Medical Office Pharmacology: Review For Medical Assistant Students and Professionals
MAPharm.com
HomeCommon Forms of Medication
For medical assistants who need to brush up on certain areas in pharmacology as it applies to a medical office.
Top Navigation:Common Forms of Medication
Subject Navigation:
Self-Study Navigation
Common Forms of Medication...
|
||
The need for trained medical assistants remains at an all-time high! At any given moment thousands of job offers for medical assistants and other healthcare professionals open and close! Most require knowledge of certain medical office procedures and basic principles of pharmacology.
|
||
|
||
Common Forms of Medication
The medical doctor, or licensed healthcare provider is responsible for identifying and prescribing a medication, the dose, and the route of administration. If the provider has ordered a medication to be taken before the patient leaves the office, administering the prescribed drug is one of the most important activities a medical assistant performs on the job. Therefore it is vitally important that the medical assistant knows the most common forms medications available on the market, their types, and uses.
See also:|
Capsules
|
Tablets
|
Powders
|
Drops
|
|
Medication is enclosed in a cylindrical gelatin coating. Drugs are generally released from capsules faster than from tablets.
|
Contain medication, binding substances, and disintegrating agents. Some also have added flavoring to make them taste better.
|
Ultra fine drug particles in a dry form. Depending on the specific medication, they are usually dissolved or mixed in liquids of food and taken immediately after being prepared.
|
Sterile solution or suspension is
administered by a dropper directly into the eye, the outer ear canal, or the nose.
|
|
Liquids
|
Inhalants/Sprays
|
Skin Preparations
|
Suppositories
|
|
Liquid medications are available as solutions, a drug preparation that is already dissolved; syrups, which are mixed with sugar and water; suspensions, preparations of finely crushed drugs held in liquid; and elixirs, medications dissolved in alcohol and water.
Injectable Solutions Sterile solutions or
suspensions supplied in ampules, vials, bags, or bottles.
|
Medication which is breathed or sprayed into the nose or mouth.
Some medications are formulated to escape the container in specific fixed doses, but others are allowed to escape the inhaler in random, or non fixed, doses.
A metered dose inhaler (MDI) delivers a specific amount of medicine in aerosol form. This makes it possible to inhale the medication, instead of taking it in pill form.
|
Available as ointments, creams, and lotions.
Ointments are spreadable, greasy preparations used for local application.
Creams ; are not greasy. They are used on the skin only.
Lotions are solutions or suspensions used on the skin and are not as sticky as creams and ointments.
|
Large
bullet shaped tablets administered either rectally or vaginally; they are designed to melt at body temperature.
Suppositories come in form of rectal (anal), vaginal, and urethral applications.
The most common urethral suppositories are known as MUSE®, which stands for "medicated urethral system for erection" |
Most Common Medications
|
|
|
It is tremendously important to follow the 13 Principles of Safe Medication Administration when administering medications! |
|
||||
To report illegal prescription drug sales and/or rogue pharmacies operating on the Internet call the anonymous Pharmaceutical Drug Abuse Hotline: 1-877-RxAbuse (1-877-792-2873).
More info at: DEA Website
|
|
|
CONSUMER ALERT:
Buying drugs online may be illegal!
Federal law prohibits buying controlled substances such as narcotic pain relievers (e.g., OxyContin®, Vicodin ®), sedatives (e.g., Valium®, Xanax®, Ambien®), stimulants (e.g., phentermine, phendimetrazine, Adderall®, Ritalin®) and anabolic steroids (e.g., Winstrol®, Equipoise®) without a valid prescription from a doctor. This means there must be a bonafide doctor-patient relationship, which by most state laws requires a physical examination to receive a prescription. Prescriptions written by "cyber doctors" relying on online questionnaires are not legitimate under the law.
Buying controlled substances online without a valid prescription may be punishable by imprisonment under Federal law and it is a felony to import drugs into the United States and ship to a non-DEA registrant.
 |
|
|
This Website is protected by applicable copyright laws. No part may be reproduced, transmitted, or used in any way other than its intended purpose without prior written permission. Inquiries, contact Website owner: Danni R.