat then .5 gms qid for 10 days " she would dispense 84 tablets. To each his own I guess. -- To love what you do and feel that it matters - how could anything be more fun? -- Graham . . . for my heart rejoiced in all my labour . . . Ecclesiastes 2:10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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