Adherence to drug-dispensation and drug-administration laws and guidelines in collegiate athletic training rooms: a 5-year review.

CONTEXT To both ensure athletes' safety and avoid legal penalties, athletic trainers' (ATs') handling of medications in the athletic training room should conform with federal and state statutes. OBJECTIVE To revisit drug dispensation and administration in collegiate athletic training rooms 5 years after the initial study. DESIGN Survey study. SETTING College and university athletic training rooms. PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS All 4627 certified ATs employed in National Collegiate Athletic Association Divisions I, II, and III and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics institutions, as listed by the National Athletic Trainers' Association, were surveyed. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS The survey was created for the 2001 study based on federal laws. We used analyses of variance to study compliance by division (I, II, or III) and sex and by sex and employment status (head or assistant AT). RESULTS A total of 2330 ATs (N = 4627, 50%) provided 1535 usable responses. For comparison with the 2001 data, only head ATs' responses were included (n = 670). In general, drug distribution compliance scores among head ATs were low (mean = 6.37 +/- 0.15, range = 0-25 points). The ATs were less compliant when handling over-the-counter (OTC) medications. Only 55.5% of ATs stored medications in a locked cabinet, compared with 67.1% in 2001. A large number of ATs administered OTC drugs in any amount necessary (n = 689, 44%), and 3.6% (n = 55) allowed athletes access without any consultation, compared with 53.8% and 4.9%, respectively, in 2001. However, prescription medication practices improved since the first study. Also, we noted a main effect of employment status (F(1,934) = 5.57, P < .05): head ATs were less compliant than assistant ATs. CONCLUSIONS Compared with 5 years ago, ATs appear to be more compliant with federal statutes regarding prescription drug regulation. A thorough understanding of appropriate OTC medication administration practices still appears to be lacking.