Theft of Fentanyl Patches

[meded101]

I'm noticing a disturbing trend of fentanyl Patches being stolen. While most facilities do a fairly good job of accounting for controlled substances, I can't help but realize that the only opioid we cannot keep locked under control at all times is fentanyl. Once applied to a resident, we have lost all controls that we have for other controlled substances that are locked up until immediate use. So I'd like to remind all nurses out there that we need to do our best to be accountable, and when a patch turns up missing - make sure you take it seriously and report it accordingly.

Eric Christianson, Pharm.D.

[NutmeggeRN, BSN]

I haven't heard about the new regs. We just throw the old patch away in the red sharps box. We are suppose to check every shift to see if the pain patch is still on the patient.

Our policy is to round with the prev shift nurse at change, and both sign off in the MAR that said patch is in place as documented...then , on advice of our pharmacy director, they get flushed (this too is a witnessed act)

For the life of me I cannot understand why we flush into a water suppy when we can put it in a sharps container....