Meeting the special medicinal needs of patients.
The clinical needs of patients can often be met by prescribing and administering a licensed medicine. District nurses will have some cases where a medicine cannot be used because the patient is unable to take it in its licensed form. In such situations, district nurses may be able to arrange for the patient to be supplied with an unlicensed medicine specifically made to meet that patient's special need. This article discusses the options available to district nurses to lawfully supply patients who have a special medication need due to, for example, an allergy to a particular ingredient or an inability to swallow solid oral medicines, such as tablets or capsules.
Senior Lecturer in Health Law, College of Health Science, Swansea University.
Richard
R
Griffith
D003152:Community Health Nursing / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000592:standards*; D003680:Deglutition Disorders / Q000451:nursing*; D011307:Drug Prescriptions / Q000451:nursing* / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D008004:Licensure / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D056687:Off-Label Use / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000592:standards; D006113:United Kingdom
dysphagia; medication; special needs; specials; unlicensed medicines