Utah Health Sciences Center Addresses Narcotics Diversion from OR with New Analyzer

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

coming to your or soon??? karen

valimed system meets jcaho and ashp standards by validating return of controlled substances from the operating room.

narcotic drug diversion is a long-standing problem for healthcare organizations. many studies find that between five and 10 percent of anesthesiologists, nurses, and pharmacists have used this class of medications illegally. by substituting saline or water, narcotics-abusing clinicians had an undetectable source of drugs that compromised patient safety.

at the university of utah health sciences center, the university of utah hospital is one of the first hospitals in the country to tackle the problem at the source. using valimed, a new device from cdex, the hospital now validates the contents of all returned narcotics from the operating room.

"valimed pretty much eliminates a major source of narcotic drug diversion," said jim jorgenson, director of pharmacy services, and associate dean for clinical affairs, university of utah college of pharmacy. "its spectral analysis ensures every returned syringe contains narcotics and not just water. the machine is the size of a shoebox and fits in our satellite pharmacy; any pharmacy technician can perform the validation in seconds."

full press release:http://www.valimed.com/media_center/pr/012605.htm