title: Formulating an effective response to emergency room drug diversion by drug seeking patients.
abstract: Drug diversion has become a $100 billion a year problem for the healthcare industry. By far the leading source of such diversion is the obtaining of prescription drugs by bogus patients from ER staff, the author claims. Solving the problem will not be easy, he says, because drug seekers are experts in avoiding detection or in persuading health providers to supply them with the pharmaceuticals they want. But, he adds, a program for reducing such diversion in your health facility can be successful if a multi-disciplinary approach is taken. Such a program is described in this article.
authors.affiliation: Public Safety Department, Portneuf Medical Center, Pocatello, ID, USA.
authors.forename: Sam
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Clark