Drug Diversion Program at TidalHealth Transformed by Technology and Data | Case Study

TidalHealth Peninsula Regional

Customer Profile

TidalHealth Peninsula Regional is a 266-bed, level 3 trauma center non-profit hospital located on Maryland's Eastern Shore. It provides a multitude of specialties serving nearly 500,000 patients annually.

Location

Salisbury, Maryland

Challenge

Manual processes
Retrospective audits
Gaps in chain of custody
Lack of visibility

Solution

Omnicell Intelligence Solutions

Impact

Achieved nearly 92% automatic closure of matching cabinet dispenses to administrations
Achieved documentation accuracy of nearly 98%
Shortened medication dispense to administration time to 10 minutes
Shortened medication administration to waste time to 46 minutes
Able to conduct more real-time investigation into potential diversion

The Challenge

Like all health systems, TidalHealth experienced multiple drug diversion events over the years. Each department dealt with an incident of diversion in a siloed, reactive approach with no focused team, making it internally difficult to determine if there was true diversion or simply instances of poor drug practice. In 2014, TidalHealth established an anti-diversion team to make recommendations for improvements and address concerns across the hospital system. In 2019, they realized they needed a new approach and wanted to evaluate and leverage available technology.

The Solution

The team researched automation and advanced software, with the goal of establishing a medication inventory management program to reduce drug diversion incidents in any setting — specifically those involving controlled substances — through cross-discipline teamwork, education, monitoring, and follow-through. To meet their goal, TidalHealth invested in intelligent drug diversion monitoring software from Omnicell that provides visibility of medication inventory, a closed loop for data feeds, data and analytics with tracking capabilities, and secure access to software on site or remotely.

The Impact

TidalHealth noticed changes after deployment. Their drug diversion program was now based on actionable insights and fueled by new technology, leading to improved visibility with a closed loop connecting the electronic medical record (EMR) and wholesaler, more real-time investigation with greater engagement from nurses and anesthesiologists, and monitored waste activity. Specific metrics include an average 91.6% automatic closure of matching cabinet dispenses to administrations, documentation accuracy averaging 97.8%, medication dispense to administration time reduced to an average of 10 minutes, and medication administration to waste time reduced to an average of 46 minutes.

At TidalHealth, Anesthesia became part of a new anti-diversion team within the hospital — using Omnicell Anesthesia Workstations and ADCs to improve tracking of controlled substances. "An active, diverse, and engaged drug diversion team is key to improving drug diversion in any setting," said John Jordan, PharmD, BCPS, Senior Director of Pharmacy Services at TidalHealth.

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