Holding a flu clinic? Make sure you take steps to ensure patient privacy – it’s your responsibility. We’ve received reports of flu clinics where immunizations are being administered in an area that is not private. As outlined in Standard 16.3, a pharmacist who administers a drug, blood product or vaccine must ensure that the environment within which the drug, blood product or vaccine will be administered is clean, safe, appropriately private and comfortable for the patient.
When providing services outside of the patient services area or outside the pharmacy, pharmacists must ensure that there is an area available to accommodate the privacy of individuals. The degree of privacy desired by individuals may vary; and should not be assumed or left to the pharmacist’s discretion. Therefore, it is good practice for pharmacists, when seeking the consent of individuals to administer vaccines or other drugs by injection, to ask them whether they would like it administered in a private or semi-private area. This can easily be accommodated when seeking their consent to administer.
