It’s Tuesday morning and the medications from your distributor just arrived, your task? Stock the shelves
You pull out insulins, 1000-count bottles, and medications with warnings in bright colors on the label… what goes where?
Knowing the storage requirements for medications is crucial to enforcing patient safety and a successful workplace
Dangers of Incorrect Storage
The stability and shelf-life of a medication depend heavily on the conditions they are stored in
For example, a medication left at room temperature that is meant to be refrigerated may become ineffective or toxic
If an improperly stored medication becomes unstable and is dispensed to a patient, the side effects could be life-threatening depending on the nature of the medication
Let’s consider these two scenarios…
Scenario 1: A patient comes in for their flu vaccine, she is 84 and diabetic. The vaccines arrived a week prior but were stored on the shelf instead of the fridge
You assume they were recently removed and vaccinate the patient with the ones on the shelf. A month later, the patient contracted the flu and because her vaccine was ineffective, ended up in the hospital due to her weakened immune system
Scenario 2: A new technician is unpacking medications and accidentally stocks a box of Admelog pens with Epi pens. Your pharmacy doesn’t dispense many Epi pens, so no one notices the stray Admelog box until 1 month later
The technician feels guilty and lies about how long it had been on the shelf. The medication is dispensed to a patient, and the patient later became severely hyperglycemic due to their compromised insulin
How to Identify Improperly Stored Medication
All medications should be filled or dispensed from their original bottle. The only exception is an amber vial of return-to-stock (RTS) medication with a shortened expiration date
Tablets or capsules exposed to improper conditions (moisture, light, incorrect temperatures) may show signs of discoloration and degradation
These signs could be sticky tablets, chipped surfaces, or harder/softer than normal surfaces
Proper Medication Storage
Medications stored at room temperature, in the fridge, or freezer have specific temperature ranges
If the medication does not have any specific storage requirements, it is expected to be stored at room temperature
Temperature Ranges
| Storage | Conditions |
| Room Temperature | 68 to 77 degrees Farenheit (oF) |
| Refrigerator | 36 to 46 degrees Farenheit (oF) |
| Freezer | -13 to 14 degrees Farenheit (oF) |
Commonly Refrigerated Medications
| Brand Name | Generic Name |
| Admelog | Insulin Aspart |
| Augmentin | Amoxicillin / Clavulanic Acid |
| Humulin R | Human Regular Insulin |
| Humalog | Insulin Lispro |
| Lantus | Insulin Glargine |
| Levemir | Insulin Detemir |
| Mounjaro | Tirzepatide |
| Ozempic Wegovy | Semaglutide |
| Xalatan | Latanoprost |
Storing Vaccines
| Vaccine | Requirement |
| Adacel (Tdap) | Refridgerated |
| COVID-19 Vaccine | Refridgerated |
| Energix-B | Refridgerated |
| FluZone FluBlok | Refridgerated |
| Havrix | Refridgerated |
| MMR | Refridgerated |
| ProQuad (MMRV) | Frozen |
| Varivax (varicella) | Frozen |
| Zostavax (shingles) | Frozen |
Repackaging
Any medication dispensed outside of the original packaging must be dispensed in an amber vial
The amber vials block UV rays and protect medications from potential light damage
Certain medications cannot be repackaged due to their sensitivity, and can only be dispensed in their original container (or blister packaging)
These medications include…
- Belsomra
- Biktarvy
- Lamictal (ODT)
- Linzess
- Nitroglycerin (know this one for your exam)
- Nurtec (ODT)
- Saphris sublingual tablet
- Viracept
- Zenpep
- Zofran (ODT)
- Zyprexa Zydis (ODT)
For a more detailed list navigate here, you will not need to know all of these for your exam but it is a helpful resource if you’re curious