Hello,
Would anyone be willing to share their organizations stance on use of patient own medications in the ambulatory setting? We have a brown bagging policy stating that our staff may not administer medications that have been in a patient's possession and brought into the outpatient department. Providers would like to get around this by stating that these medications are not being administered by our staff, but by the patient.

A couple examples given:
-- home medication dosed multiple times a day due during a prolonged clinic visit
-- use of sleep aid (melatonin or quetiapine) from referring physician during a MEG study
-- patient waits to take morning medications until seen in clinic (example was needing to take their HTN medications that they brought with them after a vitals check)

Appreciate any insight you are willing to share,
Sloane - Medication Safety Pharmacist
Nebraska Medicine