Diazepam of a fax?

[jaykezman]

In a genuine emergency (11pm on a saturday) where the patient has nowhere else to go (his usual pharmacy is offcourse closed).

Would you dispense a 2 day supply of diazepam of a faxed script?

Assume the out of hours doctor has given you his word he will furnish the original to you on Monday morning.

I just want to see how other members would handle this.

Cheers

[johnep]

If he has seen the Dr, why no original script? Could be attempt at forgery. If not seen the Dr and script issued without seeing. Serious question of Dr, why not seen.
Sorry no CD item without original.
johnep

[jaykezman]

If he has seen the Dr, why no original script? Could be attempt at forgery. If not seen the Dr and script issued without seeing. Serious question of Dr, why not seen.
Sorry no CD item without original.
johnep

It was a phone consultation by the out of hours doctor.
Who I dealt with previously on that same day.

[johnep]

No Dr should issue a script for a CD on first contact by phone. Unless pt has status epilepticus? can do with out a psychotropic over the week end. If that urgent A+E.
More probably wants some Diaz to sell over the weekend at a rave.
johnep

[El-loco]

To answer the original question - no.

[Asterix]

why would you ever dispense a cd by fax and get yourself into bother

[bobbin]

In a genuine emergency (11pm on a saturday) where the patient has nowhere else to go (his usual pharmacy is offcourse closed).

Would you dispense a 2 day supply of diazepam of a faxed script?

Assume the out of hours doctor has given you his word he will furnish the original to you on Monday morning.

I just want to see how other members would handle this.

Cheers

Diazepam tabs are schedule 4 and so an ES at the request of the prescriber is legal. I would not dispense unless I had spoken to the doctor personally.

I have, on occasion, received faxed scripts out of the blue without even receiving a telephone call to ask whether it's OK. I consider this to be very rude. In the case of diazepam, I would certainly expect to speak to the doctor personally and not a member of the admin staff.

[weeneldo]

More probably wants some Diaz to sell over the weekend at a rave.
johnep

Can't imagine you'd have much fun at a rave on diazepam! Mind you, folk might take it for the come down the next day.

Speaking of out of hours doctors, as a first year pharmacy student I went to one with the worst migraine I ever had. He prescribed me penicillin because he told me I had a white spot at the back of my throat due to an infection which was likely causing the migraine (despite me telling him that it was a bit of the sandwich I had just tried to eat and I have a history of seemingly random migraines) and he also prescribed me Migraleve, despite me telling him that co-codamol did nothing for it, because, as he put it "the metoclopramide would help the paracetamol get absorbed" Spot the obvious flaws in all of this. Had he prescribed me a triptan, like my GP later did, he would have likely have found my migraine soon disappear.

At this point, had I been a little more experienced in the world of pharmacy, I would have asked to see a different doctor.

[Tony Schofield]

If you know the GP to be genuine and have faith in him, I would do it. However always remember the nepenthe case. If it was a sensible dose and small quantity you could be preventing the patient fit. The alternative depends on the local facilities.

[lamzee]

If it seemed a reasonable dose eg diclofenac 75mg bd 10/7 , co-codamol 30/500 2 qds , diazepam 2mg 1 nocte 5/7 then I probably would go ahead - he might have a bit of whiplash or sciatica. If it was diazepam 10mg 4od 1/12 then I probably wouldn't give it out .