This is a nice article/paper on Drug Diversion in hospitals.  It also made reference to our partners at Visante.

The prescription drug addiction crisis is impacting virtually every community and hospital in the United States. And it’s hitting hospital workers directly, with on average of one in ten hospital employees abusing prescription drugs.  In this white paper, recognized national pharmacy leaders Marvin Finnefrock, PharmD, and Sherry A. Umhoefer, MBA, RPh, define the crisis with data and case studies, identify the risk factors facing hospital leadership, and offer a multi-step roadmap to help hospital leadership manage the risks. Comprehensive Pharmacy Services can help health system pharmacies reduce their drug spend and curb their healthcare costs.  Read the full white paper here >>

Key Excerpts:

  • Data from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, reported that an average of 103,000 doctors, nurses, medical technicians, and health care aides were abusing or dependent on prescription drugs every year.
  • For hospital leadership, it is a patient safety issue. It is an employee health issue. It is a clinical quality and readmissions issue. And it is a legal and compliance issue, both civil and criminal.
  • Investigations (by the DEA) have revealed additional evidence of noncompliance with regulations, specifically around medication management, record keeping and monitoring.
  • To control diversion and protect the health care institution, every health care facility must have a comprehensive diversion detection program in place that is designed to prevent, detect and respond to diversion.

According to the White Paper, Common Regulatory Requirements for Diversion Programs Include:

  • Drug security from receipt until end use or disposal
  • A method of accounting for all scheduled drugs
  • Pre-employment screening of applicants
  • Procedures for prompt diversion detection
  • Documentation and internal and external diversion reporting
  • Ongoing process improvement program structure

HelioMetrics Drug Diversion Solution can help with many of these areas.  Please contact us to learn how.