Drug diversion harms patients, staff members, the community, institutions, and the diverters themselves. To maintain a safe care environment, institutions must have policies and procedures in place to prevent, detect, and respond to diversion, and the policies and procedures must be followed consistently. This article provides key considerations for developing policies and procedures to prevent and detect drug diversion, to conduct a drug diversion investigation, and to report drug diversion to the appropriate authorities.
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Diversion of drugs within health care facilities, a multiplevictim crime: Patterns of diversion, scope, consequences, detection and prevention
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Instructions Go online to take the posttest and earn CE credit: Members - www.ncsbninteractive.org (no charge) Nonmembers - www.learningext.com ($15 processing fee)If you cannot take the posttest online, complete the print form and mail it to the address (nonmembers must include a check for $15, payable to NCSBN) included at bottom of form.
Provider accreditation The NCSBN is accredited as a provider of CE by the Alabama State Board of Nursing.The information in this CE does not imply endorsement of any product, service, or company referred to in this activity.
Contact hours: 1.2 Posttest passing score is 75%. Expiration: April 2017 Posttest Please circle the correct answer.When a nurse is found guilty of a felony drug-related case, what action can the Office of Inspector General (OIG) take?
Revoke a nurse's license Exclude the person from future work in health care Require participation in an alternative-to-discipline program Offer job placement advice What is the risk of diversion for patients? Incarceration What is the most important reason to detect and intervene when a nurse is suspected of diversion? To teach a lesson to other staff members To protect the health care facility from legal action To prevent bad publicity To protect the safety of patients What is “Immediate Jeopardy”? The potential for a health care facility to be terminated from the Medicare and Medicaid programs A loss of accreditation by the Joint Commission A department of health deficiency following a health care agency survey The penalty for not reporting diversion to local law enforcement What should raise a red flag about a nurse during preemployment screening? Working part time at several different facilities Lack of clinical references Willingness to work any shift Wearing long sleeves What is the most important feature of a diversion prevention program? Drug security Education of newly hired nurses Immunity-free policy Zero tolerance policy Which behavior should raise suspicions of diversion? Calling in sick Pattern of wasting of entire doses Switching work schedule to day shift Meeting colleagues after work for a cocktail What is the most common characteristic of a nurse who diverts a drug? New graduate Well liked by colleagues Unkempt and lazy No common characteristic What should happen if there is a discrepancy in controlled substance counts? The discrepancy must be resolved without 24 hours. The police must be contacted. Staff members are not allowed to leave the floor. All nurses must submit to urine drug tests. What is a requirement of the Conditions of Participation? Drug counts must be accurate. Controlled substances must be locked in a secure area. Wasted drugs are returned to the pharmacy. Unused doses are wasted, not returned. What is the purpose of an audit? To reveal a statistical outlier in the dispensing or wasting of controlled substances To highlight the need for better drug security To identify nurses most at risk for diversion To observe high-risk areas A nurse is suspected of diversion. What should happen next? Investigation Termination Drug testingA nurse admits to diverting fentanyl and submits to a standard urine drug screen. Why would the drug screen come back negative?
The nurse is lying about diverting drugs. The drug screen panel does not test for the drug. The urine sample was compromised. The urine sample was not tested properly. A nurse's behavior causes harm to a patient. What action is now required by the nurse practice act? Allow the nurse to resign. Refer the nurse to a substance abuse program. Report the nurse to the board of nursing. Fire the nurse. What federal law states that reporting diversion “serves the public at large”? Drug Enforcement Act Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act Controlled Substances Act Social Security Act Evaluation Form (required) Rate your achievement of each objective from 5 (high/excellent) to 1 (low/poor). Identify risks of drug diversion. _____________ Discuss how to prevent and detect drug diversion. _____________ Describe investigative processes related to drug diversion. _____________ Rate each of the following items from 5 (very effective) to 1 (ineffective): Was the author knowledgeable about the subject? _____________ Were the methods of presentation (text, tables, figures, etc.) effective? _____________ Was the content relevant to the objectives? _____________ Was the article useful to you in your work? _____________ Was there enough time allotted for this activity? _____________ Comments: _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ Please print clearly Name _______________________________________ Mailing address _______________________________________ Street _______________________________________ City _______________________________________ State _____________________Zip __________________ Home phone _______________________________________ Business phone _______________________________________ Fax _______________________________________ E-mail _______________________________________ Method of payment (check one box) Member (no charge) Nonmembers (must include a check for $15 payable to NCSBN) PLEASE DO NOT SEND CASH. Mail completed posttest, evaluation form, registration form, and payment to: 111 East Wacker Drive Suite 2900 Chicago, IL 60601–4277 Please allow 4 to 6 weeks for processing.Compliance Specialist, University of Tennessee Medical Center, Knoxville, and Chapter President, Executive Board Member, National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators
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