Storage of medicines & medical devices

Abstract

This publication is one of a number of booklets prepared by pharmacy students with the guidance of their supervisors. These booklets are part of research projects that are undertaken within the Department of Pharmacy and are intended to provide information about the rational use of medicines and the management of minor ailments and chronic conditions. Ms. Daphne Coleiro has worked on a project which addresses the practice of safe storage of medicines and medical devices. She has specifically focused on the medicine storage temperatures. In this booklet she has compiled information that is useful when healthcare professionals are faced with dilemmas because the medicinal product was not continuously stored in the recommended temperature. She has included information about the acceptable duration at room temperature for vaccines and insulins that are normally stored in a refrigerator. This is useful information for pharmacists in community pharmacies, Responsible Persons within the Wholesale Distribution practice and Qualified Persons in the Pharmaceutical Industry. Through these projects, the pharmacy students gain hands-on experience and practical areas of pharmacy and develop skills and competences in approaching research studies and in documentation.