Pill splitting practice

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Fri, 08/30/2019 - 12:44
#1
Fuwang Xu
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Joined: 02/07/2017 - 19:54
Pill splitting practice

Hello colleagues,
I'd like to learn about your practice of splitting tablets for doses lower than commercially available tablet size.

1. Does your hospital have a formal policy on pill splitting? (if yes, could you share?)
2. Non-controlled substance: does pharmacy split or nursing split? Does pharmacy pre-package half tabs of commonly split meds, for example, metoprolol 12.5 mg?
3. Controlled substance: does pharmacy split or nursing split? Does pharmacy pre-package half tabs?
4. For cart fill, do pharmacy split when filling the cart?
5. Is pill cutter readily available to nurses and pharmacists? Where is pill cutter stored? Is pill cutter patient-specific or used for all patients?

Thank you very much! Any info is appreciated.

Fuwang Xu, PharmD
Pharmacy Clinical Coordinator – Quality Assessment & Improvement
Department of Pharmacy

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

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