All controlled medications used by veterinary services must be documented. Every little aspect of the restricted drug, including the dates of purchase, sale, and dispensation, should be included in the record book and maintained.
In the US, veterinary services are required to keep a record of all the controlled substances drugs used by them, since these medicines are stringently banned from any kind of normal use. And, this inventory must contain every small detail of the substance, like dates of procuring, sales, and dispensing, such that, it gives a clear insight into the Controlled Drugs (CDs) used throughout a time period and can be retrievable anytime, from any batch.
Strict regulations are imposed on CDs due to these being strictly maintained by the government for the odds of being abused or used as an addictive trigger. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has jurisdiction over and supervision over all controlled drugs. Depending on how easily they may be abused, these medicines are grouped into Schedules I through V. They are employed for both research and medicinal treatment. In any scenario, supplying, dispensing, or otherwise handling the banned drugs requires a DEA license. This applies to veterinary services too, thus, here comes the principal use of the veterinary controlled drug log to manage the records.
Now, let’s dive a little bit deeper into the content of this logbook.
Record maintenance for controlled substances
The whole scenario of buying, selling, storing, and giving out Controlled Drugs (CDs) can be defined as a bit confusing in vet businesses, especially with the classification of drugs based on the severity of danger when abused. Hence, one needs to remember that a drug log must comprise data about the substances given to which animals, the prescribed date, the client's name and address, the name of the medicine, the power, and quantity of the CD administered, and the amount of the stored in the member's inventory after the controlled substance was given out. The patient for whom the restricted substance has been prescribed should also be noted by the veterinarian in the veterinary controlled drug log. The log shall capture inventories of any compounded goods containing controlled medications in addition to information on all restricted pharmaceuticals.
To be more precise, this record log is extremely important for every DEA license holder, because the slightest discrepancy in following the regulations can produce disruption in your business by them, and it’s no secret that bidding goodbye to the DEA is not so easy. Receiving a controlled substance license from them is not an easy nut to crack and they get all tangled up with an array of austere rules and policies, including, unannounced inspections and regular audits. Though the licensees implement prudence and awareness in storing the CDs safely but keeping a record of those huge supplies is often a different story, more importantly, when they have to abide by the requisitions.
As the basic guideline suggests, all records must be kept for a minimum of two years. The DEA agents must be able to readily retrieve them for inspection. Losses and theft must be promptly reported to the DEA. Inventory is required to be managed separately and is governed by a different set of laws.
Evidently, the professionals involved in such complicated tasks display a high level of cautiousness and specialization, such skilled individuals, who might help you and your veterinary facility business avoid such mistakes are the compliance experts. The best source you can consider to hire such specialists is the Titan Group. With over a decade of experience in unfair and authoritative drug administration, the experts of the company helped various veterinary practices to be established DEA compliant with the maintenance of all the Controlled Substance Act and Code of Federal Regulations facets. They help in avoiding penalties, impending legal operating costs, or other detrimental exposures.
