Numbers Boost- Medications

CARE Numbers Boost: 

Medications & Dosages 

Developed by 

Michelle Marino, CMT, AHDI-F, MBA 

© 2002-2013 Nuance Communications, Inc. All rights reserved. Page 1

Medication General Tips 

• Always verify if a medication is brand name (capitalized) 

or generic. 

• Use a reliable website to verify spelling, indication for 

use, and dosages. 

• Does the medication match the symptoms and/or 

diagnosis? 

• Be careful of soundalike medication names. 


Medication General Tips 

• Always verify dosages. 

• Be careful of soundalike dosages, such as 15 mg versus 

50 mg. 

• Remember a physician may specify how many tablets 

the patient should take, but they have no control over 

what dosages are manufactured by the pharmaceutical 

company. 

• A tablet may be cut in half (scored tablets), so a half 

dose is also a possible prescribed amount. 


Medication Reference Websites 

• Physician’s Desk Reference – PDR (www.pdr.net) 

• Monthly Prescribing Reference - MPR (www.empr.com) 

• Drugs.com (www.drugs.com) 

• RxList.com (www.rxlist.com) 

• Federal Drug Administration - FDA 

(http://www.fda.gov/Drugs) 

• Canadian drug site: 

http://www.medbroadcast.com/drug_info.asp 


Example: “doxy” 

Error Type FIESA Feedback Tip 

1 ERROR 

Incorrect Medication 

CPSE 3.0 

CORRECTIO 

N 

3 COMMENTS 

The patient will continue on 

Cipro and doxazosin in 

outpatient. 

The patient will continue on 

Cipro and doxycycline as an 

outpatient. 

MD dictated "doxy," which is a 

nickname for doxycycline, an 

antibiotic. Doxazosin is Cardura, 

a blood pressure medication. 

< Always verify abbreviations and slang terms. Go to 

www.medilexicon.com and type "doxy." The ONLY choice is 

"doxycycline," which is a broad-spectrum antibiotic. 

Note that Cipro is a quinolone, which is a synthetic broadspectrum 

antibiotic. 

It makes sense to state that the patient will be taking a couple 

different antibiotics. It does not make sense to combine an 

antibiotic (Cipro) and a blood pressure medication (doxazosin). 


Example: Levaquin dose 


1 ERROR 


CPSE 3.0 

The patient is to take Levaquin 

5 mg p.o. daily for another 

week. 

< Always verify drug dosages, particularly for medications 

with which you are not that familiar. 

The patient is to take Levaquin 

CORRECTIO 

Check www.pdr.net. Levaquin only comes in dosages of 

500 mg p.o. daily for another 

N 

250 mg, 500 mg, and 750 mg. A dose of 5 mg cannot 

week. 

possibly be correct. 

3 COMMENTS 

Remember that a physician may specify how many tablets 

they would like the patient to take, but they have zero control 

over what dosages are manufactured by the pharmaceutical 

company. 


Example: Lomotil 


1 ERROR 


CPSE 3.0 

3 COMMENTS 

5. Remeron 1 p.o. q.i.d. p.r.n. 

diarrhea. 

CORRECTIO 5. Lomotil 1 p.o. q.i.d. p.r.n. 

N 

diarrhea. 

The key here is "p.r.n. diarrhea." Remeron is prescribed to 

treat depression. While having diarrhea is no fun, one does 

not require an antidepressant to get through the ordeal. 

Lomotil makes sense since that drug is an antidiarrheal. 

Tip: Use your drug reference. If you do not have an updated 

drug book, then use a reputable online source. A very good 

one is www.pdr.net. 


Example: Lisinopril 


1 ERROR 

Incorrect Values 

(Lab/Vitals) CPSE 3.0 

CORRECTIO 

N 

3 COMMENTS 

the patient's lisinopril was 

restarted at lower dose of 100 

mg p.o. daily. 

the patient's lisinopril was 

restarted at lower dose of 5 mg 

p.o. daily. 

< Lisinopril comes in dosages of 5 mg, 10 mg, and 20 mg. A 

dose of 100 mg is 5 times as high as the highest dosage 

available, and that 100 mg dose is supposed to be LOWER than 

what the dose was previously. 

< This makes sense. The patient is now taking the lowest dose 

available of lisinopril. 


Example: Digoxin 


1 ERROR 1. Digoxin 1.25 mg once daily. 


CPSE 3.0 

CORRECTI 

ON 

< Digoxin comes in the following dosages: 62.5 mcg, 125 

mcg, 187.5 mcg, and 250 mcg. If the dictator gives the dose 

in milligrams, then use Google to double check the 

conversion of micrograms to milligrams. 

1. Digoxin 0.25 mg once daily. 

A dose of 250 mcg converts to 0.25 mg. 

3 COMMENTS There is no 1.25 mg dose available for digoxin. 

Edit 


Example: Collagenase Santyl 


1 ERROR 


CPSE 3.0 

3 

CORRECTI 

ON 

COMMENT 

S 

Collagenase sentinel apply 

topically daily. 

Collagenase Santyl apply 

topically daily. 

< This does not make sense. 

< Go to www.pdr.net and look up "collagenase." There is 

only one result: Collagenase Santyl. 


Example: Diamox 


1 ERROR 215 mg of Diamox < Always research. Diamox is not available in a 215 mg 

dose. It has one, and only one, dose, which is 500 mg. 


CPSE 3.0 

CORRECTI 

ON 

3 COMMENTS 

Edit 

250 mg of Diamox < The patient can use a pill cutter to cut the tablet in half to 

arrive at a 250 mg dose. 


Example: Dofetilide 


1 ERROR 


CPSE 3.0 

CORRECTIO 

N 

3 COMMENTS 

He tolerated a full 72-hour 

course of dofetilide. Because of 

his bradycardia, we chose a 

lower dose of 250 mg twice a 

day. 

He tolerated a full 72-hour 

course of dofetilide. Because of 

his bradycardia, we chose a 

lower dose of 250 mcg twice a 

day. 

< Dofetilide is available in the following dosages: 125 mcg, 

250 mcg, 500 mcg. There is no 250 mg dose of dofetilide. 

Remember that a physician may specify how many tablets 

they would like the patient to take, but they have zero control 

over what dosages are manufactured by the pharmaceutical 

company. 

Dosage Error. Audio position at 

03:39. 

A dose of 250 mcg is equivalent to 0.25 mg. A dose of 250 

mg is equivalent to 250,000 mcg. 


Example: Tramadol / acetaminophen 


1 ERROR 

2. Tramadol. 3. Acetaminophen < Any time you see a dose of #/# (with a virgule in between), it 

37.5/325 two tabs q.6. always means there are 2 drugs combined. This list just states 

"tramadol," but there is no dose or any dosing instructions. 


CPSE 3.0 

CORRECTIO 

N 

2. Tramadol/acetaminophen 

37.5/325 two tabs q.6. 

< This makes sense. The tramadol dose is 37.5 mg, and the 

acetaminophen dose is 325 mg. The patient is to take 2 tabs 

every 6 hours. 

3 COMMENTS 

this is one medicine (combination 

med) 


Example: Cayston 


1 ERROR 

therefore, Kasten was not 

brought to the bedside. 

You know the drug sounds like "kasten" or "kay-sten." The 

report is about a patient who has cystic fibrosis. 


CPSE 3.0 

3 COMMENTS 

CORRECTIO therefore, Cayston was not 

N 

brought to the bedside. 

sorry, Cayston is a cystic 

fibrosis med 

Go to www.empr.com and type "cystic fibrosis." Cayston is the 

2nd hit. 


Example: ZzzQuil 


1 ERROR 

. Insomnia. Continue with 

Zequel. 


CPSE 3.0 

CORRECTIO 

N 

. Insomnia. Continue with 

ZzzQuil. 

< You know what the drug sounds like (zee quill.) 

Go to www.pdr.net and type "zquil." You will be taken directly to 

ZzzQuil. Alternatively, you could go to www.empr.com and type 

“insomnia,” and you will find ZzzQuil as one of the results. 

3 COMMENTS 


Important Points to Remember 

• Always verify medications: spelling, brand name 

versus generic, dose, etc. 

• Look at clues within the report, such as disease or 

symptom being treated by the medication. Does 

the medication match the symptom/disease? 

• Be careful with soundalike names and dosages. 

• When in doubt, leave it out. (Leave a blank.) 


Thank you for your participation!

Numbers Boost- Medications

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