August 19 & 20, 2019; DoubleTree by Hilton Manchester Downtown – Manchester, New Hampshire

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) held a Practitioner Diversion Awareness Conference (PDAC) on August 19 & 20, 2019 in Manchester, NH. This was a one-day conference, repeated on the second day, for the convenience of the practitioner community. The conference was developed and designed to address the growing problem of diversion of pharmaceutical controlled substances throughout the United States. In addition to pharmacy robberies and thefts, pharmaceutical controlled substances are often diverted by way of forged prescriptions, doctor shoppers, or illegitimate prescriptions from rogue practitioners. The objective of this conference was to educate healthcare professionals on ways to address and respond to potential diversion activity.

There were 295 veterinarians, dentists, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners in attendance. The conference attendees received approximately seven hours of instruction on a variety of topics. The presentations included: The Opioid Epidemic and the Practice of Legitimate Medicine; Drugs of Abuse and Trends; New Hampshire Medical Society; Prescriptions for Controlled Substances; Methods of Diversion and Effective Controls for Controlled Substances; New Hampshire Health Professionals Program; Inventories, Records, and Reports; Registration Issues; Disposal, Return of Patient Meds, and Options for Patients; Telemedicine; Training & Resources; and New Hampshire Prescription Monitoring Program.

Selected presentations from the Manchester, New Hampshire PDAC are below.

The Opioid Epidemic and the Practice of Legitimate Medicine – James A. Arnold, Section Chief, Liaison Section

Drugs of Abuse and Trends – Scott A. Brinks, Chief, Regulatory Drafting & Support Section

New Hampshire Medical Society – James Potter, CAE, Executive Vice President

Prescriptions for Controlled Substances – Aziz Elkholy, Staff Coordinator, Liaison Section

Methods of Diversion and Effective Controls for Controlled Substances – Scott A. Brinks, Chief, Regulatory Drafting & Support Section

New Hampshire Health Professionals Program – Sally Garhart, Medical Director

Inventories, Records, and Reports – Paula Albert, Staff Coordinator, Liaison Section

Registration Issues – Paula Albert, Staff Coordinator, Liaison Section

Disposal, Return of Patient Meds, and Options for Patients – Aziz Elkholy, Staff Coordinator, Liaison Section

Telemedicine – James A. Arnold, Section Chief, Liaison Section

Training & Resources – George Lutz, Diversion Investigator, Boston Division

New Hampshire Prescription Monitoring Program – Michael Bullek, Chief of Compliance Board of Pharmacy