Preventing and Managing Controlled Substance Diversion Across Health Care Settings

Program Description

Drug diversion has become an important part of the conversation in combating the opioid epidemic. Several factors can influence drug diversion, and research has shown both patients and health care professionals to engage in drug diversion actions. Overall, drug diversion events remain underreported and under investigated, but as medication experts, pharmacists have an obligation to reduce opportunities for drug diversion and should be familiar with the legal definition, regulatory requirements to mitigate drug diversion, and processes for drug diversion monitoring. This article will examine the scope and impact of drug diversion in health care settings and review strategies pharmacists can implement to identify and establish safe practices to mitigate drug diversion in their practice.

Target audience: Pharmacists

Type of activity: Application
Release date: March 10, 2023
Expiration date: March 10, 2024

Time to complete activity: 2.0 hours
Fee: Free

Educational Objectives

At the completion of this activity, participants will be able to:

• Examine the scope and impact of health care worker drug diversion
• Define legal and regulatory requirements to mitigate drug diversion
• Illustrate strategies to identify and mitigate drug diversion in the health-system and community settings

Pharmacy Times Continuing Education™ is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) as a provider of continuing pharmacy education. This activity is approved for 2.0 contact hours (0.20 CEU) under the ACPE universal activity number 0290-0000-23-040-H03-P. The activity is available for CE credit through March 10, 2024.

Instructions for Completing the Activity and Receiving CPE Credit

To receive CPE credit, participants must complete the pretest, review the activity in its entirety, complete the posttest, and complete the online activity evaluation. After successful completion of the online activity evaluation, you can submit your credit to CPE Monitor. You may view your credit within 48 hours at www.mycpemonitor.net. All participants must request credit before the activity expiration date. CE credit will not be issued after this date.

Disclosures

The following contributors have no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests to disclose:

Faculty

Leah Mitchell, PharmD, MBA

Danielle Neal, PharmD, MBA, BCPS, DPLA

Pharmacy Times Continuing Education™ Planning Staff—Jim Palatine, RPh, MBA; Maryjo Dixon, RPh; Michelle Carlson, PharmD; Lauren Assennata; Susan Pordon; Brianna Winters; and Chloe Taccetta.

An anonymous peer reviewer was used as part of content validation and conflict resolution. The peer reviewer has no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests to disclose.

Educational Disclaimer
CPE activities are offered solely for educational purposes and do not constitute any form of professional advice or referral. Discussions concerning drugs, dosages, and procedures may reflect the clinical experience of the author(s) or they may be derived from the professional literature or other sources and may suggest uses that are investigational in nature and not approved labeling or indications. Participants are encouraged to refer to primary references or full prescribing information resources.

For questions about this internet CPE activity, please contact:
[email protected]
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