Tips for passing the DEA inspection

In this interview, Jack Teitelman, CEO and founder of TITAN Group, a regulatory consulting firm specializing in Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) compliance in animal and human health care, shares key points from a lecture he presented on DEA compliance at the New York Vet Show in New York City. Teitelman, a retired DEA supervisory special agent, emphasizes that proactive management is essential for passing DEA inspections. Key points covered in this video include conducting consistent cycle counts and reconciliations, being aware of contractual obligations with drug distributors, and more.

Below is a partial transcript, lightly edited for clarity and cohesion.

Teitelman: Those that are proactive and get involved in managing their program,...that are consistent with doing reconciliations and having consistent cycle counts for [the DEA] to work off of, will be successful and will pass a DEA inspection. That was the key [point] that [attendees] needed to get out of that hour talk. You can't sit back and rely on who you've delegated the responsibilities to and hope that they're doing the job right. You have to take the time to sit down with them once a week—I mean, it depends. In the methadone clinics that we work with, at the beginning of the shift we have a reconciliation count and at the end of the shift we have a reconciliation count, with 2 nurse managers involved. You can see how it can get very intense.

So if you as a veterinarian have just been delegating this responsibility to your staff, and you have never talked to them about how you order, you don't even understand what Vetcove is and that Vetcove is one of the largest platforms out there that people are using—I'm telling you, some of the drug distributors aren't happy with the way Vetcove works because they can’t track purchases effectively on contract...