UCSF's current policy is medication cannot be transferred with patients. Medications, especially insulin pens get wasted which is costly to the patient and the hospital. My proposal is that the transport team can bring a locked box with them with a lock that each floor has a copy of the key that opens the box. The RN on the sending floor places the meds (to be transferred with the patient) in the box and locks it. The box travels with the patient/transport. On the receiving floor the receiving nurse unlocks the box and retrieves the meds and the empty box stays with transport.

Additonally a checklist or another form of documentation  can be added to apex so the sending RN can document which meds and time they were sent with the patient and the receiving nurse document the meds were received and the time.

Denise Kuri,RN 11NICU