Percocet with Tylenol or some other similar-looking pills.
If you don't closely watch your meds and lock your carts between
cases, you're practically inviting drug theft. Double-lock controlled sub-
stances to prevent tampering. Monitor the dispensing records of all
providers.
Augment pre-employment drug screening with frequent urine drug
screening of small numbers of employees. The Internet is full of sites
offering ways to beat the tests, so someone should witness all urine
drug-screening tests.
Two staff members should do narcotic counts at the end of every
shift or every day, and each person should actually be able to see the
meds. They should never accept statements like, "There are 10 vials in
this box," without actually seeing all 10. Waste must be witnessed,
too. Don't sign for a waste if you didn't actually see it.
OSM
Mr. Ruspantine (perryr@anesprof.com) is the clinical
compliance manager and HIPAA compliance officer for Anesthesia
PROfessionals in Dartmouth, Mass. He lectures on drug diversion.
J U L Y 2 0 1 7 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 3 5
