A local community pharmacy has run out of stock of Olanzapine 5 mg orodispersible tablets (4 x 28). What detail must be recorded in the POM register when supplying this medicine?

• A. The date of supply
• B. The purpose for which the medicine was supplied
• C. The patient’s medical condition
• D. The prescriber’s signature

Answer: (B)

When a prescription-only medicine like olanzapine is supplied from a community pharmacy, the POM register is used to record essential details of that supply to support safety and governance. For antipsychotics, capturing the purpose or indication for which the medicine is being supplied is the key detail to record. This helps confirm the medicine is being used for the intended treatment (for example, the specific psychiatric condition being treated) and supports ongoing monitoring, audits, and safety checks if issues arise with the therapy.

While the date of supply is also part of the record and the prescriber’s details are noted, the question highlights the requirement to log the purpose of supply. The patient’s medical condition is typically documented in the patient’s own clinical records rather than the POM register, and the prescriber’s signature is not the detail recorded in this context.