Drug diversion in healthcare: risks and prevention.

Abstract

According to a hospital pharmacy's procedures, one pharmacy employee is responsible for wasting expired or unused medications and for recording all waste transactions on a standardized form. Once a quarter, this employee accesses the area of the controlled substance vault where drugs intended for wasting are stored. The employee senses that the hospital does not regularly compare the waste transaction forms with the drugs stored in the vault, and periodically, the employee will take three boxes of expired fentanyl ampoules and will not record these boxes on the forms.