Final answer:
Prescribers generally do not need to authorize each patient's use of the institutional formulary in a nursing home as formularies are established for broad use within the institution, but special approvals may be needed for non-formulary medications.
Step-by-step explanation:
The institutional formulary is a list of medications that have been approved for use within a specific healthcare setting, such as a nursing home. These formularies are typically created by a committee of healthcare professionals, including pharmacists and physicians, who evaluate medications based on their safety, efficacy, and cost-effectiveness for the patient population served by the institution.
In most cases, once a medication is included in an institutional formulary, prescribers within that institution can prescribe it for patients without needing to get each individual prescription authorized for formulary use. However, there may be specific protocols or restrictions in place, depending on the medication and the healthcare facility policies, that prescribers must follow. Moreover, for certain non-formulary medications or situations requiring individualized treatments, a prescriber might have to seek special approval.
In the context of a nursing home, while prescribers usually follow the formulary, they also maintain the responsibility to prescribe appropriate medications based on each patient's unique clinical needs, which sometimes requires the use of non-formulary medications with the necessary authorization process.