Drug Diversion Prevention Program: What to Build and How to Check It
A diversion prevention program is the set of controls that makes a controlled-substance loss visible early: who owns the program, how each dose is tracked from receipt to waste, what gets reviewed, and what happens when something does not reconcile. This page maps each part to a guide, and to the items the free assessment scores.
Hospital version: 8 sections, 63 weighted items. No account or login.
What the public record shows
Counted from the DivertGuard case registry, which is compiled from board actions, court filings and press releases. It is a record of documented cases, not an estimate of how often diversion happens.
The guides, in order
18 guides on this topic.
Start with the basics
What counts as diversion, what a complete program contains, and the warning signs staff should recognize.
-
What Is Drug Diversion in Healthcare? Definition, Examples & Warning Signs
The definition of drug diversion in hospitals and pharmacies, how it happens, who's typically involved, and the warning signs every program should monitor.
-
10 Components of a Drug Diversion Prevention Program
The ten elements every credible drug diversion prevention program needs — from governance to surveillance to continuous improvement.
-
Signs of Medication Diversion: 15 Red Flags for Pharmacy & Nursing Leaders
The behavioral, documentation, and inventory red flags that point to medication diversion — with a practical monitoring checklist.
-
15 Red Flags of Drug Diversion
Behavioral, documentation, and inventory warning signs your staff should know
-
Policy Templates
Ready-to-adapt diversion prevention, waste witnessing, POM, and camera policies
Surveillance and data review
Reviewing cabinet transactions, overrides, counts and complaints on a fixed schedule, with a named owner for every alert.
-
Drug Diversion Surveillance Without Expensive Software: A SQL + Analytics Playbook
How to build practical diversion surveillance with the data you already have — SQL patterns for waste, overrides, and provider behavior.
-
AI Drug Diversion Surveillance Isn't Self-Enforcing: Build the Alert-to-Action Workflow
STAT reported that hospital managers ignored machine-learning diversion alerts before a travel nurse diverted opioids. Why surveillance tools only work with triage, ownership, SLAs, and documented follow-through.
-
Closing ADC Reporting Gaps Before Diversion Takes Root
ADC override transactions left unreviewed create diversion blind spots. Learn how to implement a defined review timeframe and close reporting gaps.
-
Closing the ADC Reporting Blind Spot
If your ADC discrepancy reports sit unreviewed for days, resolution becomes guesswork. Require same-day review of overrides, cancels, and l…
-
Why Controlled Substance Count Reconciliation Stops Diversion Early
Unexplained count discrepancies — even small ones — can signal diversion. Review controlled substance count records daily and investigate…
-
Turn Patient Complaints Into Diversion Red Flags
Track complaints about pain not controlled despite documented doses, missing medication, or early refill denials by patient—clusters tied t…
-
Analytics Dashboard
KPIs, benchmarks, sample SQL, and Power BI/Tableau layout blueprint for surveillance
-
Drug Diversion Monitoring Software: A Buyer's Guide
What monitoring, detection, surveillance, and auditing software actually do, the real categories of tooling, what the data can and can't prove, and how to evaluate a vendor
Waste and witnessing
Documenting waste and partial doses so that a second person has actually seen what they sign for.
-
Controlled Substance Waste & Discrepancy Documentation: Policies That Pass Audits
How to document medication waste, partial doses, and discrepancies so your diversion prevention program survives an audit.
-
Waste Documentation and Independent Witness Requirements
Wasting controlled substances alone, or with a witness who doesn't actually watch the syringe emptied and disposed of, defeats the control…
-
Blind Witnessing: A Hidden Gap in Waste Documentation
Blind witnessing — when a colleague signs off on waste without observing the disposal — is a common diversion gap. Confirm your policy…
-
Audit Witness Pairing Patterns to Close Waste Documentation Gaps
Collusion risk rises when the same two employees consistently pair for waste witnessing. Audit co-signer combinations routinely — identical…
Operating rooms and other high-risk areas
Anesthesia, outpatient surgery and post-operative pain orders, where one person often handles the drug from start to finish.
-
Anesthesia & OR Drug Diversion: Prevention Strategies for High-Risk Settings
Why the operating room is a high-risk diversion environment, and the controls that reduce risk for anesthesia providers and perioperative teams.
-
Drug Diversion in Ambulatory Surgery Centers: Closing the Gap With No Pharmacist On Site
ASCs handle controlled substances with no on-site pharmacist, small teams, and often no separation of duties. How to close the waste-documentation and access gap in outpatient surgery settings.
-
Auditing Post-Op Analgesia Orders for Diversion Signals
Compare post-op opioid orders against documented pain scores and procedure type; frequent overrides, early refills, or standing PRN orders…
-
Risk Assessment by Unit
Risk profiles for ED, ICU, OR, Med-Surg, Oncology, and Pharmacy departments
Reporting, investigation and staff
How a concern is reported and investigated, and how staff are trained and credentialed.
-
How to Report Drug Diversion: A Step-by-Step Guide for Healthcare Staff
Who to tell, what to document, and when a report must reach the DEA — a practical reporting guide for pharmacy staff, nurses, and compliance officers.
-
PTCB CSDP Certificate: Study Guide & Exam Prep for Pharmacy Technicians
Everything technicians need to know about the PTCB Controlled Substances Diversion Prevention Certificate — eligibility, exam format, and what to study.
-
Investigation Playbook
Step-by-step guide from initial report through resolution and corrective action
-
Interview Guide
Preparation, questioning techniques, documentation standards, and legal considerations
-
Training Materials
New hire awareness, annual competency, red flag recognition, and waste documentation
What the assessment checks
The hospital assessment has 8 sections. These are the 7 items it scores under Governance & Program Oversight:
- Designated Diversion Prevention Officer/Coordinator with defined authority
- Interdisciplinary diversion prevention committee meets quarterly (or more frequently)
- Written diversion prevention policy approved by governing board
- Policy addresses all controlled substance categories (II-V) and all departments
- Annual program effectiveness review with documented improvements
- Executive leadership receives regular diversion metrics dashboard
- Non-punitive reporting culture policy documented and communicated
The other sections: Controlled Substance Lifecycle Management (9), Perioperative & Procedural Areas (6), Data Analytics & Surveillance (9), Personnel & Access Controls (8), Physical Security (7), Incident Reporting & Investigation (9), Regulatory Compliance (8). Each item is weighted, the score updates as you answer, and the result exports to PDF or CSV.