42 to Near Zero: A QI Approach to Anesthesia Drug Discrepancies

Are anesthesia discrepancies just documentation issues—or signals of deeper risk?In this episode of Drug Diversion Insights, Terri sits down with Dr. Jenny Dolan, Division Chief of Pediatric Anesthesia and Director of Trauma Anesthesia at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, to discuss how her team challenged the status quo—and achieved measurable change.Starting with 42 discrepancies per month and a 3% error rate, Dr. Dolan led a multi-year quality improvement (QI) initiative that addressed common gaps such as undocumented waste and medication removals without administration—issues that can obscure true diversion risk.In this conversation, we explore:• The most common drivers of anesthesia discrepancies• Why accepting discrepancies as “normal” creates risk• The seven phased interventions that led to sustained improvement• How Theory of Change guided their approach• Strategies to gain buy-in across anesthesia, pharmacy, and informatics• What meaningful, lasting change looks like in practiceThis episode offers a practical roadmap for healthcare teams looking to strengthen controlled substance accountability, reduce discrepancies, and improve diversion monitoring in anesthesia settings.More from Rxpert Solutionshttps://www.rxpert.solutions/