Investigating Drug Diversions in Pharmacies

by Nicole Hackett, Student Public Relations Writer – February 24, 2020

Dr. Juanita Draime's research earns the Clinical Research Paper Award from the American Pharmacists Association for 2020.

Dr. Juanita A. Draime, assistant professor of pharmacy practice at Cedarville University, is the 2020 recipient of the Clinical Research Paper Award from the American Pharmacists Association (APhA).

Draime will attend the APhA annual meeting March 20-23 to accept her award. She will also serve as an alternate delegate representing the state of Ohio at APhA's House of Delegates.

Draime won with her paper “Description and comparison of medication diversion in pharmacies by pharmacists, interns, and pharmacy technicians.” It researched which pharmaceutical employees were participating in drug diversion, the act of giving any legally prescribed medication to someone else for illegal use.

— Juanita Draime

Her study identified 811 cases of drug diversion in nine different states. In nearly 75% of these cases, a pharmacy technician was the one diverting the medication.

“It is essential that the practice of pharmacy identifies and assesses strategies to reduce medication diversion,” said Draime. “Studies like this one help to bring awareness to the topic of diversion and show that pharmacists care about it by doing research that determines ways we can better address the issue and prevent medications from being diverted.”

Located in southwest Ohio, Cedarville University is an accredited, Christ-centered, Baptist institution with an enrollment of 4,380 undergraduate, graduate and online students in more than 150 areas of study. Founded in 1887, Cedarville is recognized nationally for its authentic Christian community, rigorous academic programs, including its Doctor of Pharmacy program, strong graduation and retention rates, accredited professional and health science offerings and high student engagement ranking. For more information about Cedarville University, visit www.cedarville.edu.