Hospitals can dispense prescriptions from inpatient inventory to which patients?

• A. In ED
• B. Discharged by hospital (first fill only)
• C. Own staff
• D. Visitors

Answer: (D)

The key idea is who is eligible to receive medications directly from the hospital’s on-hand inpatient stock. Inpatient inventory is kept to support care for patients who are currently admitted and is dispensed through the hospital’s own processes under the patient’s care plan and with proper authorization. Among the options, visitors are the on-site individuals who can be considered under this framework when there is an approved, patient-specific need and the appropriate pharmacy verification is in place. ED patients are typically treated through the ED workflow and would use meds from that department’s own supply or the outpatient process; patients discharged from the hospital fall into discharge workflows and are supplied medications through outpatient or discharge prescriptions, not from the inpatient stock; hospital staff generally follow separate access rules and don’t routinely receive inpatient-stock meds for themselves. So, the best match is visitors, given the in-hospital context and required approvals.