What is P.RN. or "when required" medication?
A PRN medication is a medication that is not required regularly. A PRN, translated from Latin "pro re nata," translates to "as required." can treat many different conditions. The PRN protocol allows you to administer medications or treatments based on the client's specific needs or conditions. They are used when the need arises. It is usually prescribed to treat a short term or intermittent medical condition such as pain, indigestion or insomnia, and may consist of variable doses e.g. Paracetamol 500mg tablets Take ONE or TWO tablets every 4 to 6 hours when required.
They include medicines described as “Emergency Use” or “Rescue” medicines, the use of which should follow common principles of medicines administration applied to particular conditions and circumstances.
“To be taken as required” means medication to be taken when needed,
“Take as needed”. Essentially, it means that you should only take the medication when you really need it.
When do I administer PRN or "when required" medication?
A PRN medication should be administered upon the request of the Care Recipient or when you have observed that it is needed. Consideration should also be given to the Care Recipient's ongoing capacity to refuse the medication.
Please report any suspected tampering with blister packs to the office immediately, as these medications could have been exposed to air and administering them could risk your care recipients' health and safety. Do not administer medication unless you dispensed it yourself.
What is a PRN protocol?
A personalised PRN Protocol is a detailed account of when PRN medication should be administered to a particular recipient. It is needed for all PRN medications whether these are prescribed or self-care. The plan should include appropriate alternative support and interventions to use before medicines are prescribed. If a PRN protocol is not in place for a PRN medication, please contact the office on 020 3970 9900.
How do I administer PRN or "when required" medication?
When a ‘PRN’ is prescribed, a plan for administering should be documented in the PRN protocol and every dose given should be recorded on the PRN chart (including the date, time, dose, signature, remaining, reason for giving and effectiveness of medicine). Please do inform the office of PRN administration by calling us on 020 3970 9900 and a member of our care management team will update the care to clearly support you on how to administer PRN medication with the treatment and desired outcome(s) clearly identified.
Procedure:
Check the PRN plan in the care plan/eMAR.
Ensure there is a PRN protocol in place and if not call the care management team on 020 3970 9900.
Check that there is no duplication of the PRN medication on the eMAR chart e.g paracetamol and co-dydramol (which contains paracetamol).
Offer the medication to the care recipient.
The PRN medication must not be offered more frequently than:
the minimum interval between doses, and
the maximum allowed dose in 24 hours.
How do I document PRN or "when required" medication?
When PRN medicines are administered the record should include:
medication name, form, strength
the reasons for giving the when required medicine
route of administration
how much has been given including if a variable dose has been prescribed
the time of administration for time-sensitive medicines
special instructions/warnings
the outcome and whether the medicine was effective.
Find written instructions at the bottom of the page.
What happens if PRN or "when required" medication is stopped?
Notify the edyn care management team on 020 3970 9900.
We will update the care plan/eMAR to reflect PRN being stopped
Any remaining PRN medication should be disposed of, following the policy for disposal of medication.
Ensure the GP is aware of stop, so as to ensure that PRN medication is removed from the resident's repeat medication list on the clinical system.
How to document
The administration of all medication should be recorded on the eMAR immediately to prevent an incident or accidental overdose from occurring. It is also good practice to record in the client's daily notes when they were offered each PRN medication
PRN protocol - Paracetamol example
