Key Takeaways from The State of Drug Diversion in America: Special Report

So far in 2022, an alarming drug diversion trend involving travel nurses has emerged which poses an increased risk to hospitals and health systems continuing to rely heavily on contract staff to fill ongoing staffing shortages due in part to pandemic-related staff burnout. Compounding the problem is a raging opioid epidemic and healthcare professionals' disbelief that diversion can and will happen at their particular organization. 

These are some of the key findings contained in the The State of Drug Diversion in America: Special Report, a midyear report covering an alarming drug diversion trend which surfaced in the first half of 2022, a look ahead at what the healthcare industry can expect, technology’s impact on drug diversion surveillance, and key elements for an optimal drug diversion prevention program.

Download the The State of Drug Diversion in America for the latest insights on how clinical drug diversion is affecting the nation.

Travel nurses diverting across multiple states

Hospitals and healthcare systems have long known travel nurses are a high-risk group for diversion either because they genuinely don't know each individual hospital's controlled substance handling protocols, or they can more easily divert drugs then bounce to another organization before allegations catch up with them. This year has shown an upward trend in contract staff diverting drugs across multiple states.

Healthcare organizations desperate to fill staffing gaps with contract staff should be aware of the increased diversion risk and strengthen their drug diversion surveillance and monitoring solutions to identify potential anomalous behavior sooner, better protecting their patients, workforce, and community at-large.

Technology at the center of drug diversion surveillance

Machine learning has been proven to detect known diversion incidents 160 earlier than manual methods or legacy systems, which helps stem the potential damage and mitigate risks. A new report found that drug diversion monitoring solutions helped healthcare organizations improve diversion detection and identify educational opportunities. 

Robust artificial intelligence can monitor up to 100% of medication use transactions and surface controlled substance events that matter so diversion teams can more efficiently review, investigate, and resolve cases. Organizations can do much more with their existing resources, saving time and money and demonstrating a positive ROI. 

We're able to take a more proactive stance in protecting our patients, organization, and community at-large because we're operating more efficiently and able to review more diversion cases without requiring additional headcount. - Pharmacy Clinical Operations Manager

Download the The State of Drug Diversion in America for the latest insights on how clinical drug diversion is affecting the nation.