Can you take a patient's medication without their consent?

[balmybalmblam]

Can an Rn legally take a patient's tylenol#3 without their consent? Lets say you have a mentally ill patient who was formerly conserved but not anymore. His judgement may not be sound but he is technically competent (but questionable). If the nurse is afraid that in his attempts to get high, he overdoses or gets liver failure, can the nurse take the patients medication? Let's say can the nurse take the patients 1 month supply of tylenol3 and dispense him a 7 day amount? So I asked the patient if I could do this for him and he declined. What can a nurse do?

[loriangel14, RN]

What kind of setting are you working in?

Normally if a nurse is administering meds you are giving one dose at a time, not several days worth.

[PurpleLover]

From the title, I thought it would be about the nurse actually taking the medication. I have never heard of a patient getting several doses of meds at once. I am new to the nursing world though.

[balmybalmblam]

This is an in home setting. I'm not working at a hospital. My agency is contracted by county to provide social work for mental ill patients living in their community. I'm an rn who provides medication support to mentally lll patients. And a new grad

[balmybalmblam]

Home setting. I added more information. Thanks for replying

[balmybalmblam]

I'm a new grad as well. It's an in home setting

[MrChicagoRN, RN]

That's really something you need to discuss with your managers. While the legal answer would generally be No, you can't take a patient's property, there may be an exception under this program. Close medication management may be a condition of participation, but you need to ask.

[LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN]

What are you policy and procedures in handing patient medications?

The best place to start is your administration, policy and procedures, and go from there.

It NEVER hurts to ask questions; I would NOT take the patients medication from them, or even suggest to do so They are in their own home, and doing so would get you in hot water with your job and your license.

If you feel that this person is not competent in their own setting, you alert your agency supervisor, document, document, document to provide supporting evidence and rationale; you are in the home setting; also educate as well. Use those nursing assessment skills and document if they are proposing to use the medication more than as directed; find out why-is it not effective? Do they need something else?, etc, get the patient involved, then get your supervisor or a head case manager's thought on this, and go from there.

[balmybalmblam]

Thanks for the reply. Is there a website you can recommend for me to refer to with these issues? Or a book? That's what I originally thought and discussed this with my manager who is a family therapist. My higher ups are psychology doctors, therapists,master social work. They're leaning towards no don't take the medication just educate and document. But when I brought this issue to a nurse I work with she said I should take the medication away and when I talked to our psychiatrist, he was very vague in answering. He just said I have liability... I asked.. "Do I have a legal right to take away his meds?" Psych nods then says "you have liability". We kinda went around this loop.

[MrChicagoRN, RN]

My higher ups are...leaning towards no don't take the medication just educate and document.

when I talked to our psychiatrist...He just said I have liability... I asked.. "Do I have a legal right to take away his meds?" Psych nods then says "you have liability". We kinda went around this loop.

There's no loop here. Appears to me that the answer is clear.

Your patient wants to keep his medicine, perhaps for no other reason than he paid for the meds, and that they are his property. Autonomy is important to people.

Maybe you can work out something where you discuss your concerns and educate. Form an alliance. Perhaps something can be worked out, something like sealing those bottles in a big zip lock bag. Patient keeps the meds, just shows you the sealed bag every time.

Be creative.

[LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN]

There's no loop here. Appears to me that the answer is clear. Your patient wants to keep his medicine perhaps for no other reason than he paid for the meds, and that they are his property. Autonomy is important to people. Maybe you can work out something where you discuss your concerns and educate. Form an alliance. Perhaps something can be worked out, something like sealing those bottles in a big zip lock bag. Patient keeps the meds, just shows you the sealed bag every time. Be creative.[/quote']

This.

[txredheadnurse, BSN, RN]

You could also make a contract with the patient that he call you before he takes a dose of his Tylenol #3. I am NOT advocating you tell him not to take it but, rather, to help the two of you open the channels of communication more. You can review with him why he feels he needs to take a pain med and ask him how many he plans to take. If you join this contract with doing a medication count each visit you can see if he is taking extra doses without telling you first. If that is the case then the treatment team needs to review the process and devise a different plan.

In a private home setting the nurse must be willing to allow a patient to make their own choices and she must realize that the level of control a nurse has is by the very nature of the setting quite limited. It is not like you are administering the medication and signing out each dose. You are there to help the patient manage their medications in general and to provide oversight. It is quite different than working in a facility which is nursing/medically oriented. In addition you need to keep the lines of communication open with the other team members and be willing to try unconventional approaches.