Fentanyl patch fall down
A nurse working in a near long term care facility calls you and ask about if she can get fentanyl patch for one of residents. He is 80 years old and has cancer. The physician has prescribed to him fentanyl patch every 3 days with quantity of 5 pieces. you as a pharmacist has dispensed these 5 pieces. The problem is that the last patch has fallen 1 day after application and now the patient has no patches and suffers from acute pain. At the same time you can not reach his physician, you will reply the nurse by:
a- No, you can not give fentanyl without prescription
b- You tell her that she can re-apply the fallen patch and fix it with adhesive tape.
c- You will dispense one patch and document.
d-The is a risk of addiction for this cancerous patient and you will not dispense.
- 3 Replies
c
a
If you cannot reach the physician at time and you how much such cancerous patient suffer from pain, in addition to there is no risk of addiction in cancerous patient for using opioids. By your professional judgment which should always go with best patient interest, you can dispense one patch and document what has been happened. It will be better to advise the nurse to fix the patch with an adhesive tape to avoid future fall down of it.
A big rule: if the patch looses, adhere it with adhesive tape but if it falls down, do not reapply it and dispose it safely.
The answer is C
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