Prescription Drug Abuse

In a 1999 report, nurses were surveyed anonymously about drug abuse and 20% admitted to misusing at least one prescription drug. In another 1999 report, nurses were surveyed anonymously about drug abuse, and 20% admitted to misusing at least one prescription drug. Easy access was highly correlated with drug misuse. Nurses reported to use: opioids 60%, tranquilizers 40%, sedatives 11%, amphetamines 3.5%, and inhalants 1.9%. Of the top 17 abused prescriptions in 2013, 16 of the drugs (94%) are classified as Schedule
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
● 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
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