Asked by dontillia

A patient tells a pharmacy technician that her artificial tears are not helping her dry eye symptoms and asks what she should do next. What is the most appropriate action for the technician?

Offer to refill her cyclosporine eye drops early to double-up her dose

Suggest adding OTC corticosteroid eye drops for a few weeks

Refer the patient to the pharmacist for further counseling

Advise the patient that she may have Sjogren’s disease and to call her doctor

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
Refer the patient to the pharmacist for further counseling.

Rationale: a pharmacy technician should not change or recommend prescription dosing (e.g., early refill/doubling cyclosporine), diagnose (suggesting Sjögren’s), or recommend steroid eye drops. The pharmacist can assess adherence/timing, counsel on preservative‑free artificial tears and expected onset of prescription treatments (e.g., cyclosporine can take weeks), check the medication history, and recommend contacting the prescriber or urgent care if signs of infection or severe disease are present.