Access To/Use Of Medicines & Other Products by UK Based Optoms

NOTE: It's up to the GOC to make rules prohibiting/regulating sale and supply. They haven't done this yet but they have decided to provide guidelines to the college for generation of 'rules' pertaining to the scope of practice.

There are a couple of categories we need to know about; use and supply & use.

USE AND SUPPLY

• The optom may administer w/in course of practice and supply to px if 'in course of practice' (+if in an emergency if PoM - in 2005 all GSL & P medicines no longer bound by that so optom can obtain from company/pharmacy and sell @ retail price)

STAINING AGENTS

• Fluorescein sodium (P)
• Rose Bengal (P)
• These are logically reserved for use only cos px has no use for em

MYDRIATICS & DECONGESTANTS (sympathomimetics)

• phenylephrine hydrochloride up to 10% (P)
• xylometazoline hydrochloride (P)
• naphazoline salts (P)
• adrenaline and ephedrine salts (P) NOT AVAIL NOW

ANTIALLERGICS

• Antazoline up to 1% (P)
• Sodium Cromoglicate up to 2% eyedrops (P)

ART TEARS/LUBRICANTS/EYEWASHES/MOISTURISERS & IRRIGATION SOLNS

• anything suitable for eye irrig w/NaCl, witch hazel or other natural extracts, zinc sulphate and/or viscosity enhancing polymers (like PVA, hypromellose, hydroxyethylcellulose, dextran, povidone, carbomer, hyaluronate) designated as art. tears, ocular lubricants, moisturisers or rewetting solns. Also contains P products w/white or yellow liquid paraffin, lanolin

CYCLOPLEGICS & MYDRIATICS (anti-muscarinics)

• Cyclopentolate (PoM)
• Tropicamide (PoM)
• usually for diagnostic use only but could be supplied to px 'in an emergency'

ANTIMICROBIAL AGENTS

• Chloramphenicol drops up to 0.5% (P)
  
• Chloramphenicol ointment up to 1.0% (P)
• Propamidine (P)
• Dibromopropamidine (P)
• Fusidic Acid Viscous Eyedrops (PoM)

MIOTICS (parasympathomimetics)

• Pilocarpine salts and carbachol. Recently removed but avail to additional supply optoms

USE ONLY CATEGORY

• Optom may administer pharms containing these drugs but not supply to px under any circumstances or indeed use themselves.

TOPICAL ANAESTHETICS

• Tetracaine hydrochloride (PoM)
• Oxybuprocaine hydrochloride (PoM)
• Proxymetacaine hydrochloride (PoM)
• Lidocaine hydrochloride (PoM)
• this includes combos w/flu.

FURTHER BUMF

The optom used to have other antimicrobial agents, an anti-inflammatory agent and an alpha adrenoceptor blocker available for use only but they done got removed from the list.

Detailed records of P and GSL don't need to be kept by law but records of all PoMs used do, both wrt stock and on the px records.

The optom may also add a label to pre packaged pharmaceuticals without holding a manufacturer's licence for assembly of pharmaceuticals; there isn't a requirement to though. P and GSL pharms shouldn't be relabelled though unless specific permission to a specific optom is given. The label must include the px's name, directions for use, "keep out of reach of children", "for external use only" and the name and address of the supplying optom.