Jim Davis
James Davis has over 25 years of nursing experience, spanning longterm care, adult critical care, clinical decision support, education, nurse management, and infection prevention. Currently, he serves as Manager of Infection Prevention Control at ECRI, managing local, national, and international response and multidisciplinary teams, delivering actionable plans to mitigate or eliminate threats related to infectious pathogens. Mr. Davis has also worked at Abington Memorial Hospital (now Jefferson Abington); The Pennsylvania Patient Safety

Authority; and consulted with Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Wolters Kluwer. Mr. Davis has an active RN license in the state of Pennsylvania. He is board-certified in infection control and epidemiology (CIC) and holds certifications in healthcare environmental management (HEM) and adult critical care nursing (CCRN-K). He is a member of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Prevention (APIC), is an APIC Fellow (FAPIC), has served as President of the Philadelphia/Delaware Valley Chapter, and is a past Chair of APIC’s National Research Committee. Mr. Davis has provided educational programs on infection control topics for risk management groups and patient safety organizations, as well as for hospitals, long-term care facilities, and ambulatory surgery systems. He designed the second version of the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority’s long-term care healthcareacquired infection reporting system and analytics programs; he also developed tools and resources for healthcare facilities to translate and implement research into clinical practice as part of work for the Advisory, a peer-reviewed journal of the PA. Patient Safety Authority. Mr. Davis has authored multiple infection prevention and control articles and is published in several international peer reviewed journals. Mr. Davis holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Immaculata University and a Master of Science in nursing education from Gwynedd Mercy University.

Title:
Drug Diversion and Infection Prevention: When the Needle Hits the Vein
IPU Domain: Preventing/Controlling the Transmission of Infectious Agents

Description: The United States Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the American Nurses Association (ANA) report that about ten percent (10%) of health care workers abuse drugs, a rate that mimics the general population. The link between a single infection, cluster, or outbreak due to staff, visitors, and others diverting and abusing drugs within the healthcare continuum is often an unrecognized insidious risk for the development of infection. Furthermore, drug diversion techniques and facility culture may lead to drug diversion being unreported, underreported, or undiscovered. We will describe the connection between drug diversion and infection development, providing real world examples. Patient safety methodology and related forensics used to discover and mitigate drug diversion will also be discussed. Technologies used to guard against drug diversion will be critically reviewed pointing out the benefits and pitfalls of commonly deployed devices and systems. Techniques for surveilling drug diversion activities will be presented from a Pharmacist, Infection Preventionist, and clinical perspective. Participants will leave with the tools needed to influence existing drug diversion programs or begin the push for the development of a holistic drug diversion program encompassing the aspects of infection prevention and control.

Objectives:

1. Describe how drug diversion may increase the risk of a patient, resident, or staff member developing an infection, and contribute to an outbreak
2. List several methods/techniques a diverter may use to obtain drugs in the clinical setting
3. Define how the Infection Preventionist can team up with the Pharmacy, Clinical Informatics, Risk Management, and Patient Safety Departments to surveil for drug diversion