The nurse is developing a hospital policy on guidelines for telephone and verbal prescriptions. Which guidelines should the nurse include in the policy? Select all that apply.

To avoid misunderstandings, the nurse would always clarify a telephone or verbal prescription with the health care provider (HCP) if he or she had any questions about the prescription and would repeat any prescribed prescriptions back to the HCP. A telephone order (TO) or prescription involves a primary HCP stating a prescribed therapy over the phone to the nurse. TOs are frequently given at night or during an emergency and need to be given only when absolutely necessary. Likewise, a verbal order (VO) or prescription is acceptable when there is no opportunity for the HCP to write the prescription such as in an emergency situation. Additional guidelines for telephone and verbal prescriptions include the following: clearly determine the client's name, room number, and diagnosis; indicate TO or VO, including the date and time, name of the client, complete prescription, name of the HCP giving the prescription, and nurse taking the prescription; and have the HCP cosign the prescription within the time frame designated by the health care agency (usually 24 hours).