Which measure best prevents drug diversion in a distribution system within a healthcare setting?

• A. An automated dispense
• B. Manual inventory checks
• C. Public access to stock
• D. No controls

Answer: (A)

Controlling who can access medications and keeping an auditable record of every withdrawal is the most effective way to prevent drug diversion in a hospital distribution system. An automated dispensing system enforces restricted access by requiring user authentication and tying access to specific roles. It records each withdrawal with details such as who took the medication, when, what was taken, and for which patient, creating a dependable audit trail. Real-time inventory updates plus automatic reconciliation help quickly identify discrepancies, making it much harder for someone to divert meds unnoticed. These features also support compliance and improve overall accountability.

Manual inventory checks, while useful, are periodic and rely on perfect human performance; they don’t stop diversion at the moment of access and can miss issues between checks. Public access to stock and having no controls provide no accountability and vastly increase the opportunity for pilferage.