Is Tramadol part of your Narc count? - Page 2

I think we count it at my job but this is probably d/t the number of pain med addicted vets.....

No. Not in any of the hospital wards I've worked.

I've worked in multiple facilities over the past few years. None of them have included Tramadol (Ultram) as part of the narcotic counts. The Tramadol typically is kept in the regular drawers with the other routine medications.

we just switched to an automated med machine, and the PHA can set any med to verify quantity. He does this with all narcs of course, and other things that seem to evaporate. Previcid is prompted to count. And durring the flu season, all antibiotics and antivirals are set to prompt a count.

to him its inventory control, and if he uses it like that, there arn't any red flags.

It is in our narc count also. Our pharmacy downsized and we had to switch to one under the same name but in a closer location a few months ago and with the new one they sent this med out as a non control and we had to make out new narc count sheets for them....my boss asked them about it and they said it was up to us.....we could do it either way...and since we've been counting it for x amt of years we just kept it this way. Before it was put with our narcs ..it was easy for them to come up missing and refills needed too soon...so thats probably how it got started where I work. But really ...if you think about it....in LTC its very easy for a nurse to divert meds.....huge patient loads given to one nurse at a time.....very easy to do for those that are into theft.

I'm a RN at a post-op rehab facility (knees, hips, that kind of thing). Tramadol is not considered a Narc at our facility. Oxy & Fentanyl patches are the main/most popular ones we count daily.

How many times a day does your facility do a Narc count? Ours is once a day....

It isn't where I work (but then again, neither are the elixirs like Lortab and Tylenol 3, due to "not enough room in the PYXIS. They send it up in multi-dose bottles, I've been trying to get them to change that practice for years).

Anyway, back to the Tramadol.

While it isn't legally considered a controlled substance, it acts very similarly to codeine. People can and do get addicted to it, and stopping it suddenly causes withdrawal symptoms (and seizures). Google it and you'll find a bunch of info and postings on forums re: tramadol addiction. It's more common than you'd think.

It is not included in the narc count at my secondary employer.

It's locked up and counted at each shift change where I am. I think I've given it maybe 3 times in the last month.