II, III, or IV medications including Ritalin, Oxycodone, Ativan, Vicodin, and Percocet.
Many providers are victims of drug abuse and divert drugs to maintain their habit. At a facility in Tennessee, a physician was abusing narcotic …show more content…
● A radiology technician who was positive for hepatitis C diverted unused fentanyl syringes intended for administration to patients causing 5 patients to be infected with hepatitis C …show more content…
The top diverted drugs for economic gain include Humira, Enbrel, Remicade, Copaxone. These drugs were included in the top 10 drugs with US quarterly sales over $1 billion. On August 2012, at the University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, a pharmacy technician stole non-narcotic medications including Neulasta and Aloxi over a 3 year period. The technician would steal 4 Neulasta doses at a time at a cost of $2600 per dose. While the pharmacy’s focus was primarily toward narcotics, the lack of monitoring high cost medications led to UM losing over $14 million due to theft. Other generic medications are highly valuable as well including ketamine, midazolam, oxycodone and hydrocodone. Effective October 6, 2014, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) rescheduling of hydrocodone combination products from Schedule III to Schedule II goes into effect, which can lead to an increase of diversion due to the lack of refills. Prior to the rule, hydrocodone combination products had the ability to be refilled 5 times in a 6 month