Final answer:
Healthcare facilities are expected to inspect medications stored in different areas regularly, though the question does not specify a timeframe. Directly observed therapy has been effective for TB treatment, but applying it broadly raises practical issues. Policing overprescription involves regulatory bodies enforcing penalties to maintain best practices.
Step-by-step explanation:
Medications stored in all areas of a healthcare facility, such as nursing units, clinics, and emergency rooms, should typically be inspected regularly to ensure safety and compliance with regulatory standards. Despite the question not providing a specific timeframe, inspections are often mandated by healthcare regulations to occur monthly or at least quarterly.
This is to ensure that medications are stored properly, within date, and to prevent errors. Establishing a clear protocol, like directly observed therapy (DOT), for the administration of medications, particularly for serious conditions like TB, has proven effective as part of the WHO's global strategy. However, applying DOT universally, for instance to antibiotics like penicillin, raises practical and financial questions about adherence, costs, and who bears these costs.
In regard to overprescription, the policing of physicians or drug companies is a matter of enforcing best practices through an appropriate regulatory body, which could assume the responsibility of implementing penalties to discourage such practices.