Term | Definition |
Absorption | The amount of medication that enters the bloodstream, or systemic circulation. |
Accreditation | The process of granting recognition or vouching for compliance with established criteria(usually refers to recognition of an instituation or program). |
Adjudication | Prescription claims adjudication rfers to the determination of the insurer's payment after the member's insurance benefits are applied to a medical claim. |
Ambulatory pharmacy | A pharmacy generally locatd within, or in close proximity to a clinic, hospital, or medical center that provides medication services to ambulatory patients. |
Aseptic technique | The technique and procedures designed to prevent contamination of drugs, packaging, equipment, or supplies by microorganisms during preparation. |
Automated dispensing device | Electronic storage cabinets or robotics that secure medications and dispense them to nurses or other caregivers when needed. |
Automated mdication dispensing device | A drug storage device or cabinetthat contains an inventory or medications that are electronically dispensed so they may be administered to patients in a controlled manner. |
Average wholesale price (AWP) | A commonly used benchmark for billing drugs that are reimbursed in the community pharmacy setting. The AWP for a drug is set by the manufacturer of the drug. |
Beyond-use labeling | A date that is given to a medication noting when it should no longer be used, also referred to as an the expiration date. |
Bioavailability | The precentage of an administered dose of a medication that reaches the bloodstream. |
Brand-name drug | A drug that is coveredby a patent and is therefore only available for a single manufacturer. |
Buccal | A solid medication dosage form that is placed in the pocket between the cheek and gum and absorbed through the cheek into the bloodstream. |
Centralized dispensing automation | Technology that assists in the selecting and dispencing of drug products that are located in a central location, such as the pharmacy, and that can included robotics and carousels that use bar code scanning to select and lable drug products for patients. |
Centralized pharmacy | Pharmacy services that are provided from one location(usually centrlly located) in the hospital. Pharmqacy personnnel, resources, and functions primarily reside within this self-contained location. |
Certification | A voluntary process by which a nongovernmental agency or association grants reognition to an idividual who as met certain criteria predetermined qualifications specified bt the agency or association. |
Chain pharmacy | A pharmacy that is part of a large number of corporately owned pharmacies that use the same name and carry similarly branded OTC products. |
Community pharmacy | Generally a stand-alone pharmacy located within a community that provides medication srvices to ambulatory patients. |
Compounding | Usually takes place in a pharmacy and includes the preparation, mixing, packaging, and labeling of a small quantity of a drug based on a practitioner's prescription or medication order for a specific patient. |
Controlled substances | Drugs or chemical substances whose possession and use are regulated under the Federal Controlled Sustances Act and by state controlled substance laws and regulations. |
Copayment (copay) | The portion of the cost of a prescription that the patient is responsible for paying when a part of the cost is covered by a third-party payer. |
Decentralized pharmacy | Pharmacy servicesthat are provided on or near a patient care area. These services are often supported by a central pharmacy. An example is a pharmacy satellite. |
Direct purchasing | Buying directly from a manufacturer. |
Dispensing | The act of preparing a medication for use by a patient as authorized by a prescription. |
Drug distribution services | The system(s) used to distribute medication that begins when the medication is received by the pharmacy and ends when the medication is administered to the patient. |
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) | The federal agency that administers and enforces federal laws for controlled substances and illegal substances such as narcotics and other dangerous drugs. |
Durable medical equipment | Reusable equipment used for the treatment of illness or injury. |
Electronic medication administration record (eMAR) | A component of the computerized patient medical record in which nurses and other healthcare providers document times and dates when a medication was administered to the patient. |
Elixir | A clear, sweet, flavored water-and-alcohol mixture intended for oral use. |
Excretion | The irreversible removal of a drug or metabolite from a body fluid. |
Formulary | A specific list of drugs that are included with a given prescription drug plan. |
Generic drug | A drug that is no longer covered by a patent and is therefore generally available for multiple manufacturer, usually resulting in a significant reduction in cost. |
Hazardous material | Any material that poses a risk to people, animals, property, or the environment. |
Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act (HIPAA) | Federal legislation enacted to establish guidelines for the protection of patients' private health information. |
Hospital formulary | An approved list of medications that are routinely stocked in the hospital pharmacy to treat the types of patients the hospital typically serves. |
Inhalant | A fine powder or solution of a drug delivered as a mist through the mouth into the respiratory tract. |
Intracardiac | Injected directly into the heart muscle. |
Intradermal | Injected into the top layers of the skin. |
Intramuscular | Injected directly into a large muscle mass and absorbed from the muscle tissue into the bloodstream. |
Intrathecal | Injected into the space around the spinal cord. |
Intravenous | Injected directly into a vein and therefore immediately available to act in the body. |
Legend drug | A drug that is required by federal law to be dispensed by prescription only. |
Licensure | The process by which an agency of the government grants permission to an individual to engage in a given occupation, the applicant has attained a degree of competency necessary to ensure that public health, safety, and welfare will be protected. |
Lozenge | A hard, disk-shaped solid medication dosage from the contains medication in a sugar base, which is released as the lozenge is held in the mouth and sucked. |
Mail-order pharmacy | A pharmacy that functions like a warehouse, with pharmacists and technicians who dispense prescriptions that are mailed to patients. |
Material safety data sheets | Information sheets provided by manufacturers for chemicals or drugs that may be hazardous in the workplace. |
Medication administration record (MAR) | A component of the paper patient medical record in which nurses and other healthcare providers document times and dates when a medication was administered to the patient. |
Medication error | Any error occurring in the medication use process. |
Medication order | A written, telephone, or verbal request for a patient medication in an inpatient setting. |
Medication therapy management (MTM) | A service or group of services that optimize therapeutic outcomes for a patient. |
National Drug Code (NDC) Number | A unique number assigned to each drug, strength, and package size for the purpose of identification. |
Ointment | A semisolid medication dosage form, applied to the skin or mucous, membranes, which lubricates and softens or is used as a base for drug delivery. |
Over-the-Counter (OTC) drugs | Drugs that are available without a prescription. |
Parenteral | A route of medication administration that bypasses the gastrointestinal tract. |
Patient counseling | The act of educating a patient, by a pharmacists, regarding the proper use of a prescribed drug, at the time of dispensing. |
Patient profile | A list of information about a patient.` |
Pharmacists | A healthcare professional licensed by the state to engage in the practice of pharmacy. |
Pharmacy satellite | A physical space located in or near a patient care area that can provide a variety of distributive and clinical services. |
Practice of pharmacy | Regulated by each state through its pharmacy laws and regulations The state laws and regulations establish the scope of the practice of pharmacy in the particular state, meaning the responsibilities that pharmacists are permitted to perform in the state. |
Prescription | The written or verbal authorization, by an authorized prescriber, for the use of a particular pharmaceutical agent for an individual patient. |
Primary prescription label | A label, affixed to a dispensed drug product, that contains legally required information. |
Professional | A person who practices an occupation or vocation that requires advanced specialized training. |
Professionalism | Actively demonstrating the attitudes, qualities and behaviors of a professional while preforming the duties of one's profession: "putting the needs of others before your own." |
Purchase order | A document executed by a purchaser and forwarded to a supplier that is considered a legal offer to buy products or services. |
Registration | The process of making a list or being enrolled in an existing list. |
STAT | Abbreviation of the Latin word statim, meaning immediately; commonly used on medication orders to indicate the need for the drug right away. |
Stock rotation | Placing the products that will expire soonest in the front of the shelf of bin and those will later expiration dates behind them. |
Subcutaneous | Deposited in the tissue just under the skin. |
Sublingual | Placed under the tongue, where it dissolves and is absorbed into the bloodstream. |
Suspension | A mixture of fine particles of an undissolved solid spread throughout a liquid or, less commonly, a gas. |
Technician | An individual skilled in the practical or mechanical aspect of a profession. Assists pharmacists . |
Topical | Applied to the skin, mucous membranes, and other external parts of the body. |
Transdermal | Through the skin; percutaneous. |
Unit dose distribution system | A system the provides all or most medication to patients in a unit dose ready-to-administer form. |
Unit-dose package | A non-reuseable container designed to hold a quantity of drug to be administered as a single dose. |
Wholesaler | A large-scale warehouse with drugs and supplies located in various geographic regions that exist to help bring pharmaceutical products closer to the market. |