Home Medication Policy

SAMPLE

WITH THE GOAL OF PROVIDING ENABLING ACCESS TO MEDICATIONS THAT WERE DISPENSED TO THE PATIENT PRIOR TO ADMISSION

***Please note: These sample policies are for informational purposes only. Facilities are responsible for ensuring any policy, procedure, and form adopted meets all applicable licensing requirements and goes through appropriate legal review prior to adoption.

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  • The purpose of this sample home medication policy is to help your organization define its Home Medication practices in order to allow individuals to bring medications that were prescribed and dispensed to the patient prior to admission into an inpatient or residential mental health or substance use treatment facility. Please use the language from this document that is relevant to your institution and make any changes that are appropriate for your organization. This is a sample document for informational purposes only and does not need to be fully incorporated.

    • Upon admission to [insert facility name], nursing and/or residential staff will review with the patient any prescribed medications that were dispensed to the patient prior to admission (referred to as “home medication”), and create a Home Medication list in the patient’s [the medication administration record or the section of the medical record related to administration of medication]. 

    • A qualified member of the staff will examine any home medications to verify that the correct medication is presented in the original bottle/container. Medication may be compared to the description on the medication bottle or identified using Micromedex Drug ID. If the qualified member of staff is unable to verify medications using above methods, or if further questions remain, medication will be verified with assistance of a pharmacist. 

    • The qualified member of staff verifying the medications may contact the prescribing provider or dispensing pharmacy to ensure that the correct medication has been presented by the patient, as well as any instructions for storage and use.

    • Once verified, designated staff will electronically enter orders for patient’s home medications in the  [the medication administration record or the section of the medical record related to administration of medication]. The home medication order must be approved by an authorizing provider or the Medical Director for the facility in [the medication administration record or the section of the medical record related to administration of medication].

    • All home medications shall be kept in their original containers bearing the original label with legible information stating the following:

      • Prescription number

      • Medication name

      • Medication strength and quantity

      • Expiration date (time-dated drugs)

      • Instructions for use

      • Recipient’s name

      • Ordering Provider

      • Date of original issue (in case of refill, most recent fill date)

      • Name and address of licensed pharmacy issuing the medication.

    • It shall be the responsibility of designated staff to secure the prescription number and name of the medication if these are not on the label.

    • All home medications should be stored as per product-specific manufacturing recommendations.