Nevada News: Your Initials

October 1, 2007 12:12 PM Topics: Prescriptions

Reprinted from the October 2007 Nevada State Board of Pharmacy Newsletter.

Pharmacists and pharmaceutical technicians engaged in filling prescriptions are required to put their handwritten initials on original prescriptions to document who filled the prescriptions. Many registrants believe computer-generated initials printed on a sticker satisfy the legal requirement for initials to identify who filled the prescription, but they are mistaken. Nevada Revised Statutes 639.236 clearly states that each prescription on file must be personally signed or initialed by the registered pharmacist or practitioner that filled it. Therefore, a computer-generated sticker with the pharmacist’s and technician’s initials attached to the original prescription does not satisfy Nevada’s statutory requirement.

It is the standard of practice in Nevada to hand initial the original prescription at the time a particular function is performed by the registrant. That is to say, when a pharmaceutical technician fills the product portion of a prescription, he or she is required to initial the product label and if applicable, the original prescription, during that process. When the pharmacist checks the prescription for accuracy prior to dispensing the final product he or she also initials the product label and the original prescription for new prescriptions at the time of verification.

Nevada pharmacy regulations do not address the situation of multiple pharmacists being involved in the filling process. This makes it vitally important for the final pharmacist in the filling process to ensure the accuracy of the complete prescription before signing his or her initials.