Advanced Search

Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement

REGULATION:

Create a Policy to Take Back Patients' Unused Controlled Drugs Safely

Published on Sun Sep 06, 2009

You can protect family members from drug-related accidents after a patient's death. Scenario: Your hospice patient dies soon after you refill his prescribed medications. Leaving them in the home opens the door to potential drug diversion or accidental poisonings. You can eliminate this risk by returning for the medication, right? Not so fast: While leaving the meds could be dangerous getting them out of the house requires a mixture of regulatory and legal know-how, as well as awareness of environmental concerns.Use this advice to protect your patients' family members from harm while also staying within regulatory lines. Reality: Just because you know a deceased patient's scheduled meds are still in his home does not mean you have the right to come in and collect them. "Technically, once the drugs are prescribed and in the patient's home, they are the patient's property," says Janet Neigh, VP for hospice with the National [...]
You’ve reached your limit of free articles. Already a subscriber? Log in.
Not a subscriber? Subscribe today to continue reading this article. Plus, you’ll get:
  • Simple explanations of current healthcare regulations and payer programs
  • Real-world reporting scenarios solved by our expert coders
  • Industry news, such as MAC and RAC activities, the OIG Work Plan, and CERT reports
  • Instant access to every article ever published in your eNewsletter
  • 6 annual AAPC-approved CEUs*
  • The latest updates for CPT®, ICD-10-CM, HCPCS Level II, NCCI edits, modifiers, compliance, technology, practice management, and more
*CEUs available with select eNewsletters.

Other Articles in this issue of

Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement

View All