That is incorrect, it does not have to be a surgeon. Here, at Union Pines Surgery Center, we do a pre-op call asking the patient what medications they are taking. When they arrive in admit we verify and mark what meds they took the morning of surgery. When the patient arrives to recovery, we instruct them to continue home medications. The one thing you have to do is one of their home meds is a narcotic...instruct the patient to only take the narcotic prescribed and hold the home narcotic until otherwise instructed by their doctor. This has to be in you nursing notes for compliance and be specific naming the home narcotic in the note. I got this information from a Joint Commission conference call.
Sophia Abdo, MBA, RN
Compliance Officer