Drug diversion jeopardizes patient safety and workforce well-being. While nearly all leaders agree that drug diversion occurs, 81% of healthcare executives believe that most drug diversion goes undetected, according to findings from the State of Drug Diversion Survey.
Throughout the entire medication supply chain, diversion is a real, ever-present risk that can occur anywhere from the initial purchase to the patient, including the disposal of expired or wasted products. Diversion also does not discriminate between controlled and non-controlled substances, with high street value medications like antivirals (e.g., HIV medications) and Ozempic, and frequently diverted medications like propofol and Benadryl remaining targets of diversion alongside controlled substances such as opioids and prescription pain medications.
To combat this threat to patient and staff safety, health system staff must rigorously track medications within the hospital, effectively leverage tools and technology, and collaborate continuously to protect the community in and outside of the hospital against the risks of drug diversion. With that in mind, a panel of pharmacy leaders, including Alison Apple, RPh, MS, Chief Pharmacy Officer at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Loretta Lemoine, PharmD, BCPS, Inpatient Pharmacy Director at JPS Hospital, Marilen Martinez, Pharm.D., BCPS, Information Technology Pharmacy Specialist at Henry Ford Health System and Tom Knight from Wolters Kluwer Health, revealed three key components to a successful drug diversion program:
Take a multidisciplinary approach
Implementing a robust drug diversion prevention program requires a collaborative effort across various departments and individuals within the health system. While pharmacy leaders may be driving diversion prevention efforts in some hospitals, nursing, anesthesia providers, HR and other departments should all take an active role in creating and executing a comprehensive prevention strategy. A program that involves stakeholders from many departments and individuals throughout the health system is much more likely to be successful than a program operating in a silo.
