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O U T P A T 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 | S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 5
Give Your Facility This Drug Security Test
5 measures that will help prevent diversion.
L
et me guess: Drug
diversion can
never happen on
your watch because no one
on your all-star staff has a
substance abuse problem.
Maybe so, but don't you
think administrators at
facilities where drug diver-
sion actually happened
once thought the same thing? Take a few minutes to ensure these 5
drug security precautions are in place, even if you think you have
nothing to worry about.
Locked storage?
You must keep controlled substances in locked cabinets or
secured storage areas. Using employee-specific swipe cards is a great
way to limit access to controlled substances. You can program the
system to allow access only to certain employees, and monitor exact-
ly who swiped in and when. Combination locks are a less costly but
still effective option for securing anesthesia workrooms or drug stor-
age cabinets. You need to have a written policy in place that stipulates
who on the staff can know the lock's combination and how often it
should be changed.
It's a good idea to change the combination periodically. One accredi-
tation surveyor told me that he's seen staff members write lock com-
binations in pencil on a doorsill or a nearby wall. Another surveyor
told me that he was able to access a medication storage area because
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S A F E T Y
John R. Karwoski, RPh, MBA
z CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES Limit access to
medications, and monitor their use and disposal.
