July 19 & 20, 2019; Arizona Biltmore – Phoenix, Arizona

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) held a Pharmacy Diversion Awareness Conference (PDAC) on July 19 & 20, 2019 in Phoenix, AZ. 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 doctors, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and pharmacy loss prevention personnel on ways to address and respond to potential diversion activity.

Over 450 registrants attended. The conference attendees received approximately 6.5 hours of instruction on a variety of topics. The presentations included: The Opioid Epidemic and the Practice of Medicine, Drug Trends, Prescriptions for Controlled Substances, Methods of Diversion, Inventories, Records and Reports, Registration, Disposal and Return of Patient Meds, Telemedicine and Training and Resources for Arizona.

Selected presentations from the Phoenix, Arizona PDAC are below.

Drugs of Abuse & Trends – Erin Hager, Diversion Investigator, Drug Enforcement Administration

Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs) – Doug Skvarla, Arizona Prescription Monitoring Program Director

Prescriptions for Controlled Substances – Erin Hager, Diversion Investigator, Drug Enforcement Administration

Methods of Diversion and Effective Controls for Controlled Substances – Luis Carrion, Staff Coordinator, Drug Enforcement Administration

State Medical Board – Raquel Rivera, Investigations Manager, AZ Medical Board

Inventories, Records and Reports – Erin Hager, Diversion Investigator, Drug Enforcement Administration

Registration Issues – Shirley Powell, Group Supervisor, Drug Enforcement Administration

Disposal, Return of Patient Meds and Options for Patients – Laura Esquer, Diversion Outreach Coordinator, Drug Enforcement Administration

Telemedicine – Michael Grafton, Diversion Program Manager, Drug Enforcement Administration

Training & Resources – Luis Carrion, Staff Coordinator, Drug Enforcement Administration

Physicians Health Program – Monica Faria MD, FASAM, Medical Director for the Arizona Professional's Health Programs