Medications

• Medication must be accompanied by a medication permission form signed by both the physician and parent. For short term medications such as antibiotics, the prescription bottle is acceptable for a physician’s order with the medication permission form or a written permission statement by the parent. Faxed orders will be accepted if received directly from a physician’s office. Nurses will contact physicians directly if there are any questions about a medication order.At the high school, acetaminophen and ibuprofen may be given to a student on a one-time basis with verbal permission from the parent/guardian. Written permission is required for all subsequent administrations.
  
  
• Medication must be supplied by the parent in the original pharmacy container. Please ask your pharmacist to provide a second container and send only the amount of medication needed to school. Medication is kept locked in the nurse’s office and is dispensed by the school nurse.
  
  
• For your child’s safety, and the safety of other students, students are not allowed to carry medication at school. When a parent/guardian deems it necessary for a student to have immediate access to a medication , the school nurse must agree that it is safe and necessary for the student to do self-administration. The parent/guardian will provide the Medication Permission Form filled out by the student’s physician and signed by the parent/guardian. The school nurse, parent, and student will need to enter into an agreement which specifies the conditions under which the prescription medication may be self-administered.
  
  
• When applicable in the secondary schools, the parent/guardian, student, and school nurse must agree that the student is able to do self-administration of insulin without school nurse supervision. All medication orders must be for treatment of a specifically diagnosed medical need and must be renewed at the beginning of each school year.
  
  
• Investigational new drugs with FDA approval may be administered in the schools with a written order by a licensed prescriber, written consent of the parent/guardian and a pharmacy-labeled container for dispensing. If there is a question, the school nurse may seek consultation and/or approval from the school physician to administer the medication in the school setting.
  
  
• The parent may retrieve the medicine from school at any time and the medicine will be destroyed if it is not picked up within one week following termination of the order or one week beyond the close of the school year.
  
  
• Life-Threatening Allergies: If a child with a known LTA has ingested the food allergen, and has one allergic symptom, she/he will be treated with an EpiPen and 9-1-1 will be called. Exceptions will be made when orders from a board certified allergist dictate the school nurse’s emergency response. 
  
  
• Field Trips: School nurses are rarely available on field trips. EpiPens go on all field trips and staff are trained to administer them. Benadryl does not go out on field trips per Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) regulations. When no nurse is present on a field trip, students will receive medications as follows: 1) A staff member, delegated by the school nurse, will administer the medication if permitted by Massachusetts DPH regulations or 2) With out-of-state field trips, a student may take the medication from a labeled pharmacy bottle if age appropriate. The staff member will hold the medication for safe-keeping when appropriate.
  
  
• Under Massachusetts law, all students with diabetes or seizures who are prescribed emergency medications must be accompanied by a school nurse or parent on field trips for the possible administration of Glucagon or Diastat. We understand that at the secondary level not all parent/guardians think it is necessary to have a nurse accompany their child for this reason. An option of a Medical Directive by the child’s primary care giver, stating that the emergency medical plan may be suspended for field trips, must be obtained. This Directive must be co-signed by the parent/guardian. The Directive from the doctor must state that your child does not need to have Glucagon or Diastat available on field trips.
  
  
• For more information about medication procedures and field trips, see page 8 “Medical Guidelines for Field Trips” in the Lexington Field Trip Forms packet.

Medication Permission Form
Medication Policy
Medication Administration Regulations
Asthma Care Plan
Anaphylaxis Emergency Plan