Health: Addiction

Research Study Finds Three in Five Respondents Are Not Confident in the Effectiveness of Their Organization’s Drug Diversion Program

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ATLANTA (PRWEB)

Invistics, the leading provider of cloud-based software solutions that improve inventory visibility and analytics across complex healthcare systems and global supply chains, has released a new study on the state of drug diversion in America. The term “drug diversion” refers to crimes that involve a prescription medication — including drug-seeking behaviors, corrupt prescribing practices and the theft of drugs by healthcare workers. The survey, conducted by Porter Research, focused on the theft of drugs by healthcare workers. Results show that nearly all healthcare professionals agree that drug diversion is occurring frequently in healthcare facilities across the country.

COVID-19 has made the problem worse. Nearly half (47%) of all survey respondents reported that staff turnover due to the pandemic made it more challenging to track drug diversion and 38% said that resources for drug diversion investigations were reallocated due to budget cuts. Additionally, more than half of those surveyed (59%) said that they plan to enhance or strengthen their organization’s existing drug diversion prevention efforts, due to COVID vaccine distribution concerns and the ongoing opioid crisis.

“Looking at this year’s survey data compared to past surveys, drug diversion is clearly still a concern across the healthcare industry — and the pandemic has only exacerbated that issue,” said Cynthia Porter, CEO of Porter Research. “With the effects of the pandemic appearing to wane, hospitals and health systems should consider reinvesting in their drug diversion programs to address this ongoing issue.”

Other key findings:


  • Nearly all respondents (96%) agreed that drug diversion is occurring in hospitals across the United States 73% agreed that most drug diversion goes undetected and 82% reported they know or have met someone who has diverted drugs.

  • More than one-third of respondents reported that drug diversion prevention and detection is a higher priority now than it was in 2019. One in three respondents said they are more concerned about drug diversion in 2021 as it relates to the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine.

  • Of the healthcare professional surveyed, 94% agreed that drug diversion negatively impacts quality of care, 96% agree that it has an adverse impact on patient safety and 96% agree that drug diversion jeopardizes compliance and puts organizations at risk.

  • Three-quarters (73%) rated machine learning as an effective tool in identifying or preventing drug diversion — up from 65% in 2019. Additionally, those reporting that they use machine learning in their drug prevention program increased from 29% in 2019 to 44% in 2021.

  • Nearly half (48%) of those surveyed said 10% or less of drug diversion investigations resulted in a confirmed diversion — up from 37% in 2019. Only 13% said that more than half of drug diversion investigations resulted in a confirmed diversion — down from 23% in 2019.

“The past year and a half has been difficult on hospitals, health systems and other healthcare organizations across the industry — to say the least. Many healthcare facilities have had to reduce their focus on drug diversion prevention in order to prioritize treating patients with COVID-19 and administering COVID-19 vaccines,” said Tom Knight, CEO of Invistics. “With COVID-19 cases going down in the U.S., it’s encouraging to see that drug diversion is becoming a bigger priority for healthcare leaders and that more organizations are starting to utilize machine learning in their drug diversion programs.”

See the full report at https://invistics.com/2021-healthcare-diversion-survey/

Survey Methodology

Two-hundred healthcare professionals were surveyed between February and April 2021, 190 of whom have a diversion program at their healthcare facility. Survey participants included directors of pharmacy, nursing executives, compliance executives and drug diversion specialists. Porter Research completed this study on behalf of Invistics.

ABOUT INVISTICS:

Invistics is the leading provider of cloud-based software solutions for healthcare inventory visibility, providing advanced analytics and actionable insights for hospitals and health systems who want to detect and prevent drug diversion. Invistics’ solution, called Flowlytics®, tracks the movement of drugs across the complex supply chain — from the time they are shipped from the wholesaler to a healthcare facility, then each time drugs are moved throughout the hospital and administered to patients. Atlanta-based Invistics Corporation also provides inventory visibility for manufacturers, distributors, re-packagers and controlled substance registrants, helping to reduce inventory costs and compliance risks within a single facility or across the extended enterprise. To learn more, visit http://www.invistics.com

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