TY - JOUR T1 - Assessing baseline practice and the implementation and efficacy of a novel device for medication security JF - BMJ Innovations JO - BMJ Innov SP - 456 LP - 462 DO - 10.1136/bmjinnov-2020-000549 VL - 7 IS - 2 AU - Holly Young AU - Maryanne Z A Mariyaselvam AU - Vikesh Patel AU - John Gibson AU - Emily Hodges AU - Natalie English AU - Robin Heij AU - Gayathri Wijewardena AU - Darcy Pearson AU - Mark Blunt AU - Peter Young Y1 - 2021/04/01 UR - http://innovations.bmj.com/content/7/2/456.abstract N2 - Summary boxWhat are the new findings?The DruGuardian device improves compliance with UK law and Care Quality Commission guidance for safe medication management in healthcare facilities and deters medication theft or tampering.Baseline practice was poor. Cabinets were able to be covertly accessed on 60% of drug rounds and trusted staff could remove controlled drugs with 100% success.After introduction of the DruGuardian, correct attendance was improved by 20-fold. Non-attendance times decreased from 8 min to 22 s per day.How might it impact on healthcare in the future?DruGuardians are easily introduced with minimal or no training, prevent drug theft and tampering in hospitals and ensure compliance with UK law.Medication stored in hospitals, nursing homes, general practice surgeries or pharmacies must be handled, stored, dispensed and disposed of securely to protect patients and staff in accordance with part 4, section 13 of the Health and Social Care Act.1 These standards were revised in 2014, requiring the service provider to ensure ‘proper and safe management of medicines’.2 The Care and Quality Commission (CQC) regulates compliance with this legislation by performing routine inspections of health and social care providers.In hospitals, controlled drugs (CDs) such as sedative or opiate-based medications are stored within locked cupboards.3 Both CD cupboards and drug trolleys, when open, must be constantly supervised by staff and if left unattended securely locked, even for short periods.4 In reality, guideline compliance in busy healthcare environments can be challenging to achieve. During planned CQC visits, staff may be at their most compliant, yet in 2012 inspectors reported that 14% of hospitals, 20% of nursing homes and 16% of residential homes across the UK failed to comply with the safe management of medicines standard during visits.5 Unlocked unattended medication trolleys have specifically been highlighted as issues of poor medication management in CQC reports, and in some cases this has affected … ER -