Patient Education on Use of Prescribed Drugs
Provide patient counselling and patient education in accordance with institutions’ protocols
Type
Domain
Competency Area
Patient and/or Client Education and Health Promotion
Levels
Provide basic patient counselling and education when dispensing medications.
Determine the most appropriate products for patients
Compare and contrast different models for patients to make an informed purchase
Demonstrate and explain the correct use of each device
Ensure patients back- demonstrate correctly
Provide advice on device maintenance
Educate patients on interpretation of monitoring values and appropriate target ranges as recommended by institutional clinical practice
Use a variety of closed- and open-ended questions to obtain necessary information Recommend appropriate product models after taking into consideration patients’ literacy level, dexterity, visual acuity, financial status, lifestyle etc.
Check patients’/caregivers’ understanding of instructions or information through assessments or demonstrations
Explain to patients the importance and limitations of self- monitoring in disease management
Educate patients on appropriate course of action should self- monitoring values fall out of target range and are accompanied by signs and symptoms that require medical care
Read back to ensure patients are able to demonstrate understanding
Recognise opportunities where general health advice can be dispensed
Ascertain issues with patients’ medication adherence
Seek to understand reasons for non- adherence
Discuss with patients ways to resolve or manage non-adherence
Document counselling appropriately
Refer complex cases to pharmacists and propose solutions to resolve the issues
Enquire about patients’ lifestyles and habits that may contribute to present conditions or diagnoses
Provide complex patient counselling and education when dispensing medications
Recognise the types of specialty drugs
Recognise the types of diseases and illnesses treated by specialty drugs
Explain to patients/caregivers the name, strength, dosage form and indication of critical and specialty drugs and any common side effects and precautions to be observed when using the medicines
Inform patients/caregivers of the special storage conditions and special handling of specialty drugs
Explain to patients/caregivers how to administer the specialty drugs correctly under the supervision of pharmacists
Explain to patients/caregivers on how to safely dispose equipment used for the administration of specialty medications
Recognise the types of critical drugs
Explain to patients the effects of omission and delays in consumption of critical drugs
Report to supervisors in situations where there are omissions and delays in consumption of critical drugs
Assist and make recommendations on disease management based on patient needs
Check which device(s) patients are using, including dosing regimens
Determine reasons for in- depth device counselling
Explain role of each device and the medication contained for management of patients’ conditions
Refer to prescriptions or health records and/or use a variety of close- and open-ended questions to obtain necessary information
Explain how each drug works, when to use each drug and/or device, reasons for adhering to prescribed regimens, common side effects and monitoring parameters in layman terms
Demonstrate correct use of each device
Provide advice on device maintenance
Document counselling accurately and completely
Refer complex cases to pharmacists
Use a variety of counselling aids
Explain rationales behind pertinent steps in device usage to ensure optimal use by patients
Identify incorrect techniques and correct use or propose appropriate solutions
Manage patient education including the group education patient and caregiver education
Develop written, illustrative and audio materials for use in patient and caregiver education as necessary
Synergise external practices with internal patient and caregiver education procedures to improve quality of patient and caregiver education provided
Manage patients and caregiver complaints
Develop training on new or improved patient and caregiver education procedures and methods
Provide training to staff on patient and caregiver education methods and procedures
Plan for group patient
and healthcare worker education sessions including learning objectives, methods of delivery, and resources needed
Conduct group patient education sessions on common chronic diseases under supervision of pharmacists
Conduct group education sessions for healthcare workers such as pharmacy staff on the use of medication devices
Educate the public on matters relating to health promotion and campaigns on disease prevention