Elements and Performance Criteria

RANGE STATEMENT
The range statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Bold italicised wording in the performance criteria is detailed below.

The acceptance of prescriptions and delivery of medicines must comply with
federal and state or territory legislation
industry codes of practice, standards and guidelines
community pharmacy policies, protocols and procedures relating to accepting prescriptions and delivering dispensed medicine.


Prescription legality, validityand completeness must include:
doctor's full name, current address and date
name of medicine, quantity prescribed and dosage requirements is clearly indicated
prescription is current
adequate written instructions on the dosage regimen
prescription is clear and there is no indication of tampering or forgery
any self-treatment meets legal and regulatory requirements
timing of requests to fill repeat scripts.


Customers may include:
customers or their agents
customers with routine or special requests
customers with special needs, e.g. elderly, non-English-speaking background, infants, unwell, drug affected, grieving or upset
regular and new customers
people from a range of social, cultural and ethnic backgrounds and with varying physical and mental abilities.


Details must include:
full name and current address
date of birth where patient is elderly (over 70 years) or young (under 12 years)
entitlement number, if any, under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme
Medicare details
private health cover and receipt requirements
allergies or adverse reactions to medications suffered in the past
current use of other medications (including complementary medicines).


Prescriptions may include:
National Health prescriptions
repatriation scripts or Veteran Affairs scripts
private scripts
doctors bag orders
dental scripts
veterinary scripts.


Prescription discrepancies may include:
incomplete or incorrect prescriber or customer details
out-of-date prescriptions
prescriptions marked 'cancelled' or otherwise, such as to indicate they have been dispensed and completed
invalid prescriptions, e.g. forged or altered information, or written by prescriber for self-treatment
request for excessive quantities.


Factors that affect prescription preparation time may include:
out of stock
special preparation requirements, e.g. compounded products.


Checking medicine must include:
that the required items have been dispensed
correct quantity is supplied
correct labels are attached.


Verifying customer identity must include:
questioning to confirm that the correct customer receives the correct medicine
requesting dated signature of customer or their agent as confirmation of receipt.


Information provided on medicines may include:
pharmacy labels
cautionary or advisory labels
additional information or advice prepared by a pharmacist
information provided by the supplier
self-care and health information
Consumer Medicine Information (CMI).


Confirming customer understanding may include:
explaining information contained on cautionary and advisory labels in plain English suited to the customer communication requirements
questioning to confirm that the correct customer understands the information provided
inviting further questions from the customer
referring the customer to a pharmacist where more detailed support or advice is required.


Appropriate packaging includes packaging that protects customer privacy and may include:
opaque packaging
paper bags
other packaging as determined by the pharmacy as appropriate to meeting customer needs.

EVIDENCE GUIDE
The evidence guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the performance criteria, required skills and knowledge, the range statement and the Assessment Guidelines for this Training Package.

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit
Evidence of the following is essential:
applies pharmacy protocols and procedures when accepting and delivering prescriptions, including:
collecting the required information from customers
maintaining customer and prescription data
identifying situations or requests requiring referral to a pharmacist and refer appropriately
delivering medicine to customers
ensuring the customer has access to a pharmacist for advice
respects and protects customer privacy when communicating with customers and maintaining customer records
uses tact and discretion when collecting and providing information to customers
provides information to customers in ways appropriate to customer needs and demonstrates appropriate techniques to confirm understanding
identifies and understands different types of prescriptions and entitlements
recognises the situations requiring referral to a pharmacist or other pharmacy staff according to pharmacy policy
plans and carries out work to meet dispensary workflow requirements and provide timely delivery of dispensed items to customers.


Context of and specific resources for assessment
Assessment must ensure:
demonstration of accepting prescriptions and delivering medicine, over sufficient time to demonstrate handling of a range of contingencies
interaction with customers, including a range of customers typical of the customer base
delivery of a range of prescription medicine
performance is observed by the assessor or the technical expert working in partnership with the assessor.
assessment must be undertaken in a real workplace environment that meets Pharmacy Board and relevant industry standards for dispensary operations.
access to relevant pharmacy protocols and procedures.
access to federal and state or territory legislation and guidelines where appropriate
access to relevant documentation, such as:
Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) information
prescriptions (real or simulated)
access to a range of customers with different requirements (real or simulated)
access to dispensed medicine for delivery to customer.


Methods of assessment
A range of assessment methods should be used to assess practical skills and knowledge. The following examples are appropriate for this unit:
observation of the candidate in the workplace accepting prescriptions and delivering medicine to a range of customers
written or verbal questioning to assess knowledge and understanding
role plays to confirm communication skills to meet diverse customer requirements
completing workplace documentation relevant to accepting prescriptions.
Holistic assessment with other units relevant to the industry sector, workplace and job role is recommended.


Assessing employability skills
Employability skills are integral to effective performance in the workplace and are broadly consistent across industry sectors. How these skills are applied varies between occupations and qualifications due to the different work functions and contexts.
Employability skills embedded in this unit should be assessed holistically in the context of the job role and with other relevant units that make up the skill set or qualification.