A Sioux City, Iowa nurse who stole fentanyl, morphine, hydromorphone, and hydrocodone was sentenced to 9 months in federal prison on January 26, 2024. She must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term.
The nurse, age 32, from Sioux City, Iowa, had pleaded guilty on August 30, 2023, to one count of acquiring a controlled substance by means of misrepresentation, fraud, deception and subterfuge, and one count of false statements relating to healthcare matters.
Evidence in the case revealed that as early as April 2020, and continuing through August 2022, the nurse diverted controlled substances that were supposed to be dispensed to patients and kept them for her own personal use. She falsified documents on an almost weekly basis by omitting information from log entries designed to track the disbursement of controlled substances.
The nurse further admitted that in a “petty and vindictive” act of revenge, she stole vials of Benedryl after not receiving a promotion.
Compliance Perspective
Issue
Failure to prevent diversion of residents’ prescribed controlled medications by staff who sell or take the drugs for their personal use may be considered abuse, neglect, misappropriation, and fraud, in violation of state and federal regulations. Staff who divert medications have developed a number of ways to conceal diversion. Facilities should implement a proactive diversion-prevention program which identifies the types of medications most likely to be taken, signs that diversion has taken place, and signs of impairment.
Discussion Points
- Review your policies and procedures on preventing, identifying, and responding to drug diversion. Update as needed.
- Train appropriate staff on actions that can be taken to prevent, identify, and respond to any suspicion of drug diversion. Provide education on the impact of drug diversion on residents as a form of abuse and neglect, staff responsibility to report concerns immediately, and the consequences of theft of controlled substances. Document that the trainings occurred, and place the signed document in each employee’s education file. Med-Net Academy offers all clients three PowerPoint training programs in our new category of Substance Use. Visit MNA to access all three. Additionally, in the Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Category of MNA, a program titled Drug Diversion: What Every Facility Needs to Know is available for viewing by all clients.
- Periodically audit to ensure that all controlled substances are accounted for on each shift, and that proper documentation of controlled substances has occurred. Your consultant pharmacist can be included in this effort.
*This news alert has been prepared by Med-Net Concepts, LLC for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal advice.*
