Mar question when pulling narc's

You should have a MAR with you anytime you are pulling medication out for a patient. That is the only way you can verify the five rights for each medication.

We use computerized MARs, and there is a computer next to each Pyxis. We're not "required" to pull up the MAR whenever we get a narc out of the Pyxis; they are more there for convenience, to double check med orders. Usually I already know what PRNs my patients have available and what I am going to pull for them before I even get to the med room.

Is anyone required to bring the Mar with them to pull narcotics out of the omni cell? Or maybe just the mar sheet with the narcotic on it? Just Curious

The only way you can be sure the narc you are pulling is still a valid order is if you have the MAR with you. It can be a number of hours (or even the next day) before pharmacy catches up with order changes; if an MD has d/c'd my narc--and it's d/c'd on the MAR-- and there I am giving it because I saw it on the PYXIS profile, I'm screwed.

Mar is to be with any nurse when giving medications whether during the initial taking medications out of where ever they are found, and then with when administering the medications to the patient.

This was a problem I found for the brief 2 days that I tried to work in LTC. No Mars where taken to the patient during administration of medications. I found this to be dangerous in my own estimation. I tried taking at least one page of the Mar with me, and of course it was pointed out that it was not done that way and it would only slow down the passing of medications. I felt it better to quit than to practice unsafely. Fortunately, I had another fulltime job.

We have smallish, handheld scanning devices that have a screen on them. They show the pt's due meds, and we scan the pt and the meds before giving them. I pull all my meds based on the handheld device, which is based on our electronic MAR. So yes, I do have the MAR with me every time I pull any med.