A former registered nurse who worked in the emergency department of a Virginia hospital pleaded guilty to obtaining controlled substances, fentanyl, and hydromorphone, by fraud. According to court documents, the woman was licensed as a registered nurse by the Virginia Department of Health Professions Board of Nursing. On August 16, 2021, she began working in the emergency department of the hospital.
She admitted that in September 2021 she knowingly and intentionally entered fraudulent verbal orders for fentanyl and hydromorphone into the hospital’s electronic medical records system on behalf of physicians who did not issue the verbal orders. She then obtained the fentanyl and hydromorphone from the automated dispensing cabinet but did not administer the controlled substances to patients.
In addition, she admitted to unlawfully obtaining controlled substances fentanyl, hydromorphone, oxycodone, and alprazolam while working as a nurse at three Richmond-area healthcare facilities.
In total, across all facilities, she unlawfully obtained approximately 4,450 mcg of fentanyl, 80 mg of hydromorphone, 3,600 mg of oxycodone, and 14 mg of alprazolam.
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 drug diversion can have 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.
- Periodically audit to ensure that all controlled substances are accounted for 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.*
