Where Infection Control meets Drug Diversion
Our guest blogger this week is Chuck Griffis, CRNA. Chuck is a certified registered nurse anesthetist and travels the country lecturing on infection control and safe injection practices for the AANA Practice Committee. We thank him for joining his efforts with AANA and HONOReform in working to stop drug diversion and prevent patient infection.
I work in the OR as a clinical nurse anesthetist 2-4 times a month in addition to serving on my state and national nurse anesthetist organizations, and conducting research in chronic pain. One of my roles is to serve as infection control liaison to the Practice Committee of the AANA—so I understand infection control and clinical setting challenges.
Infection control meets drug diversion in one particular setting: where anesthesia providers have drawn up controlled substances with which to sedate patients. Folks who don’t do clinical work will often ask—how could these drugs and sterile syringes wind up being stolen or swapped for contaminated devices containing saline? Aren’t all providers supposed to keep all controlled substances under immediate visual and personal control at all times? How could this happen? Allow me to explain how the real clinical world works. Read more
