Key Management for Hospital Drug Storage Rooms – A Key Box Case Study

Key Management for Hospital Drug Storage Rooms – A Key Box Case Study

Sarah is a nurse in a medium-sized hospital in Toowoomba, Queensland. In early 2022, she observed that there was a security problem with regard to the Eye Clinic Drug Storage Room. Her clinic came up with a solution – using KeepControl Smart Key Boxes – that successfully addressed the problem.

Summary

In today’s hospital environments, where there are huge influxes of patients, along with staff shortages, it’s important to use ensure all clinic operations proceed in the most efficient and risk-free way possible. As a result, all available means should be taken to maximise security and safety.

I strongly felt we needed to find a way to improve procedures around access to locked supply cabinets in the Eye Clinic Drug Storage Room, particularly with regard to stock control. There were sometimes issues around medical cabinet keys, particularly with regard to them being left in unsecure locations.

The Problem

Over an extended period of time, security measures around keeping medical cabinets secure in our drug storage room became lax. Keys to the cabinets were supposed to be kept in the supervisor’s locked drawer. However, when the supervisor was away from their desk, keys were just left on her desk.

While it was unlikely that an unauthorised person would attempt to use a key, or even know where to use it, this situation was still a breach of our compliance policy. Something needed to be done urgently to rectify this ongoing practice.

The Solution

At a special staff meeting, our clinic looked at several options to keep cabinet keys secure. One option was to install smart locks, but we quickly ruled that out as being too expensive. Then we looked at a key box or key safe. Out of all the models on the marker, we liked KeepControl Smart Key Boxes the most. The reasons why are as follows:

• The zinc alloy body is extremely strong, but it isn’t bulky and weighs just over 1 kilogram.
• Authorised access could be done remotely through a smart phone app. This meant that if the supervisor was away from her desk, an authorised staff member could still gain access to a drug storage room cabinet.
• The key box is waterproof and is anti-corrosion, which made us feel confident that it could withstand contact with drugs or medicines if there was an accident.
• Our supervisor has the option of issuing one-time or periodic passcodes, depending on who was needing to access a drug storage room cabinet and why.
• Passcodes can be easily reset by our supervisor if she believes that they have been compromised.

Our clinic has two refrigerated cabinets and six unrefrigerated cabinets in our drug storage room. We installed six KeepControl Smart Key Boxes, and each key box was placed in close proximity to its cabinet.

We also created specific security standards around the use of cabinet keys and their storage. The standards are outlined below. We decided to follow these standards over a six-week trial period and then make decision on whether we would adopt them permanently, based on the feedback from the trial period.

Eye Clinic Drug Storage Room Cabinet Key Security Standards

Purpose

To inform all Eye Clinic staff on the standards related to key security, particularly with regard to the storage of medicines and pharmaceutical products in the Eye Clinic Drug Storage Room.

Guidelines

The Eye Clinic has a dedicated drug storage room where medicines can be safely stored. In this room, there are two refrigerated cabinets and six unrefrigerated cabinets. These standards describe the rules applicable to key storage for these cabinets and who has access to these keys. All Eye Clinic staff are expected to abide by the provisions in these standards and manage key security in accordance with them. Each cabinet has a key box affixed to the wall in close proximity to the cabinet. Only authorised staff have access to the passcode for each cabinet and are not permitted to give passcodes to unauthorised staff. When an authorised staff member accesses and uses a key, they must immediately return that key to the designated key box once supplies have been removed from the cabinet and the cabinet door has been locked.

The Results

Our clinic supervisor was very happy with the results of the trial period. All of the feedback from the eye clinic staff was positive. All cabinet keys were accounted for at all times and there was not one instance of a security breach or violation with regard to cabinet key usage.

The Eye Clinic decided to make the Key Security Standards permanent. The KeepControl Smart Key Boxes were deemed to be a fundamental component of the standards, and as such, their usage also became permanent.

All of the staff have commented on how convenient and stress-free using the KeepControl Smart Key Boxes is. Everyone believes they make key security stronger, which makes our jobs easier.

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Why Choose a KeepControl Smart Key Box?

KeepControl has the best security solutions. We offer Australia wide delivery to your door. Contact us today on 1800 654 919 or at info@keepcontrol.au.