A Technicians Guide to Pharmaceutical Calculations: Dosing and Dispensing Math and Compounding Calculations
Activity Overview
Please read the following information about this continuing pharmacy education (CPE) activity before accessing the presentation using links located at the bottom of this page.
Accreditation for Pharmacists
The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education as a provider of continuing pharmacy education. This activity provides 1 hour (0.1 CEU) of continuing pharmacy education credit (ACPE activity #0204-0000-16-439-H04-T).
Target Audience
This continuing pharmacy education series was planned to meet the needs of pharmacy technicians in a variety of settings, and it would be particularly beneficial for pharmacy technicians, supervisors, and educators who are interested in learning dosing and dispensing math and compounding calculations.
Activity Content
In the workplace, pharmacy technicians perform pharmaceutical calculations on a daily basis. Performing these calculations accurately is vital to patient safety. Using a practical case-based approach, faculty will discuss dosing and dispensing math and compounding calculations.
This activity will address critical calculation situations such as calculating medication quantities for reconstituting oral preparations and volume of doses required to prepare injectable dosages. Also addressed will be determining the percent strength of a product when two volumes of given strengths are combined and converting a given doses to required volume of solution or number of tablets.
Learning Objectives
After participating in this knowledge-based educational activity, participants should be able to
- Identify the volume of diluent and the volume displaced by a drug in a reconstitution problem.
- Calculate volume of doses required for preparing injectable dosages.
- Round a calculated dose, as appropriate, to accurately weigh or measure a medication.
- Find the percent strength of a product when two volumes of given strengths are combined.
- Calculate the volume required to deliver a given dose of drug in solution or number of tablets.
Faculty
Joy E. Sakai, Pharm.D.
Lead Clinical Pharmacist
Kaweah Delta Health Care District
College of the Sequoias Pharmacy Technician Program
Visalia, California
Joy E. Sakai, Pharm.D., is Lead Clinical Pharmacist at Kaweah Delta Health Care District and Lead Instructor for the pharmacy technician training program at College of the Sequoias, both located in Visalia, California. At the Kaweah Delta South Campus, Dr. Sakai is Pharmacist-in-Charge, manages the onsite anticoagulation program, and also developed the pharmacy technician training program. Additionally, she is Partner at Rx Consultants in Visalia, California.
Dr. Sakai earned her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from University of California in San Francisco. She is co-author of Pharmacy Calculations: An Introduction for Pharmacy Technicians and author of Practical Pharmacology for the Pharmacy Technician. Dr. Sakai is an active member of American Society of Health-System Pharmacists and the California Society of Health-System Pharmacists.
Disclosure Statement
In accordance with the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education’s Standards for Commercial Support and the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education’s Guidelines for Standards for Commercial Support, ASHP requires that all individuals involved in the development of activity content disclose their relevant financial relationships. A person has a relevant financial relationship if the individual or his or her spouse/partner has a financial relationship (e.g., employee, consultant, research grant recipient, speakers bureau, or stockholder) in any amount occurring in the last 12 months with a commercial interest whose products or services may be discussed in the educational activity content over which the individual has control. The existence of these relationships is provided for the information of participants and should not be assumed to have an adverse impact on presentations.
All faculty and planners for ASHP education activities are qualified and selected by ASHP and required to disclose any relevant financial relationships with commercial interests. ASHP identifies and resolves conflicts of interest prior to an individual’s participation in development of content for an educational activity.
The following faculty and planners have no relationships pertinent to this activity.
Joy E. Sakai, Pharm.D.
Sylvia Q. Banzon, BA, CPhT, CQIA, HACP, PMP, TFCSHP
Edna Bowser, CPhT
Rebecca B. Brewer, CPhT
Al Carter, Pharm.D., M.S.
Angela Cassano, Pharm.D., BCPS, FASHP
Donna Hamilton, R.Ph, MBA
Mary McHugh, R.Ph.
Bradley Miller, CPhT, PhTR
Erin M. Ryman, B.S., CPhT
Rita Shane, Pharm.D., FASHP, FCSHP
Angela Triggs, R.Ph.
ASHP staff has no relevant financial relationships to disclose.
Methods and Format
This activity is available in one format:
- Web-Based CE. An online activity consisting of audio and slides (optional PDF handout with slides):
Launch Presentation
Participants must complete the entire activity, take the activity assessment and evaluation to receive continuing education credit. A minimum score of 70% is required on the test for credit to be awarded. A copy of the assessment test is provided as a study aid in the handout. CE credit will be reported directly to CPE Monitor. The estimated time to complete this activity is 1 hour (allow additional time to complete the assessment and evaluation).