[onangelswings]

Has anyone encountered an incidence in which you suspect the family is using the patients narcotics for themselves?
How to you approach this subject tactfully?

[mc3]

I did have one situation where the patient's comfort kit didn't have any Roxanol. When I asked where it went, I was told "I don't know" by both patient and family. My supervisor said this had happened there before (I was new at that time), and that from now on, the strongest med we could keep in the house was Darvocet....Another time, a patient's husband was helping himself to her Percocet. Believe it or not, that supervisor's attitude was "well, it belongs to them - what can we do?)
I think trying to be "tactful" won't work. I would level with patient and family and tell them we won't be able to keep anything here if you continue to abuse it. Period. (Sorry if that sounds harsh - I have no patience with family taking meds from dying patients...)
mc3

[doodlemom]

I've experienced this with many different patients. Depending on the situation, we have done different things such as only dispensing 2 days worth of medication at a time or asking that the family provide a lock box so that the abuser cannot get to the med (if there is a responsible adult.)

[shrinky]

We have encountered this in several homes and we also limited the amount we dispensed or had the family provide a locked box in the home. In one home the patient was confused and took more meds than she was supposed to take, so we placed the meds out of her reach. I would hate for my patient not to have the meds he/she needs because of diversion, so we would always try to limit the quantity taken in at a time.