Pharmacy Security - Establish Policies and Procedures
Pharmacies have always been a target for burglaries and robberies. As a pharmacist myself I have often realized that this is a possibility and a risk that everyone in our profession must face. We may all do our best to put it out of our focus and concentrate on our day-to-day daily routines while at work. We sometimes think that although the possibility exists, this is something that happens frequently but not to us!Yet recently it seems that all the pharmacy news we read is filled with an increase of stories regarding burglaries and robberies of pharmacies. In the past month alone I have seen almost daily reports of pharmacy break-ins and burglaries. Just a few examples in the past weeks alone include:- In College Station, Texas the Scott and White Pharmacy was broken into twice in two days earlier this week. Both break-ins occurred in the early morning while the pharmacy was closed.- In Palm Bay, Florida a suspect robbed two retail pharmacies (a Walgreen’s and a CVS) by entering the stores during daylight hours and demanding prescription pain killers and other narcotics.- Less than a week ago a pair of armed robbers took over a pharmacy in Houston, Texas and proceeded to terrorize two employees inside the pharmacy. They burst into the pharmacy with guns and demanded money and drugs.Although not a break-in or robbery, another related incident occurred earlier this week in New Hampshire involving bomb threats to a retail pharmacy. The CVS pharmacy in Hooksett received two bomb threats this past Wednesday that forced the store into an emergency situation that included closing the store, evacuation of staff and customers, plus a search by the New Hampshire State Police Explosives Disposal Unit.Are you and your pharmacy prepared to deal with situations like these? As I stated earlier, no-one thinks that these situations will happen to us or our pharmacy businesses, but these are truly examples of the old cliche “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” being applicable. Do you have policies and procedures written for your business and employees to act on if such a crisis arises? Do you have inventory policies in place to help determine what was taken during a burglary? Do you have training in place to help your employees in these situations that will minimize your possible liabilities? If the answers are no, then contact HCC Pharmacy Staffing to see how we can help you.Healthcare Consulting has been a full service Pharmacy staffing and consulting firm that has been in business for over 25 years. HCC has been helping pharmacies plan, prepare and deal with such crisis situations since 1989. Just a few examples of our services include:- Development of Policies and Procedures- Employee Crisis Training- Inventory Management- Pharmacy Management ConsultationAlthough we all hope that we will never personally deal with such situations, I strongly urge you to be prepared. Contact us on line or call us today for a Free Consultation at 800-642-1652 to discuss how we can help you.Bob Miller6/12/2014