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coverable, non-retrievable and unusable.
7. Should you use sharps and waste containers with larger
openings, regularly observe the area or consider adding video
surveillance to ensure the contents remain secure.
8. Lock sharps and medication waste containers to the wall or
secure them to other stationary equipment. Secure all keys to
replace a container, and limit access to just a few designated
staff. Establish a process to track and reconcile all containers to
ensure none are removed without reason.
9. When you remove a full sharps or medication waste contain-
er from a secure wall unit or its usual location, establish a secure
holding area while awaiting proper pick-up for disposal.
10. Don't let staff keep purses, backpacks or other personal
storage cases in areas where controlled substances are stored or
discarded.
SOURCE: Institute for Safe Medication Practices
important theory is that if you accidentally give someone the wrong
drug, at least you'll be giving one that's in the same class. The thinking
being that it's not likely to be as big of a deal if I give someone fen-
tanyl instead of morphine, as it would be if I accidentally gave him a
paralytic.
3. Prefilled syringes. Whether they come directly from the manu-
facturer, from a third-party distributor, or from your hospital pharma-
cy, prefilled syringes are a great start toward solving the problem,
because they eliminate a whole category of mistakes. They banish
ampoule swaps, those cases where you fill your syringe with the
wrong drug, because they eliminate the need for ampoules.
