Virginia Law

A. A unit dose drug dispensing system may be utilized for the dispensing of drugs to patients in a hospital or long-term care facility. The following requirements shall apply regardless of whether licensed or unlicensed persons administer medications:

1. Any equipment outside the pharmacy used to house drugs to be administered in a unit dose system shall be fitted with a locking mechanism and locked at all times when unattended.

2. A signed order by the prescribing practitioner shall accompany the requests for a Schedule II drug, except that a verbal order for a hospital patient for a Schedule II controlled substance may be transmitted to a licensed nurse or pharmacist at the hospital who shall promptly reduce the order to writing in the patient's chart. Such an order shall be signed by the prescriber within 72 hours.

3. Properly trained personnel may transcribe the prescriber's drug orders to a patient profile card, fill the medication carts, and perform other such duties related to a unit dose distribution system provided these are done under the personal supervision of a pharmacist.

4. All dosages and drugs shall be labeled with the drug name, strength, lot number and expiration date when indicated.

5. The patient's individual drug drawer or tray shall be labeled in a manner to identify the patient and his location without violating health privacy laws.

6. All unit dose drugs intended for internal use shall be maintained in the patient's individual drawer or tray unless special storage conditions are necessary.

7. A back-up dose of a drug of not more than one dose unit may be maintained in the patient's drawer, tray, or special storage area provided that the dose is maintained in the patient's drawer, tray, or special storage area with the other drugs for that patient.

8. A record shall be made and maintained within the pharmacy for a period of one year showing:

a. The date of filling of the drug cart;

b. The location of the drug cart;

c. The initials of the person who filled the drug cart; and

d. The initials of the pharmacist checking and certifying the contents of the drug cart in accordance with the provisions in 18VAC110-20-270 C.

9. A patient profile record or medication card will be accepted as the dispensing record of the pharmacy for unit dose dispensing systems only, subject to the following conditions:

a. The record of dispensing must be entered on the patient profile record or medication card at the time the drug drawer or tray is filled.

b. In the case of Schedule II through V drugs, after the patient profile record or medication card has been completed, the card must be maintained for two years.

c. In the case of the computer-based distribution system, a uniformly maintained "fill list" or other document containing substantially the same information may be accepted as the dispensing record for Schedule II through VI drugs. Records of disposition/administration for floor stock drugs as provided in 18VAC110-20-460 B will be accepted for drugs distributed as floor stock.

B. In providing unit dose systems to hospitals or long-term care facilities where only those persons licensed to administer are administering drugs, the pharmacy shall dispense not more than a seven-day supply of a drug in a solid, oral dosage form at any one given time.

C. In addition to the requirements listed in subsection A of this section, the following requirements apply to those long-term care facilities in which unlicensed persons administer drugs:

1. The pharmacy providing medications to such facility shall dispense no more than a 72-hour supply of drugs in a solid, oral dosage form at any one given time.

2. The pharmacy shall provide to persons administering medications training specific to the particular unit dose system being used.

3. The pharmacy shall provide a medication administration record to the facility listing each drug to be administered with full dosage directions to include no abbreviations.

4. The drugs in a unit dose system shall be placed in slots within a drawer labeled or coded to indicate time of administration.