Drug Diversion Use Cases

Random audits of the high users never seem to catch much.

Random audits of the high users never seem to catch much.

In most drug diversion programs, investigators have been given access to tools that indicate they can be used to identify drug diversion.  The problem is that the information that you receive on a daily basis are report after report identifying who the high users were for specific medications and people that were out a certain number of standard deviations.  Given the user set, it is prone to sampling bias.

What you really want to know is the context around the dispense/administer/waste activity: how does it compare

Continue Reading >>

Is a nurse pulling medication when off the clock?

Is a nurse pulling medication when off the clock?

A standard audit for drug diversion includes data from the automated dispensing cabinets (ADC) and sometimes the electronic health record (EHR).  However, to get a complete picture, other healthcare IT systems need to be included.

HelioMetrics integrates data from multiple IT sources to allow you to understand what is occurring with your medication.  When an addict needs a drug, they go to their source.  So, even while not scheduled, or on vacation, they may show up and

Continue Reading >>

How much time do you spend on discrepancy and override reconciliation?

How much time do you spend on discrepancy and override reconciliation?

  • A discrepancy occurs when the medication count does NOT match the count expected by the system.
  • An override occurs when an order doesn’t exist for a patient in the system.

Is your day consumed by looking into discrepancies?  Overrides happen daily.  By the time the investigator pulls the proper data from all the systems to validate that the discrepancy and/or override was legitimate, the day is gone.  It takes too much time, leaving little for investigating potential diversion activity.

Continue Reading >>

A family member thinks their loved one is not getting medication.

A family member thinks their loved one is not getting medication.

The drug diversion investigator of a hospital just received calls from the CNO and the Director of Pharmacy.  A family member of a current patient believes that pain pills are being diverted from their loved one.  Every afternoon, during a specific nurse’s shift, the patient complains to family members that they are in more pain than normal.  This accusation needs to be looked into quickly to determine if drugs are being diverted.

The drug diversion investigator knows that by using HelioMetrics’ Drug Diversion Investigation

Continue Reading >>

How do you know if your current drug diversion polices are effective?

How do you know if your current drug diversion polices are effective?

Everyone is trying to do a better job monitoring for drug diversion.  It is becoming a priority within healthcare organizations to put effective policies and procedures in place regarding controlled substances. The challenge is, how do you measure the efficiency and effectiveness of those policies and procedures?

You have six different facilities and hundreds of staff members with access to ordering, dispensing, administering and wasting/returning medication, not to mention the pharmacy staff that order

Continue Reading >>