drug disposal systems destroy excess drugs and render them unus-
able, which is an important consideration in efforts to prevent your
staff from diverting drug waste for illicit purposes.
Disposable containers that contain a chemical to mix with the
drugs are still a common way to make them unusable. You place the
drugs in the container with the chemical, add water, wait some time
and then throw the whole container away. But there are more envi-
ronmentally friendly options, including a box that mounts to the
wall with 2 different ports for pills and liquid medications; an indica-
tor light tells you when the cartridges are full. You need a key to
access the cartridges for disposal and if the key is not used, an
alarm is triggered. The full cartridge is disposed of through a phar-
maceutical waste management company and you can order car-
tridges in bulk to get a
discount.
4. Labeling solu-
tions
You can now place
small devices on top
of anesthesia carts or
medication dispensing
cabinets that will
automatically print
out color-coded
labels. The colors
reflect the different
medications classes
as defined by the
American Society for
A P R I L 2 0 1 8 • O U T PA T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T • 9 3
3."$4VSHJDBM5PMM'SFFXXXSNBDTVSHJDBMDPN
