What to Know
Drug Allergy Definition: the abnormal reaction of a body’s immune system to a medication; it can be mild (skin rash/itching) to severe (anaphylaxis).
Drug Intolerance Definition: predictable adverse effects or side effects to a drug that occur at a dose normally tolerated by non-hypersensitive persons.
What to Do
–Properly identify drug allergies vs. intolerances on admission (ask what happened to the patient when the reaction occurred -example: diarrhea is not an allergic reaction)
-Be sure to include all allergies on face sheet, MAR, POS, electronic health record and outside of the chart
-Prior to the first dose of any drug given, reconcile the drug vs. the allergy profile
-Be sure to notify the pharmacy of any changes in the allergy profile of a patient
-Contact the doctor for any potential allergy flags, document the outcome, and communicate it to the health care team