Carry a Dispense Through to the MAR
Who / when: the nurse on the ward, when an inpatient’s prescription has been supplied by the pharmacy and a dose falls due. For an admitted patient, dispensing is not a hand-over at the pharmacy window — the medicine is destined for the bedside. So instead of a counter transaction, the prescription’s scheduled doses appear on the patient’s MAR (Medication Administration Record, the running record of every dose given, held or refused). The MAR the nurse works is the very same prescription the doctor signed and the very same line the pharmacy dispensed — one record, not three lists to reconcile. We’ll follow Nurse Grace giving Mr. Okafor a due dose.
- Nurse — open Ward → Medication Administration (titled “Medication administration record”). The patient’s due doses are listed, drawn straight from the one prescription the doctor signed — there is no separate ward drug list to match against the pharmacy.
- Nurse — on a due dose, select “Give”. The “Administer medication” panel opens.
- Nurse — confirm the patient, the drug and the dose, complete the administration details, and select “Confirm administration”. The dose moves to Given, signed in your name.
- Nurse — where a dose cannot be given, select “Hold” on its row and record a hold reason, or select “Refused” if the patient declined. The MAR records what happened either way — a missed dose is documented, never left blank.
What happens next
Section titled “What happens next”Every given dose is signed, time-stamped and audited, building the patient’s complete administration history for the stay — what was given, what was held and why, and what was refused. The fuller mechanics of giving, holding, refusing and witnessing on the ward are covered in Administer, Hold or Refuse Medication on the Ward MAR. That history travels with the patient into the next nurse’s round, the doctor’s review, and the discharge summary.