Dispensary

Not to be confused with Hospital, early examples of which were called dispensaries.

A dispensary is an office in a school, hospital or other organization that dispenses medications and medical supplies. In a traditional dispensary set-up a pharmacist dispenses medication as per prescription or order form.

Electronic dispensaries are designed to ensure efficient and consistent dispensing of excipient and active materials in a secure data environment with full audit traceability. A standard dispensary system consists of a range of modules such as manual dispensing, supervisory, bulk dispensing, recipe management and interfacing with external systems.

Alcohol (USA)

The term "dispensary" in the United States is used in the to refer to government agencies that sell alcoholic beverages, particularly in the state of Idaho and the South Carolina Dispensary.

Cannabis (USA and Canada)

In Arizona, British Columbia, California, Colorado, Michigan, Ontario, Quebec, and Washington, medical cannabis is sold in specially designated stores called dispensaries or "compassion clubs." However, this is not true for all states with medical cannabis laws as their existence is highly controversial.^{[citation needed]} Despite vast support among the medical marijuana community they aren't technically legal in either Country. Medical cannabis dispensaries are abundant in American states that permit use however; the DEA continues to raid these dispensaries and the Federal government continues to prosecute individuals operating them.^{[citation needed]} In Canada dispensaries are far less abundant, with the majority being in British Columbia, a few are also located in Southern Ontario and Quebec.^{[citation needed]} They too are frequently raided by Police as the Canadian government and Health Canada do not legally recognize nor permit their existence.^{[citation needed]}

Primary Care Facility (Kenya)

In Kenya, a dispensary is a small outpatient health facility, usually managed by a registered nurse. It provides the most basic primary healthcare services to rural communities, e.g. childhood immunisation, family planning, wound dressing and management of common ailments like colds, diarrhea and simple malaria. The nurses report to the nursing officer at the health centre, where they refer patients with complicated diseases to be managed by clinical officers.

See also

• Public dispensary
• Apothecary
• Pharmacy