Medical Office Pharmacology: Review For Medical Assistant Students and Professionals
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Medication Administration Procedures
For medical assistants who need to brush up on certain areas in pharmacology as it applies to a medical office.
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Medication Administration Procedures

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Medication Administration Procedures...



The need for well trained medical assistants remains high. At any given moment there are over 100,000 job offers for medical assistants and other healthcare professionals available across the nation, hundreds in every state! Most disciplines require knowledge of medical office procedures and some pharmacology....
medication dosage calculations  

Medication Administration Procedures
Medication Administration Step-by-Step

Eyes:
Hand patient a tissue
Cotton balls
Have patient look up as far as possible
Pull down on lower eye lid
Rest hand that is instilling the med on the forehead
Instill drops into lower lid at inner corner
Close lid
Have patient move eye around
Hold cotton ball at corner while patient rolls eye
Ointment can cause blurriness until it all melts

Ear:
Tilt head to side where medication is to be applied
Pull ear up and back for adults
Pull ear down and back for children
Put drops down into ear
Have patient wait 5 min. with ear up
Can use cotton ball to ensure medication stays
Apply to other ear 5 min. later

Nose Drops:
Put pillow under patient's shoulders
Tilt head back
Place tip of applicator into nostril
Instill correct number of drops
Direct patient to keep head back so it absorbs into the sinus

Nasal Sprays:
Have patient sit up
Insert tip of container into nostril
Have patient take a deep breath as you squirt
No need to tilt head back

Lung Sprays:
Have patient stand up
- this lowers the diaphragm and allows for better lung expansion
Shake the inhaler well
- shake for 15-30 sec.
Let patient place the spacer device on the inhaler
Instruct patient to breathe out to the end of a normal breath
Ask patient to tilt chin up
- do not hyper-extend!
Let patient place spacer tube in mouth
- instruct patient to seal lips around the tube
Ask patient to activate inhaler
- patient must inhale slowly and deeply over 5 seconds
- be sure patient doesn't use the nos
- patient must hold breath for 10 seconds - before exhaling
Wait for 2-5 minutes before next puff
Give water to rinse mouth after all doses are taken

Topical Meds:
Open wound - sterile technique
- Sterile cotton swabs or tongue depressor
Nitro paste:
- Use a unit dose patch
- Shiny area up, remove sealed portion
Prepare own nitro paste:
- Tear off piece of nitro paper
- Light print showing thru is the side you want up
- Start at beginning of line, squeeze slowly so med. is no bigger or smaller than top of tube
- Fold paper in half (med over all paper)
- Open and place on patient
- Tape in place-move around patient in clockwise manner
- If ordered chest only, the alternate side to side
- Look for previous patch before applying your patch
- To remove:
Wet one end of paper towel
Take off, wipe, and dry area
Watch for reactions to this medication - headache and lightheadedness

Rectal/ Vaginal:
Need lubricating jelly, suppository with medication
Don gloves
Remove suppository from package
Lubricate with jelly
Insert suppository into rectum or vaginal canal (rectal- 1 finger for adults, ½-1 inch children
Patient remains lying for 10-15 min after insertion to ensure absorption of medication

Oral Medications:
Pills
- Can be swallowed directly or sublingual (leave these under the tongue until dissolved)
      - Open pack & drop into medicine cup
Granule/ Powders
- Pour into a cup up to correct dosage
Liquids
- Unit dose is a sealed container
- Water based liquid - read meniscus down
- Oil based liquid - read meniscus up

Parentral Meds:
Syringes
- Unit doses and self prepared
- The numbers represent:
1. Volume
2. Gauge of needle (diameter of inside of needle) the higher the number the smaller the needle hole
3. Length of needle
- Insulin syringes and needles
- Tuberculin syringes and needles
- The color of the packaging represents the gauge of the needle
- All needles are interchangeable except for the insulin syringe
- The tuberculin syringe is not lure-locked, needle pulls off- can measure in tenths and hundredths- pediatrics

- 2 types of insulin syringes -
a. 100 U = 1cc - each line = 2 Units
b. 50 U - each line = 1 Unit
- Unit dose syringe comes prefilled by the company - usually use entire contents - discard what
  will not be used.
- Tubex syringe - cartridge with holder - prefilled - discard into sharps container.


Mixing Insulin:
Clear - Regular
Cloudy - NPH or 70/30
- Gently roll between hands to mix
- Always draw up clear first

 Mnemonic: Cloudy air - clear air - clear draw - cloudy draw

- Clean both tops with alcohol
- Inject desired amount of air into NPH
- Inject desired amount of air into regular
- Withdrawal desired amount of Regular
- Remove air bubbles
- Withdrawal desired amount of NPH slowly - can not have air bubbles & must be exact measurement!


Attention! IM Injections, SQ Injections, and Z- tract:
     Learn all about injections in the Online Study Course!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

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.

About the Author:
Danni R. has created this extensive resource in her capacity as certified medical assistant and medical assisting instructor at Porter & Chester Institute, Ultrasound Diagnostic School, and Branford Hall in 2003.  You may also visit her other websites at Advanced Medical Assistant of America, Medical Assistant Net, Medical Billing and Coding Net, Medical Coding and Billing Home Page, and Phlebotomy Pages to get better acquainted with her work.