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Johnston Medical Center - Smithfield
Department of Pharmacy Services
Our Staff
Our pharmacy has a team of more than thirty pharmacists and pharmacy technicians working round-the-clock to serve you.
All of our pharmacists are graduates of accredited colleges of pharmacy, have completed many hours of internships, and are licensed by the North Carolina Board of Pharmacy. Many of our pharmacists have master’s or doctoral degrees in pharmacy. All of our pharmacy technicians are registered with the North Carolina Board of Pharmacy and many have received national pharmacy technician certification.
The pharmacy is staffed twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week by people who are committed to providing very good care to our patients.
What We Do
Besides distributing medications, hospital pharmacists and technicians are performing many other activities.
Pharmacists review medication orders to make sure that you are receiving the right medications in the right amounts.
They also review the list of medications your doctor has ordered to make sure that your medications may be taken together.
Our pharmacists are also involved in monitoring the effects of your medications by reviewing your medical information.
Pharmacists serve as a major source of information about your medications and we provide this information to your doctors, nurses and other health professionals who order and administer medications.
Pharmacists rely on pharmacy technicians to assist them with obtaining medications, stocking shelves and medication dispensing machines, packaging medications, inspecting medication storage areas, filling medication orders, preparing intravenous (IV) medications, and delivering medications.
The pharmacy is truly a busy place!
Medication Safety
The pharmacy staff is always focused on the safe use of medications. Some of the things we do to protect your safety are:
Checking to make sure that we are administering the right medications to the right patient by using two patient identifiers—your name and date of birth.
Writing down and reading back all orders that are communicated to us verbally or over the telephone and awaiting confirmation from the person giving the order.
Taking care not to use confusing medical abbreviations when writing medication orders.
Making staff aware of medications that look alike or sound alike and taking care to prevent mix-ups with these medications.
Making sure to label medications that are transferred from one container to another.
Making sure that we obtain an accurate list of your medications and that your doctor is aware of what they are.
Mixing intravenous (IV) medications in standard concentrations so that your nurses are familiar with how they should be given to you.
Being involved in the management of patients who are taking anticoagulant medications or “blood thinners”.
How You Can Be Involved in Medication Safety
Johnston Medical Center encourages patients to be actively involved in patient safety. Some of the things you can do include:
Providing an accurate list of your medications including prescription medications, sample medications given to you by your doctor, medications you can buy without a prescription, vitamins, herbal supplements, diet supplements, natural remedies, and respiratory treatments.
Being sure that your doctor, nurses and other health professionals identify you with two patient identifiers (your name and date of birth) prior to giving you your medications.
Telling your doctor and nurses about any allergies or reactions that you have had to medication in the past.
Telling your doctor or nurses about any medication that is making you sick or causing you pain.
Asking your doctor or nurses to clearly tell you what medications you should be taking, what they are for and how to take them. (Your nurse will provide you with a copy of the medications that your are currently taking when you are ready to go home.)
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