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S A F E T Y
puter screensaver for minutes at a time. It was the final straw in a tumultuous working relationship with the Reston (Va.) Hospital Center, which fired
Ms. Harris on the spot that day in August 2009. Seven years earlier, Ms.
Harris tried to kill herself twice by overdosing on medications. One of her
suicide attempts was with Dilaudid, court records show, which she diverted
from Reston's supplies.
2. The diversion
Strike a balance between giving your staff access to the drugs they
need and having enough security measures in place to prevent diversion. Always maintain drug security and track your drug inventory
down to the "each" (automated dispensing cabinets are effective in
meeting both goals). The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
allows a 10% leeway in tracking controlled substance inventories, but
that's an overly lenient percentage that you should strive to beat.
Effective anti-diversion strategies also have surveillance components: Audit your employees on a periodic but meaningful basis to see
if they're managing medications properly. You must also act quickly —
within 24 hours — when questions arise about medication usage within your facility. Did a nurse show up to work woozy and slurring her
speech? Is a narcotic missing? Did a patient complain about not
receiving pain medication? Investigate all incidents fully, no matter
how unbelievable they may seem (friends and administrators aren't
immune to the dangers of drug abuse). You need a complete picture
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O U T PAT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | M A R C H 2013
