Healthcare facilities can help prevent drug diversion by establishing processes for managing and auditing narcotic inventories, according to Daryl Schiller, PharmD, pharmacy services director at Montefiore Nyack (N.Y.) Hospital.
Five ways to detect drug diversion and ensure the safe use of controlled substances:
1. Require nurses and operating anesthesiologists to log medication inventory on a daily basis.
2. Require inventory counts of all on-hand controlled substances at least weekly.
3. Count inventory in the pharmacy vault every month.
4. Conduct audits of waste documentation.
5. Ensure all removal of controlled substances has been accounted for in the medical record.