Prescriptive and over-the-counter (OTC) medications and/or supplies prescribed by VFMC physician(s) shall be individually labeled and/or packaged appropriately with the resident's name and administration order on each label including expiration date. Over-the-counter (OTC) medications as prescribed by Standing Physician(s) Orders or those that are prescribed on an as-needed basis may be supplied as stock medications at VFMC. A list of most frequently used Over-the-Counter Medications per Physician(s) Orders is to be provided at the scheduled site visit. NOTE: OTC medications and/or other supplies will be purchased via State Contract award; it is not the intent of the Purchasing Contract and/or Purchase Order to replace existing state contracts for these items. The pharmacy services vendor shall provide a 30 day supply of prescriptive and OTC medications when initially dispensed unless otherwise specified by the Physician(s) or Facility. The pharmacy vendor shall provide a reordering system for the routinely ordered prescriptive medications that will ensure VFMC residents will not run out of the prescribed medications/ supplies. The reordering system should not require any VFMC staff member to write out each item to be re-ordered; one acceptable method is a Peel-off pharmacy label system. Routinely prescribed medications shall be reviewed and signed off by the prescribing Physician(s) at least every six months. Narcotics shall be dispensed in nine inch tall 28, 29, 30 or 31 day blister cards that will reflect the day and month, using the concept of either sectional pass or timed pass as agreed upon between the pharmacy services vendor and VFMC. The pharmacy services vendor shall supply divider cards with each resident’s name on a 3" plastic clip to use on each home to label the location for each resident’s stock of blister cards in bins and/or medication carts. In addition, all new residents shall have a divider card and name tag with the resident's name attached with the new orders. Routinely ordered prescriptive or OTC medications, other than liquid or injection, shall be dispensed using individualized perforated dosage pouches on weekly dispensing rolls which include on the package- designated time of administration and name of medication in package with color of pill. Routinely ordered prescriptive or OTC liquid or injection solutions shall be filled, labeled and packaged in accordance with pharmacy board regulations, exclusive of boxed medications which will have one label on the box and one label on the container. Any deviation from the blister card packaging will be under the discretion and approval from the facility. If alternate packaging is agreed upon by the facility, the pharmacy service vendor will provide medication carts designed to accommodate the alternative packaging. The pharmacy services vendor shall provide routine non-emergency delivery service of all prescribed medications/supplies at least once daily including weekends as needed. For all holidays (state, federal or religious) and other non-operational days, the pharmacy services vendor shall provide an on-call pharmacist for the dispensing of prescriptive medications and/or supplies and provide for the delivery of the items on the same day. The pharmacy vendor shall provide an on-call pharmacist available for consultation 24 hours per day for immediate response to new medication orders, changes in existing medication orders or changes to existing delivery schedules. Delivery of those new medications is expected within a one to three hour maximum time frame unless otherwise agreed upon with VFMC staff. All deliveries shall be sorted by the buildings and wards and delivered in accordance with the instructions provided by VFMC. In the rare or unusual event the pharmacy services vendor cannot furnish an ordered medication on a prompt and timely basis, the pharmacy services vendor shall make arrangements with another pharmacy supplier in the community local to VFMC to provide such service. The pharmacy services vendor shall enter any new medications into the patient profiles and check all interactions and any formulary restrictions/protocols prior to the delivery of medications. Such described rare or unusual events shall not be used on a routine basis and the pharmacy services vendor agrees to notify VFMC of each occurrence. The pharmacy services vendor shall demonstrate an effective and foolproof procedure for ensuring uninterrupted pharmacy services to residents and staff of VFMC before, during, and after natural disasters, acts of terrorism, chemical spills or any other emergency that might require evacuation of patients and staff. Additionally, the pharmacy services vendor must back up all pharmacy data each day at the close of business and store that CD, DVD, external hard drive, or USB flash drive containing the VFMC residents' data in a secure location at a different address than that of the pharmacy so that the data is easily retrievable even if the pharmacy is destroyed.
