Drug Diversion Insights with Terri Vidals

For everyone in the healthcare industry looking to reduce substance abuse and drug diversion. The host, Terri Vidals, is a pharmacist with over 30 years of experience; fifteen of those years in medication safety and drug diversion prevention and monitoring. Listen to an interview each week with a healthcare professional involved in diversion detection. Learn about how to leverage artificial intelligence to detect diversion and get exposure to products or services designed to facilitate diversion detection.

Drug Diversion Insights with Terri Vidals is a health podcast hosted by Terri Vidals, with 169 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Terri Vidals hosts Drug Diversion Insights with Terri Vidals, a health show with 169 episodes published.

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  Drug Diversion Insights with Terri Vidals

  18% of Nurses Screened Positive. Why Are We Still Waiting?

  Aug 19, 202654 min

  Why do we so often wait until a nurse fails, an incident occurs, or patient safety is at risk before connecting someone with help? In this episode of Drug Diversion Insights , Terri is joined by Abby Migliore and Shannon Opie of the Intervention Project for Nurses (IPN) , Florida's alternative-to-discipline program for nurses with substance use disorders and other conditions that may affect safe practice. A national survey found that 18% of registered nurses screened positive for a substance use problem, with approximately one-third of those screening positive for a substance use disorder . Those findings raise an important question: Are we doing enough to recognize and support healthcare professionals before a problem reaches a crisis point? Abby and Shannon take us inside the alternative-to-discipline process and explain what structured recovery and return to nursing practice actually look like. In this episode, we discuss: How alternative-to-discipline programs for nurses work What happens when a nurse enters IPN Evaluation, treatment, and ongoing recovery monitoring Drug and alcohol testing requirements and testing cadence Workplace restrictions during return to practice The role of supervised return-to-work plans What neurocognitive testing evaluates before a nurse returns to practice Medications for opioid use disorder in safety-sensitive healthcare roles The balance between workplace accommodation and patient safety Why healthcare organizations often wait for a “smoking gun” before intervening The opportunity to recognize problems and connect nurses with support earlier Alternative-to-discipline doesn't mean eliminating accountability. It's about creating a structured pathway that supports recovery while keeping safe nursing practice and patient protection at the center. This conversation is especially relevant for nurses, nurse leaders, healthcare executives, employee health professionals, diversion specialists, compliance teams, professional monitoring programs, and anyone interested in substance use disorder among healthcare professionals. And there's more to come. Abby and Shannon will return for another conversation focused on cannabis in patient-facing healthcare roles, including the complicated question of cannabis-free workplace policies in states where cannabis is legal. Follow Drug Diversion Insights so you don't miss Part 2. More from Rxpert Solutions

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  Drug Diversion Insights with Terri Vidals

  The Safest Pharmacy Is the One That Talks About It

  Aug 14, 202647 min

  What happens when a pharmacy professional experiences a substance use disorder, enters recovery, and then returns to the same workplace—with the same colleagues and access to controlled substances? In this episode of Drug Diversion Insights , we hear both sides of that experience. One guest shares what it was like to return to pharmacy practice after substance use disorder and rebuild trust with colleagues. The other shares the perspective of the pharmacy leader responsible for maintaining the safeguards, accountability, and support needed to make that return safe for employees and patients alike. Together, they tackle a difficult question healthcare organizations often avoid: Can a healthcare professional in recovery safely return to a role with access to controlled substances? We discuss: What returning to pharmacy practice after substance use disorder really looks like The challenges of rebuilding trust with coworkers Accountability measures and safeguards that support a safe return to practice How pharmacy leaders can support recovery without compromising patient safety The role of state pharmacy recovery and professional monitoring programs Why transparency about recovery can be a strength How stigma can discourage healthcare professionals from seeking help Why open conversations about substance use disorder can strengthen workplace culture Whether having a professional in recovery on the team can actually increase awareness and accountability around controlled substances Supporting recovery and protecting patients don't have to be opposing goals. With appropriate monitoring, clear expectations, accountability, and a workplace willing to have honest conversations about substance use disorder, healthcare professionals can be supported while patient and medication safety remain the priority. This episode is for pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, pharmacy leaders, diversion specialists, compliance professionals, healthcare executives, and anyone interested in creating a safer and more supportive approach to substance use disorder in healthcare. Sometimes the safest pharmacy isn't the one where substance use disorder is never discussed. It's the one where people feel safe enough to talk about it. More from Rxpert Solutions

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  Drug Diversion Insights with Terri Vidals

  Upstream of Diversion: Pain, Mental Health, and the Making of a Substance Use Disorder

  Aug 5, 202659 min

  Substance use disorder rarely begins with the substance itself. Long before addiction develops, many individuals are navigating a complex combination of chronic pain, mental health challenges, trauma, and other life circumstances that increase their risk. Understanding those connections helps us recognize substance use disorder earlier and respond more effectively. In this episode of Drug Diversion Insights , Terri welcomes back Dr. Paul Lynch , anesthesiologist and CEO of US Pain Care, along with his father, Larry Lynch , a licensed clinical social worker. Together, they combine medical and behavioral health perspectives to explore why treating pain, mental health, and substance use disorder as separate conditions often falls short. In this episode, we discuss: The relationship between chronic pain and substance use disorder How mental health influences both pain and addiction The concept of the tri-diagnosis : pain, mental health, and substance use disorder Expanding to the quad-diagnosis , incorporating homelessness as another critical factor The challenge of determining whether pain or mental health issues come first Why integrated, whole-person care leads to better outcomes The importance of reducing stigma surrounding substance use disorder How earlier intervention can improve both patient care and long-term recovery Whether you're a physician, pharmacist, nurse, behavioral health professional, addiction specialist, healthcare leader, or simply interested in understanding the complexity of substance use disorder, this episode offers valuable insight into the factors that exist long before addiction becomes visible. By looking upstream, we can better understand the root causes of substance use disorder and create opportunities for earlier intervention, more compassionate care, and better outcomes for patients. More from Rxpert Solutions

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  Drug Diversion Insights with Terri Vidals

  Less Burden, Better Compliance: Remote Drug Testing That Works for Facilities and Participants

  Jul 29, 202647 min

  Can remote drug and alcohol testing deliver the same level of confidence as traditional collection methods? In this episode of Drug Diversion Insights , Terri sits down with Chris Roames , Chief Operating Officer of RecoveryTrek , to explore how remote drug testing is transforming recovery monitoring, professional health programs, treatment centers, employers, and healthcare organizations. RecoveryTrek has been supporting substance use monitoring programs since 2011. Its flagship platform, PROOF , enables participants to complete drug and alcohol testing remotely—from home or virtually anywhere—while incorporating guided specimen collection, identity verification, and safeguards designed to maintain specimen integrity. Chris explains what makes remote testing effective, walks through the different specimen collection methods, and addresses one of the biggest questions organizations have: How can you be confident the sample came from the right person and wasn't tampered with? In this episode, you'll learn: How remote drug and alcohol testing works The technology behind RecoveryTrek's PROOF platform How participant identity is verified during remote collections Methods used to help protect specimen integrity Different specimen types and when each is used Applications for healthcare organizations, treatment centers, employers, courts, and professional monitoring programs How remote testing can reduce barriers while improving compliance Where remote testing fits into today's recovery and healthcare landscape Whether you work in healthcare, behavioral health, addiction treatment, professional monitoring, compliance, or employee health, this episode provides an inside look at how technology is making drug testing more accessible while maintaining the standards organizations depend on. As monitoring programs continue to evolve, remote testing is helping improve convenience for participants while reducing administrative burden for organizations—without losing sight of accountability and compliance. More from Rxpert Solutions

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  Drug Diversion Insights with Terri Vidals

  Catching the Diversion Your Software Is Not Built to See

  Jul 22, 202634 min

  How do you build a single, standardized drug diversion program across a large health system when every hospital, infusion center, and outpatient location has developed its own processes? In this episode of Drug Diversion Insights , Terri welcomes Deepika Nayyar , Network Manager of Pharmacy Quality, Compliance, and Accreditation at Hackensack Meridian Health, to discuss the real-world challenges of implementing a system-wide diversion prevention program across diverse care settings. Deepika shares how her team evaluated existing practices, established baseline standards, and created a consistent approach to diversion prevention while recognizing the unique operational needs of inpatient hospitals, outpatient pharmacies, and infusion centers. The conversation also explores an often-overlooked area of diversion monitoring: medications with abuse potential that are not controlled substances . These medications frequently fall outside the capabilities of traditional diversion monitoring software, creating risks that require additional oversight, clinical expertise, and thoughtful auditing. In this episode, you'll learn: How to standardize a diversion program across multiple healthcare facilities Why diversion monitoring differs between inpatient and outpatient settings Strategies for monitoring medications with abuse potential beyond controlled substances The limitations of current diversion software and analytics Data elements that could improve diversion detection How medication safety and sterile compounding experience strengthen diversion prevention efforts Practical lessons from leading pharmacy quality, compliance, and accreditation across a large health system Whether you're a pharmacy leader, diversion specialist, compliance professional, medication safety officer, or healthcare executive, this episode provides practical insights for building a stronger, more consistent diversion prevention program. Technology plays an important role—but successful diversion prevention still depends on strong processes, critical thinking, and a culture of accountability. More from Rxpert Solutions

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