Medication Wastage

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Medic2409

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Ok, I know this will be a dumb question, but in order to prove something to my Sup. I need some opinions from other medics.

How do you waste your leftover, drawn up medications, especially your narcotics, benzo's, or paralytics?

(I know, I know, simple question, but a stupid Supervisor)
 
Our policy is to have RN/MD at recieving facility witness the waste if a medic can find one willing to do so. If none are willing then a supervisor can witness.

The witness has to sign and date the medic's usage form.
 
Squirt them at your partner? :P

Joking aside, I would love to know the answer to this as well.
 
Draw all the medication out of the vial, squirt it in the trash, in view of my partner. Tell said partner not to lick the trash can and have them sign the sheet.

As an aside, I've never wasted a paralytic before. Outside of someone reading a few too many mystery novels, I can't imagine why you would.
 
Let me simplify my question, and dumb it down to this particular supervisors level.

Of course, we all have to get witness signatures for Narcotic wastage.

My question is, how do you actually waste the excess unused medication?

Do you squirt it on the ground? Into a sink?

This is what we are discussing.
 
Whatever you do, don't just drop the unused portion in the vial into a sharps container. There have been cases (one of which I know of personally) in which people have retrieved and abused the leftover medication.
 
RN/MD or Supervisor witnesses you waste meds in the sink.
 
For our controlled drugs (Fent, Versed, Ativan) we have a witness (Our partner, an RN, a tech, a doc, w/e) at the facility sign that we wasted it, in trash, in the sink, at a random persons face, etc



Only controlled drugs need be wasted in that sense.
 
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For us only our Narc, Benzos and Paralytics have a wasting scheme. And that's have your partner witness you squirt the med somewhere (sink, on the floor, etc) and then sign off on it. We just sharps the syringes full of other kinds of meds.
 
I need to clarify that only our narcs and benzos have to have waste witnessed. The med has to go on the ground, down a sink etc. No partners can witness.

Our other meds are just dropped in a sharps container.
 
Same as the others for me. Narcs and benzos are wasted into a sink at the ED and the nurse that you transfer care to witnesses the waste. The she signs the transfer line and the med waste line on the billing sheet. Quick and easy.
 
Some hospitals in my area have strict no med policies in the sinks (because of the effect on drainage water)... and actually have designated med waste bins at the pixis machines.
 
usalsfyre said:
Now THERE'S something worth getting your hands on!
Click to expand...

Bwahahaha...love it.

This is the first service I've worked at where

A) We either waste in front of an RN...or just do it ourselves in a corner somewhere. Theres no accountability, no signing off etc.

B) Don't consider our benzos a "controlled substance". Not locked up/signed for/accounted for.
 
put the unused meds back in the vial and turn it in with our usage form. where I interned, we just shot it into the sharps container then sharpsed the empty syringe.
 
Way back when (about 10 years ago), I'd waste the controlled substances onto the ground, down a sink, or some similar non-recoverable means, in front of a witness. I'd not want to squirt the stuff in a trash bin as it can be recovered easily, if not exactly cleanly. Ideally that witness would be a "licensed" non-partner. I've served as a witness to a hospital RN wasting her controlled meds on a few occasions, because I was available at the time. If a licensed non-partner (like MD, RN, etc) was not available, the partner could witness the wastage. This was not preferred, but allowable.
 
There are safety issues about not putting and medication down the toilet/sink/or on the ground. http://www.medicationdisposal.utah.gov/docs/MedicationDisposal_Back.pdf

All narcotics are sealed in a sharps shuttle then sent for destruction by a company that is licensed to destroy medical waste. Yes it costs money but it saves the environment and helps prevent abuse of wasted drugs. All forms are signed by both crew members that staff the ambulance.
 
usalsfyre said:
Draw all the medication out of the vial, squirt it in the trash, in view of my partner. Tell said partner not to lick the trash can and have them sign the sheet.

As an aside, I've never wasted a paralytic before. Outside of someone reading a few too many mystery novels, I can't imagine why you would.
Click to expand...

Same here.
 
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