Dispensing narcotics in office

[appleorchard]

Does anyone know, or know where to find, regulations governing dispensing of narcotics in a physician's office, for a simple procedure? Do you need a daily count sheet; if you're the only licensed person, who do you count with? Who counts on the days you're not there? Do you need to count at all? Do any of you have physicians who occasionally want a patient to have Tylenol #3 for a procedure?

[elkpark]

Your state DEA (drug enforcement agency -- your state's may have a slightly different name, but I guarantee you that you've got one) issues and enforces the rules for managing narcotics in the different types of healthcare settings in your state. They would be happy to advise you about what you need to do to be legal. In my state (I worked for the last several years as a state & Federal surveyor), there is a lot of paperwork and you have to be able to show a clear paper trail and account for all the narcs.

[suzanne4, RN]

Each state sets their own regulations, as well as what is required. And it varies by class of medication as to how it is stored, etc.

Contact the Board of Pharmacy, or equivalent for your state ,to get specifics for your office.

[sirI, MSN, APRN, NP]

Your state DEA (drug enforcement agency -- your state's may have a slightly different name, but I guarantee you that you've got one) issues and enforces the rules for managing narcotics in the different types of healthcare settings in your state. They would be happy to advise you about what you need to do to be legal. In my state (I worked for the last several years as a state & Federal surveyor), there is a lot of paperwork and you have to be able to show a clear paper trail and account for all the narcs.

Exactly. My clinic is a rural health clinic and we are governed by the Board of Pharmacy, state health and the federal government.

We must count twice daily, once upon arrival and once at the end of the business day. Many, many, many rules/regulations regarding controlled substances. From the paperwork to the room and how it is to be designed. As for the personnel counting, it doesn't have to be nurses, just two licensed personnel. That could be the physician/s, too. This is done everyday the business is opened as a rural clinic. Also, many rules/regs about how these controlled substances are obtained, how often, and when they expire, how they are returned to the Board of Pharmacy. Forms, paperwork galore.

[appleorchard]

Thanks;I didn't even know we had these in the office(they never had an RN in this office before). We're talking very small quantities of only a few drugs but even so...I want it to be done right.

[suzanne4, RN]

Even if there are only five pills, you have to follow the Board of Pharmacy's requirements for your state.

[suzanne4, RN]

And it also depends on how your physician was obtaining these drugs. If following proper channels, there is a form that needs to be sumbitted with the purchase to the wholesaler, that also has copies that go the Board of Pharmacy, or they can be circumventing this by just writing a script for x- number of pills and obtaining from the local pharmacy in the area, but that is not the legal way of doing things. That is something else that you need to check up on.