Drug diversion in hospitals exposes patients to infection

Health care workers diverting patients' pain medications for their own use have been linked to six infectious disease outbreaks over the last decade, putting thousands of patients at risk, according to a new report. The report published June 2 in Mayo Clinic Proceedings outlines infection outbreaks that have occurred in the past 10 years as a result of drug diversion -- the use of prescription drugs for unintended, illegal purposes -- committed by health care providers who stole or tampered with their patients' injectable medications. The report identified six infection outbreaks that occurred in hospital settings in eight states beginning in 2004.