Narcotic Control & Accountability in the Operating Room
Narcotic medications play an integral part in surgery and anesthesia, but because of potential for theft and abuse, their use in the operating room falls under strict control and accountability procedure.
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Importance
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Opioids are used for their pain-relieving qualities and abused for their euphoric effects, and access to narcotics only increases abuse potential. For example, anesthesiologists make up about 3 percent of the physician work force, but comprise 13 percent of doctors treated for substance abuse, according to a survey in the October 2002 edition of "Anesthesia & Analgesia." Theft of these drugs also causes concern.
Methods
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Manual recording, used in many facilities, involves signing out a box of medication to a clinician, who records dosages given to the patient. Password-protected, automated devices also dispense drugs for each individual patient. Some operating rooms have dedicated pharmacies to increase control and accountability, and hospitals typically require witness verification for waste or return of unused medications. Testing random samples of the returned material to assure that it hasn't been replaced or diluted with other liquid also occurs, with discrepancies reported.
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Future
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Performing a random sampling of returned drugs--an increasing trend--verifies quality and quantity. Using sensors in a patient's intravenous line, confirming the type and dose of drugs given, seems likely for the future.
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References
- Photo Credit Injektion image by Stephan Morrosch from Fotolia.com
