While I hear cases all the time about drug diversion from hospitals by employees entrusted to safely dispense and administer controlled substances, I have never been as heartbroken as what I just heard.
A man in upstate New York pleaded guilty last week to counts of kidnapping and sexually exploiting four children, on 16 occasions. While this is a terrible act in itself, the article then stated that he “sedated the victims, who ranged from age 5 to 11, with drugs that he obtained while working as a registered nurse.”
Drug diversion is a growing issue that needs to be more in the spotlight. While it is costing the insurance industry billions of dollars each year, most people don’t think that it affects them and that couldn’t be farther from the truth.
Drug diversion affects us all… From patient safety concerns (we have all read about patients getting Hepatitis C) and longer hospital stays to increased insurance premiums to offset the billions lost. Now young innocent lives forever changed.
While I understand the complexity of detecting drug diversion in hospitals, it is time that hospitals look into products like HelioMetrics Rx Diversion to help catch diverters and remove them from the healthcare industry. While this won’t solve all problems, it is a good start.