Two nurses in Illinois and Florida have been charged with drug tampering and theft, law enforcement officials in those states recently announced.
In the first case, an Illinois nurse removed liquid morphine prescribed to a patient and diluted it with another liquid, knowing the diluted substance would be dispensed to the patient, according to a federal indictment unsealed in US District Court in Chicago on December 21, 2023.
The defendant was employed as a registered nurse at a skilled nursing facility. The indictment alleges that she tampered with the liquid morphine on May 16, 2021, with reckless disregard and extreme indifference for the risk that the patient would be placed in danger of bodily injury. She was charged with one count of tampering with a consumer product.
In the second case, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) arrested a hospital ICU nurse on December 21, 2023, after she stole 17 bags of fentanyl. On December 12, 2023, staff at the hospital reached out to HCSO detectives regarding an internal investigation involving the nurse. After a thorough investigation, it was discovered that she had been stealing 100 mL fentanyl IV bags dating back to October 2, 2023.
The investigation also revealed that the nurse was refilling the stolen IV bags with an unknown substance and putting the tampered bags back into circulation. She was charged with Trafficking in Fentanyl x17, and Grand Theft of Controlled Substance x17.
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.*
