A new consumer-friendly resource to assist people who take oral medicines via enteral feeding tube has been released to coincide with World Pharmacists Day 2019 on 25 September.
The How to give your medicine by enteral tube guide on safely dispensing and crushing tablets, capsules and sachets is available for free download.
The two-page reference guide provides assistance to people when out of hospital and back at home, in preparing medicines that are unavailable in a liquid – by dispersing a tablet in water; crushing a tablet; or dispersing a capsule or sachet.
“Many patients and consumers are not aware that even small changes in medicine delivery, such as switching from a capsule to a tablet or changing medicine brand, can increase the risk of harm,” Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia’s (SHPA) Keli Symons said.
The resource has been developed as a supplementary resource to the Don’t Rush to Crush publication, with the SHPA in partnership with pharmacists from St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney.
Don’t Rush to Crush has become a staple of medicines safety, recognised as the point of care in hospitals, pharmacies, residential aged care facilities and anywhere oral medicines need to be modified.
The third edition of Don’t Rush to Crush is now available through SHPA, MIMS Online and Medical Director’s AusDI.
