Drug diversion continues to be a growing problem in healthcare facilities around the world, primarily due to the sheer quantity of medications, including controlled substances, that are accessible to staff members. Despite its prevalence, there are proven monitoring, detection, and prevention strategies that are easy to deploy.
What is drug diversion in healthcare?
The Department of Health and Human Services defines drug diversion as, “The illegal distribution or abuse of prescription drugs or their use for purposes not intended by the prescriber.”
It is estimated that 1 in every 10 healthcare workers in the United States are misusing or diverting drugs. This alarming statistic highlights the need for healthcare organizations to be vigilant about monitoring and detecting drug diversion. Drug diversion gone undetected can result in significant harm to employees and patients alike.
Drug diversion is extremely expensive
With so many other patient care priorities, diversion prevention and monitoring programs often don’t get the attention or resources they deserve. Unfortunately, many organizations rely on reactive methods to identify drug diversion events. This ultimately leads to patient/public harm, as well as unwanted public disclosure that leaves the organization with reputational and fiscal damages.
The largest reported DEA drug diversion settlement for a health system was more than $7 million dollars following a years-long investigation. Even though this is an extreme case, the financial penalties and reputational damage are real and can have far reaching consequences for the organization.
Proactive monitoring exists today
Healthcare facilities can already take advantage of advanced AI-powered drug diversion monitoring solutions like ControlCheck to analyze medication usage in real-time. With the sheer amount of data hospitals produce daily, manual monitoring is no longer viable. AI systems can detect concerning patterns that signal diversion, empowering healthcare leaders to act swiftly and prevent harm before it reaches patients or staff. This proactive approach isn’t just possible—it’s essential.
Healthcare facilities can’t afford to stay reactive
Responding after a drug diversion event is discovered is too late. Delayed interventions allow dangerous behaviors to escalate, exposing organizations to legal, financial, and reputational damage. Instead of waiting for red flags to surface, healthcare facilities must invest in technology that facilitates the proactive and continuous monitoring of diversion in real-time.