Medicine management

In the UK, there are three legal classifications of medicines:

If a practice is supplying medicines to patients, then clear written instructions must always accompany the medication.

Controlled drugs

All dental practices should follow the published guidance, Safer Management of Controlled Drugs. A controlled drug is a prescription medicine which has strict laws surrounding the use and possible misuse of the medicine. A controlled drug is classified by law under the Misuse of Drugs Legislation, based on facts about their benefit in medical treatment and their harm if misused. The classification schedule ranges from 1-5. Schedule 1 has the highest control level and schedule 5 has the lowest control level. For example, morphine is a controlled drug because it is highly beneficial in pain management but also addictive and harmful if misused and is, therefore, afforded a classification of schedule 2. The practice should be committed to ensuring the safe use, storage and disposal of controlled drugs. The aim should be to safeguard patients and staff by complying with regulations in place for the safe storage of all drugs and medicines.