Drug diversion in healthcare settings is growing. But what exactly is it, and why does it matter?
Here are the top five things you should know about drug diversion in healthcare:
- Diversion a simple term, but a complex problem.Drug diversion is any incident(s) whereupon a drug is intentionally diverted from its intended destination. But while this definition is relatively simple, the reality of drug diversion is complex: It occurs for a variety of reasons and has a number of health, social and legal implications. Typically, diversion means medications have been stolen, either for use by the person stealing the medication, or to sell to others illegally.
- Diversion happens more than we think. When we go to the hospital, weāre not thinking about whether our doctor or nurse is tampering with our pain medication or other drugs. But according to numerous studies, as many as 10 percent of healthcare workers divert or misuse drugs at some point during their career. Even one act of diversion puts healthcare providers, families and their patients at risk for life-altering consequences.
- Diversion is hard to detect.Most people diverting drugs actively ācover their tracksā to avoid detection. They might falsify records, or otherwise hide their diversion.Ā As a result, detecting diversion can be difficult and most diversion goes undetected today, sometimes for months or even years.Ā Most healthcare systems rely on self-reporting, complaints from patients, tips from coworkers, or inaccurate monthly computer reports to attempt to detect diversion. While solutions such as medication dispensing cabinets have helped deter some forms of diversion, and while NIH-sponsored research is leading to improvements in drug diversion detection, there is no silver bullet.
- Diversion has many victims.Drug diversion hurts patients, who can suffer severe pain when they donāt receive their medications, and who can be injured or infected by diverting caregivers. No one knows this better than psychotherapist Lauren Lollini, who contracted Hepatitis C in 2009 after a healthcare worker swapped a clean syringe for a dirty one. Within one month of becoming infected with this life-threatening disease, she became unable to care for her young child. Ā Lauren was fortunate to survive the infection, and has joined our Advisory Board as a patient safety advocate helping HealthCareDiversion.org and our efforts to stop diversion.
Drug diversion also impacts healthcare workers. As their addiction grows, healthcare workers will go to great lengths to hide their addiction from their colleagues and friends. And the longer a healthcare worker can successfully divert drugs without intervention, the more likely he/she is to die from drug overdose.
Drug diversion also impacts our communities. Stolen drugs are often resold illegally on the street, leading our young people and neighbors to being addicted, and to potentially die of overdose.
Finally, drug diversion has legal, financial, business and social implications for individuals and healthcare organizations. Healthcare companies can be hit with large, multi-million fines, and damaging new coverage, as a result of diversion within their facilities.
- Our nation is only starting to address diversion.While our country is pouring a wealth of resources into reducing opioid use patients, and reducing opioid overdose deaths, few recent efforts have focused on reducing drug diversion in healthcare facilities.That is why HealthCareDiversion.org was formed in 2019, to build a national network for all known healthcare diversion cases, and to build a national coalition of organizations looking to prevent diversion in healthcare.
The more we know about drug diversion, the more we can do to find solutions. Read about it more here.