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From Behavioral Signals to Objective Evidence
What point-of-care testing adds to operating room waste reconciliation—and why it matters to hospital leaders
Pharmacy and diversion teams are accustomed to software that analyzes behavior: it looks for patterns, identifies anomalies, and helps teams decide where to investigate. That insight can be valuable. But it is still a signal about activity. When the question concerns a specific controlled-substance waste event in the operating room (OR), pharmacy may need something more direct: objective evidence about the liquid that was actually discarded.
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When pharmacy requires a waste sample to be tested, the process could involve sending it to an outside laboratory and waiting days or weeks for a result. In the meantime, pharmacy might have to reconstruct the event from separate records and follow-up conversations with anesthesia providers who have moved on to other cases.
Codonics Safe Label System® (SLS) supports barcode-based medication preparation, verification, and syringe labeling in the OR. Safe Waste System™ (SWS), expected to be available in Q1 2027, is designed to operate in conjunction with SLS, bringing testing to the point of waste. During each waste event, SWS identifies the medication using syringe-label barcode data, automatically withdraws the remaining liquid to determine its volume, and performs spectrophotometric analysis to verify drug identity and concentration. The assay result is available in seconds as part of the workflow—while the anesthesia provider is still in the room.
That is a different kind of information for pharmacy to review. Behavioral software can show patterns across transactions. SWS measures and assays the liquid in each processed waste event. Alongside related preparation and administration records, those event details give pharmacy a stronger, more objective basis for reconciliation. A pattern may raise a question; a measured assay adds factual information about the specific waste event.
This distinction came into focus at the International Health Facility Diversion Association (IHFDA) Annual Meeting, where pharmacy and diversion professionals emphasized starting with objective evidence. Codonics demonstrated how SWS tests the actual waste at the point of care—a new capability for teams accustomed to behavioral insights and lengthy send-out testing. The discussion underscored that the assay’s value may not be self-evident until pharmacy and diversion leaders understand what it measures and how quickly it produces a result.
The conversations also brought the financial stakes into focus. A former DEA official asked about the combined investment in SLS and SWS and immediately compared it with the cost of a fine. Federal law sets a maximum civil penalty of $19,246 per violation for specified Controlled Substances Act recordkeeping and reporting violations.[1] The investment in SLS and SWS is below that maximum.
For hospital leaders, the comparison puts the decision in practical terms: what is the value of building objective evidence into a routine workflow? SWS provides an assay result and event-specific record for pharmacy to review. Its fast, workflow-friendly process can reduce follow-up work for anesthesia and pharmacy while giving pharmacy, compliance, and diversion teams more useful information when a record needs review.
SWS renders waste non-retrievable, supports electronic witnessing, and records medication and concentration, measured volume, assay result, waste date and time, and provider and witness information. Pharmacy can review those details alongside related preparation, administration, dispensing, and other records. SWS provides data for review and reconciliation; pharmacy teams assess it in context and determine any follow-up.
The workflow is designed for the anesthesia workspace, where waste occurs. A typical waste event takes less than seven seconds, allowing measurement, testing, and documentation to take place before the provider leaves the room. Capturing objective information during the event can reduce reliance on after-the-fact recollection and lessen the need for anesthesia and pharmacy to track down basic details days later.
Codonics is actively working with leading controlled-substance diversion software platforms on integration with SWS, so event-level waste information can become part of the broader systems hospitals use for review.
For executives, pharmacy leaders, and medication-safety teams, the takeaway is straightforward: behavioral insight can tell a team where to look; an assay can add objective information about the waste event itself. When reconciliation begins with measured evidence captured in the OR, pharmacy has a stronger record to review—and hospital leaders have a clearer basis for oversight.
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