Study-Unit Description

Study-Unit Description


CODE PHR2606

 
TITLE Medication and Dosage Forms

 
UM LEVEL 02 - Years 2, 3 in Modular Undergraduate Course

 
MQF LEVEL 5

 
ECTS CREDITS 4

 
DEPARTMENT Pharmacy

 
DESCRIPTION This study-unit comprises of a review of different classes of drugs and their characteristics with a reflection on their evaluation for safe use in the management and prevention of diseases:

- Drug classification: anti-infectives, analgesics, antihypertensives, digestive system drugs, immunological agents, cardiovascular drugs, respiratory drugs and endocrine system drugs;
- Biological drugs;
- Radiopharmaceuticals;
- Drug information sources;
- Medical devices used in drug administration and patient monitoring;
- Delivery systems for distributing medications.

Study-unit Aims:

To provide an overview of the use of the different classes of drugs with considerations for safe use and to reflect on digitalisation in distribution of medicinal products.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Knowledge & Understanding
By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

- identify characteristics of classes of drugs with an emphasis on patient safety;
- describe biotechnology drugs and radiopharmaceuticals.

2. Skills
By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

- distinguish between different classes of drugs;
- compare routes of administration;
- list the benefits of using the different dosage forms in different circumstances;
- appreciate regulatory aspects specifically relevant to biosimilar and radiopharmaceuticals;
- reflect on patient-centric characteristics in medical devices;
- identify delivery systems used for distributing medications.

Main Text/s and any supplementary readings:

- Lucio S. Biosimilars and Biologics. USA: ASHP, 2018.
- Privitera MB. Applied human factors in medical device design. United Kingdom: Academic Press, 2019.
- Theobald T. Sampson’s textbook of radiopharmacy. London: Pharmaceutical Press, 2011.
- Watson J, Cogan L. Pharmacy Practice. New York: Elsevier, 2020.

 
RULES/CONDITIONS Before TAKING THIS UNIT YOU MUST TAKE PHR1612

 
STUDY-UNIT TYPE Lecture

 
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Component/s Assessment Due Sept. Asst Session Weighting
Examination (2 Hours) SEM1 Yes 100%

 
LECTURER/S Lilian M. Azzopardi
Doris Baldacchino

 

 
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints.
Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice.
It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years.

https://www.um.edu.mt/course/studyunit