Hundreds of hospitals use AI tools to identify drug diversion in their respective facilities, but a recent case at a Tennessee hospital highlights some of the shortcomings of this system, CBS News reported June 1.
Here are four things to know.
1. In 2025, a nurse at Chattanooga, Tenn.-based Erlanger Baroness Hospital was fired after administrators discovered he had used fentanyl left over after surgery, according to a Tennessee Board of Nursing consent order. During a review, leaders found the nurse had been diverting fentanyl for four months. An audit of his dispensing records found five instances when the AI, which was in its initial learning phase, should have flagged missing drugs but did not. The review also found “additional inconsistencies between drug dispensing and waste documentation that should have been flagged by the automated monitoring system,” CBS News reported.
2. Drug diversion, defined as unlawfully taking a controlled substance from healthcare facilities, is a widespread challenge in medical facilities. It is estimated that up to 15% of healthcare workers divert drugs at least once, according to the Healthcare Diversion Network. Diversions have been linked to 13 disease outbreaks since 1985, the CDC found. Hospitals must confidentially report lost or stolen drugs to the Drug Enforcement Administration; they also can also report stolen drugs to state health agencies.
3. In recent years, hospitals have increasingly turned to AI-powered medication-monitoring software to identify missing medications. A 2022 study found that Sentri7, a commonly used software, could identify drug diversion faster than existing methods, but said the AI was not able to find all cases of diversion.
4. Seven hundred hospitals use Wolters Kluwer’s Sentri7 Clinical Surveillance programs.
The hospital and software company didn’t respond to Becker’s request for comment.
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