MENDOCINO COAST DISTRICT HOSPITAL

GENERAL PATIENT CARE POLICY AND PROCEDURE STATEMENT

NUMBER: 205.1800

PAGE: 1 OF 2

TITLE: VALIDATING THE ACCURACY OF VERBAL AND TELEPHONE ORDERS

PURPOSE:

To prevent a possible error in the obtaining and transcribing of verbal and telephone orders.

POLICY:

Mendocino Coast District Hospital requires that each telephone order is given and received by authorized practitioners. When possible, orders should be written by the practitioner providing the order. Pharmacists may obtain verbal orders for medication changes due to consultation or therapeutic monitoring when the physician is not available at the nursing unit.

Other verbal orders will only be accepted in emergency situations and will be signed as soon as the emergency no longer lasts.

Should a telephone order be necessary, a licensed healthcare professional authorized and qualified to do so will receive it. The healthcare worker should write down the order and then read the order back verbatim to the practitioner. The practitioner should then verbally confirm that the order is correct.

Home Health nurses may take telephone orders for oral chemotherapy agents, NO other verbal or telephone order for chemotherapy agents will be accepted. The practitioner will write all such orders.

PROCEDURE:

When a verbal or telephone order is obtained, the prescriber and the health care worker obtaining will follow the following procedure:

1.  Both the practitioner and the health care worker should speak slowly and clearly with proper pronunciation and enunciation. Digits should be pronounced separately (i.e., “one six” instead of “sixteen”). Drug names should be spelled out.

2.  Abbreviations should be avoided. For example, “1 tab TID” should be communicated as “one tablet three times daily”.

3.  If necessary, have a second health care worker listen to the order.

4.  Record the order directly onto the order sheet in the patient’s chart.

5.  Orders for medications should include as appropriate, the drug name, strength, dose, quantity, route, frequency and indication for use.

6.  The receiver of the order should sign, date and time when the order was obtained, and the fact that the order was verified.

7.  The prescriber should authenticate the order in accordance with hospital policy.

New: Revised: 03/09

Approval Signatures:

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Nurse Manager Date

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Chief Clinical Officer Date

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Medical Chief of Staff Date

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Chief Executive Officer Date

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President, Board of Directors Date