Must Have Features in Narcotics Cabinets
Every healthcare facility has expensive and valuable supplies that they need to keep secure. Oftentimes medications and other supplies used to treat patients are at the top of this list. It’s crucial that hospitals don’t let these supplies get into the wrong hands, and ensure that they are organized and labeled to keep track of the long list of medicines that they have. The best way to keep these essential supplies in order is with well-made, secure narcotics cabinets.
Narcotics cabinets are made specifically to keep expensive drugs, medicines, and other highly valuable supplies locked and secured when they are not being used. There are various regulations for the level of security required for narcotics cabinets based on jurisdictions, but they are all in place with one common goal: to keep medications in the right hands. There are many different narcotics cabinets on the market, but here are some must have features of good quality narcotics cabinets:
Durable Material construction:
The first feature of any quality narcotics cabinets is the material that it is made with. For top-of-the-line security and durability, it’s a smart idea to use steel or a material with similar properties. If a narcotics cabinet is made with a cheaper, less-durable material it simply won’t be as secure as its steel counterparts. All of Lakeside’s narcotics cabinets are made with powder-coated steel to ensure their strength and durability, as well as making the cabinets have an attractive finish.
Locking System:
Maybe the most important feature of narcotics cabinets, the locking system is crucial to ensure the security of its contents. There are many different types of locking systems out there, but you should choose what will be right for your facility. Lakeside offers both single and double key locking systems in the basic narcotics cabinets. Depending on the size of your facility, and the number of staff who will need access to the medications, a single or double key lock might be the perfect solution. For supplies that don’t need quite as much security, a single key lock might do the trick, but for high value medications a double key lock would be the better option in order to ensure that nobody is able to steal a single key and get access.
Lakeside also offers the High-Security Narcotics Cabinets that have two different locking system options available. The electronic keypad lock allows you to create a code from over 250 possible combinations and has a key override in case of emergencies or forgotten codes. These cabinets also come with a self-contained backup battery to ensure that the right people will never lose access to the supplies. Additionally, Lakeside offers optional full audit trail capabilities to allow you to see when the cabinets have been accessed and track what has been taken out.
The other lock option for our High-Security Narcotics Cabinets is a proximity card reader. With all the same optional and standard features as the electronic keypad, the proximity reader is another method of ensuring that the cabinets can only be opened by those with proper authority.
Double Doors:
Many narcotics cabinets feature double doors, each with their own lock to further secure the valuable contents. Lakeside’s basic narcotics cabinets are offered in the double door style, with both doors constructed from powder coated steel, which adds an extra level of security for facilities that want to be completely sure that nobody without proper access will be able to get to the medications.
Adjustable Shelving:
A good quality narcotics cabinet should be flexible. That’s why Lakeside’s narcotics cabinets feature adjustable shelves. Over time, what you need to store in secure spaces will likely change, and your facility should have a secure storage option that allows for this flexibility. Adjustable shelves allow you to switch around the contents when needed, as well as facilitate better organization which is crucial for these highly valuable medications.
Flexible Mounting System:
In addition to the flexibility of the adjustable shelves, Lakeside’s narcotics cabinets can also be mounted to allow the doors to open from either the left or right side. This means that the cabinets can work in any facility without having to struggle to get the supplies out. Left sided mounting is standard, but there are certain locations where this won’t work which is why our narcotics cabinets are made with flexibility in mind.
Narcotics cabinets are essential for healthcare facilities everywhere in order to protect the valuable medications. While there are many options on the market, it’s always smart to invest in high-quality cabinets that will last for a long time. Lakeside’s cabinets are designed to last for many years in your facility, and the flexibility that is standard in our narcotics cabinets allows for you to change things up as needed over time. Get in touch with us to learn more about how our narcotics cabinets can improve your facility’s security, and check out all of the options for our narcotics cabinets here!
