Annual Conference Call for Proposals/Presentations

The International Health Facility Diversion Association (IHFDA) will hold its 9th Annual Conference September 30th – October 2nd, 2024, at The Westin Denver Downtown in Colorado.

Submission Deadline 3/1/24

IHFDA’s conference planning committee seeks abstracts for podium, poster, and panel presentations that address topics on diversion, risk management, quality practice, and guidelines/processes used to increase the knowledge and skills of all professionals and promote the development of knowledge and expertise among professionals. Proposals on any major topic related to healthcare facility diversion are welcome for consideration. Presentations that have been previously presented at IHFDA or another professional conference should not be submitted for consideration. Presentations on projects that are in progress should only be submitted for consideration if all data collection will be completed prior to July 2024 in order to be ready for presentation in the fall at the conference.

ABSTRACT TOPICS MAY INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO:

  • General healthcare facility drug diversion topics such as: diversion specialist or drug diversion team related topics, KPIs, and program goals/outcomes
  • High risk settings (OR, ambulatory surgery centers, procedural areas, ICU, ED, etc.)
  • Diversion monitoring and risks within community and retail pharmacies associated with healthcare facilities
  • Case presentations of specific diversion events
  • Public health and patient safety consequences of diversion
  • Personal stories of diversion or impacts of diversion on one’s life/career
  • Employment monitoring and reentry oversight; peer support programs
  • Improvement initiatives and research related to diversion prevention or medication security and related practice
  • Legislative/policy content or guideline/policy development
  • Legal issues related to diversion programming, investigations, contracting or other relevant topics
  • Role of interdisciplinary team involvement in diversion investigations (i.e. risk management, legal, security, patient safety, occupational health, compliance, privacy)
  • Monitoring of traveling nurses, pharmacy staff, providers and others; education provided, contracting language, etc.
  • Patient notification and testing after tampering and substitution
  • Special request for panelists to discuss the following topics:
  • Bloodborne pathogen testing
  • Random and for cause drug testing programs: costs and outcomes, resources required, program logistics
  • Re-entry to workforce programs
  • Organizational definitions and implementation of “significant loss” reporting
  • Experience with DEA or FDA audits/investigations

We cannot accept proposals for company-specific products, services, topics, etc. to comply with the accreditation requirements for CME, CE, and ACPE education allocations.

PRESENTATION CONTENT LEVEL

Presentations should be classified to assist in determining the content level of materials to be presented. The levels will help the planning committee determine if we have sufficient content for multi-tracked sessions. Please choose only one of the following levels that best describes your presentation content.

BEGINNER/NOVICE LEVEL CONTENT– content helpful for individuals/organizations who are just beginning their program or have not yet set up a program. Basic guidance on program development, role/scope, policies & processes for a diversion program.

COMPETENT LEVEL CONTENT– content goes beyond basic components of a program and discuss challenges or successes with diversion monitoring or investigating or other related content. Presentations are focused on outcomes or solutions when possible. Case presentations likely fit best in this category.

EXPERT LEVEL CONTENT – content focused on complex topics, analytics, trending, policy/legislation, multi-disciplinary interventions, improvement efforts, visioning for future progress, etc. Presentations do not need to include standard diversion content or data supporting why the work is important as the audience should already be familiar.

TYPE OF PRESENTATION

PODIUM – Session should include ample information to fill 45-50 minutes of speaking time, with the remainder of the time for audience questions and discussion.

PANEL – Must consist of at least three speakers from different organizations or with different viewpoints or programs to address a specific topic of interest. Submission can be made by a single person or organization, and the committee will determine if it is able to recruit additional panel members to join. However, group submissions consisting of three potential panel members or more will be given priority for consideration by reviewers. Each panelist will have a short time frame to present and then the entire panel will address questions and engage in a facilitated discussion with the audience. Panels will typically run for 1-1.5 hours.

POSTER – Poster topics should include sufficient information to allow the committee to determine their content, relevance, background data and outcomes if appropriate.

ABSTRACT SUBMISSIONS

Abstract submissions need to include the following information/description in Word Document format:

  • The title of the presentation
  • The name/s of each presenter, their title, email address, phone number, and affiliation
  • An abstract describing the subject matter of the presentation in 250-500 words, which should include the following sections: background/introduction methods/purpose results/outcomes conclusions/discussion

HELPFUL HINTS, REGARDLESS OF SUBMISSION TYPE

  • The audience will understand basic practice. Presenters are discouraged from spending presentation time on definitions or general diversion principles unless they are specifically the focus of the presentation or the content is submitted for the beginner/novice track.
  • If you are describing a type of practice used at your institution, please provide specific descriptions, this helps the audience get the full picture of the work being done and resonates more with the competent and expert learners.
  • Ensure references are relevant and up to date – any reference 10 years or older will be questioned by our continuing education provider.
  • Submissions, once approved for presentation, must be submitted to the IHFDA conference portal up to four weeks prior to the start of the conference in Power Point format and follow the rules of accredited education. A standard disclaimer slide should be included in your slides with your pre-conference materials.

INQUIRIES & ACCEPTANCE NOTIFICATION

Questions concerning the conference, or the proposal submission process should be directed to IHFDA educational planning committee at: submissions@ihfda.org

All attempts will be made to notify presenters of acceptance by April 2024. Presenters must confirm their intent to present within 30 days of notification. Presenters must also complete required disclosures, submission of bio & photo, and upload their presentations for review prior to the conference as directed by the conference planning committee or IHFDA board.

Accepted poster presenters will be responsible for registering and paying for the full conference fee and all necessary travel expenses. Accepted podium and panel presenters will have their conference fee waived but will be responsible for their own travel expenses. Invited keynote speakers will receive a monetary stipend to assist with travel expenses, 1-2 nights of hotel coverage, and will have their conference fee waived.

Submit Proposal / Presentation Here