PTCB cheat sheet

• A generic (nonproprietary) name identifies the active substance and is public property; a brand name is a trademark owned by the company.
• -pril = ACE inhibitor (lisinopril, Zestril); -sartan = angiotensin II receptor blocker (losartan, Cozaar).

Aripiprazole (Abilify) is an atypical antipsychotic, not a proton pump inhibitor; its stem is -piprazole, not -prazole.

• Under 40 CFR 266.505, every healthcare facility, very small quantity generators included, is banned from sewering hazardous waste pharmaceuticals.
• Containers of non-creditable hazardous waste pharmaceuticals must be labeled "Hazardous Waste Pharmaceuticals" and may be accumulated on site for up to one year.

Very small quantity generators are covered by the sewer ban, not exempt from it.

• ISMP defines high-alert medications by the harm an error causes, not by how often errors happen.
• ISMP's community list includes insulin, opioids, antithrombotics such as warfarin, oral chemotherapy, carbamazepine and methotrexate for non-cancer use.

High-alert means high harm if an error occurs, not the most frequent errors.

• b.i.d. = twice a day, t.i.d. = three times a day, q.i.d. = four times a day, and q4h = every 4 hours.
• PO = by mouth, SL = under the tongue, PR = rectally, NPO = nothing by mouth, gtt = drops.

q.i.d. means four times a day, not every day (QD).

• Days' supply = quantity dispensed ÷ quantity used per day; for a prn Sig, use the most the Sig allows per day.
• Quantity to dispense = amount per dose × doses per day × number of days.

Divide pounds by 2.2 to get kilograms, not multiply.