Program Director-Drug Diversion

Company Description

At Northwestern Medicine, every patient interaction makes a difference in cultivating a positive workplace. This patient-first approach is what sets us apart as a leader in the healthcare industry. As an integral part of our team, you'll have the opportunity to join our quest for better health care, no matter where you work within the Northwestern Medicine system. We pride ourselves on providing competitive benefits: from tuition reimbursement and loan forgiveness to 401(k) matching and lifecycle benefits, our goal is to take care of our employees. Ready to join our quest for better?

Job Description

The Program Director - Drug Diversion reflects the mission, vision, and values of NM, adheres to the organization’s Code of Ethics and Corporate Compliance Program, and complies with all relevant policies, procedures, guidelines and all other regulatory and accreditation standards.

The Program Director - Drug Diversion provides oversight and direction for the daily operations of the Drug Diversion Program across the NM Enterprise. The Diversion Program Director is accountable for all aspects of drug diversion education, prevention, monitoring, investigation and reporting across the Northwestern Medicine Health system.  The Program Director will have system visibility and will work with leaders and staff within various departments across the system to promote a safe care environment for Northwestern Medicine’s staff, trainees, patients, visitors and any other groups that could be impacted by drug diversion.

Responsibilities:

• Design, implement and lead a system-wide diversion prevention program alongside oversight group, including infrastructure, standardization of policies and protocols, reporting pathway, diversion education resources and governance.
• Develop and lead framework to ensure the effective prevention, detection, and mitigation of drug diversion risks.
• Collaborate with key stakeholders (e.g., medical staff, human resources) to ensure a consistent approach to the support resources for confirmed, aligned with NM’s Just Culture Algorithm, while ensuring patient and staff safety and well-being.
• Responsible for serving as the subject matter expert and facilitator for the System Drug Diversion Oversight Committee.
• Responsible for leading, directing and managing Drug Diversion Program personnel and ensuring team member engagement. 
• Provides leadership and actively participates in multidisciplinary education activities and establishment of best practices relating to drug diversion.
• Implements a comprehensive surveillance and auditing program for detection of drug diversion across the system, including oversight for any technology solutions
• Achieves results: Collaborates with system functions, business units, and procedural areas to ensure effective diversion prevention controls are in place for the purchasing, receiving, distribution, administration, wasting, and return of controlled substances.
• Deploys to locations when necessary to assist with drug diversion and/or DEA Compliance concerns.
• Monitors program effectiveness and achievement of goals through the development and tacking of diversion program KPIs
• Lead activities for the Drug Diversion program including, as necessary, budget development, resource allocation, management, information distribution, and meeting facilitation.
• Creates and maintains a system-wide drug diversion dashboard on institution-wide diversion-related data.
• Presents diversion-related metrics to Controlled Substances Oversight Committee and other stakeholders as appropriate.
• Coordinates and, as needed, participates in the investigation process of drug diversion incidents, and conducts risk rounds in high-risk areas.
• Ensures that internal and external regulatory reporting occurs in partnership with appropriate parties as required following each diversion event in alignment with policies.
• Demonstrates knowledge of institutional, departmental, program and project goals: Recommends solutions that add value, strengthen project or operational outcomes, and exhibits an understanding of sponsor or user needs. 
• Works collaboratively with all relevant departments and serves as a diversion resource for all staff.
• Presents institutional drug diversion reports and answer inquiries from senior leadership as requested to keep appraised of drug diversion prevention efforts across the system.
• Maintains current knowledge of relevant DEA, FDA, Department of Health, Boards of Pharmacy, Nursing, and Medicine, the Joint Commission (TJC), and EPA regulations related to controlled substance management and diversion.
• Serves as a liaison within the community and works cooperatively with other community organizations and leaders in