On 2006-03-27 08:35:00, juniper2 wrote:
"In the State of Georgia, regarding an LPN...are they allowed to dispense medication without an RN
overseeing distribution?[ This Message was edited by: juniper2 on 2006-03-27 08:36 ]"
(d) Medications. The institutions shall develop and implement policies and procedures for
the use and management of all types of medications. All direct care staff shall receive
orientation on the policies and procedures. Such policies and procedures shall include the
following:*
1. Non-prescription medications. No child shall be given a non-prescription medication
by staff members of the institution unless the child exhibits symptoms that the medication
is designed to relieve.*
2. Prescription medications. No child shall be given a prescription medication unless the
mediation is prescribed for the child by an authorized health care professional.*
(i) Prescription medications shall only be given to a child as ordered in the child's
prescription. An institution shall not permit such medications prescribed for one child to
be given to any other child.*
(ii) A child's attending physician shall be notified in cases of dosage errors, drug
reactions, or if the prescription medication does not appear to be effective.*
3. Psychotropic medications. No child shall be given psychotropic medications unless use
is in accordance with the goals and objectives of the child's service plan.*
(i) Psychotropic medications must be prescribed by a physician who has responsibility for
the diagnosis and treatment of the child's conditions that necessitate such medication.
Continued use of psychotropic medications shall be reviewed by the prescribing physician
every sixty days.*
(ii) Psychotropic medication shall only be given to a child as ordered in the child's
prescription. An institution shall not permit such medications prescribed for one child to
be given to another child.*
(iii) The prescribing physician shall be notified in cases of dosage errors, drug reactions,
or if the psychotropic medication does not appear to be effective.*
4. An institution shall designate and authorize classes of staff, such as Child Care
Workers, to handout medications and supervise the taking of medications. Only
designated and authorized staff shall handout and supervise the taking of medication.*
5. An institution shall maintain a record of all medications handed-out by authorized staff
and taken by children to include: name of child taking medication, name of prescribing
physician and date of prescription (if the medication is prescription or psychotropic),
required dosage, date and time taken, dosage taken, and name and signature of staff
member that handed-out and supervised the taking of the medication.*
6. All prescription and non-prescription medications shall be kept in a locked storage
cabinet or container which is not accessible to the children and stored separate from
cleaning chemicals and supplies or poisons. The keys to the locked cabinets or containers
shall not be accessible to residents.*
7. All expired medications shall be discarded and not handed-out for use.*
(e) First Aid Supplies. Each living unit shall have a first aid kit and instruction manual;
such kit shall contain scissors, tweezers, gauze pads, adhesive tape, thermometer, assorted
band-aids, antiseptic cleaning solution, and bandages.*
