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they dispose of at the end of the
day? How many narcotic administrations do they handle compared to
colleagues on the same shift? Are they disposing of wastage immedi-
ately?
Constant vigilance?
Properly performed manual audits eliminate a great deal of
drug diversion risk for your facility, but can't end it entirely.
Medication can still be swiped from the sterile field or a nurse might
divert a small amount of painkiller from a filled syringe. It's nearly
impossible to catch those types of thefts. The best you can do is put
up as many barriers as possible.
In the wrong hands, all drugs, not just narcotics, can do significant
harm to patients and other individuals. You and your clinical man-
agers can't observe all that goes on in your facility on a daily basis, so
every staff member has a responsibility to ensure patient safety, and
medication security is a big part of that obligation. They also have
legal and ethical responsibilities to report anyone who's acting suspi-
cious or whose behavior has changed noticeably. It's better to point
out suspicions of abuse than run the risk of letting abusers jeopardize
their own well-being and the safety of the patients in their care. OSM
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Completing audits in plain view
puts doubt in the mind of a
would-be stealer. Can I get
away with this? Maybe not.
Mr. Karwoski (john@jdjconsulting.net) is president and founder of JDJ Consulting in Wenonah, N.J. Mr.
Karwoski will discuss best practices in medication management at OR Excellence next month in San
Antonio (orexcellence.com).