Interchange 2014 HIghlights: Kimberly New Explains the Dangers of Drug Diversion in Hospital Settings
At the 2014 Interchange, New spoke about the risk that drug diversion poses to patients who may be treated with painkillers that have been contaminated by addicts, and about the scale of drug diversion in hospitals in the United States.
At the 2014 Interchange, New spoke about the risk that drug diversion poses to patients who may be treated with painkillers that have been contaminated by addicts, and about the scale of drug diversion in hospitals in the United States.
Kimberly New, the current president of the Tennessee Chapter of the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators, is a consultant and educator who helps protect patients by helping medical facilities establish and refine their drug diversion programs. At the 2014 Interchange, New spoke about the risk that drug diversion poses to patients who may be treated with painkillers that have been contaminated by addicts, and about the scale of drug diversion in hospitals in the United States. "At the facility that I most recently left, a large academic institution with about 550 beds," New said, "we have a nursing staff of about 1000 nurses. When we started our program, I was catching 3-4 nurses per month diverting medications within the facility. Even after we had a very established proactive program and everyone was aware of that, we still were having 1-2 per month." New also spoke about the role of nurses and other hospital staff in protecting patients.
Listen to New's comments on YouTube, Kim speaks at 11:40
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