Studies show that about 55% of drug theft from a pharmacy is caused by burglaries and armed robberies. Sadly, the other 45% is stolen by the employees themselves. “You gotta believe.” This is also a key in stopping internal drug theft before it starts. After being in the retail pharmacy business for over 14 years, I have seen a number of cases, and each time it happens I hear people say they just cannot believe this person would steal from their workplace. If you do not think it can happen in your business, it probably already has. Anti-theft measures and tools in a pharmacy, like inventory tracking and Alpha RX caps, are important factors in deterring and detecting prescription drug theft.
There is a certain level of trust that any manager or owner must have in their employees in order to be able to ever go home at night. They can become like family to you. But with a perception of need, the availability of the product, and their own internal justification, drug theft and diversion is a true and distinct possibility.
Most high level controlled drugs and narcotics are in some kind of safe or locked cabinet. Unfortunately, this does not stop them from being taken. A pharmacist can have an addiction problem or the more tenured technicians could be given access to these by an over-trusting pharmacist. One helpful tool to add to these most targeted and highly addictive pain relievers is Alpha RX caps. These secure the bottles until they are ready to be dispensed. Then they are opened with a special key when needed. There would need to be a check and balance system in place in order to not only protect the keys, but also to monitor their use. If there is an attempt to remove a bottle from the designated area, the detection system would cause an alarm to sound. Depending on the alarm level, the RX Caps can also self alarm due to tampering or continue to emit sound a certain distance from the area.
There also needs to be an inventory tracking system that will alert the staff to a problem or an exception. If you buy 3 bottles of Drug-A every ordering cycle, you should be dispensing an amount sufficient enough to warrant the purchase. If you notice that the ordering of Drug-A has been “upped” to 5 bottles every cycle while the dispensing remains at the 3 bottle level, it should cause a red flag immediately. Maybe there is a problem with the ordering system. You certainly do not want to have all of that inventory building on your shelves when it is not needed. They may expire before they are ever used up. The other distinct possibility is that someone is ordering the extra bottles to cover diversion. If your system indicates you have the pills in stock and they are not there, then someone will start to investigate quicker than if the 3 bottles needed are sitting on the shelf as expected. Between these two tools, Alpha RX caps and intense tracking, the threat of drug theft and diversion can be significantly decreased and even deterred. If employees know you are watching, tracking and protecting the inventory, they will be less likely to attempt to steal. They may still perceive the need, but you have taken away the opportunity.
For more information contact us: 1.770.426.0547 or Antishoplifting.net
