The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced on September 5, 2023, that a 32-year-old woman pleaded guilty to one count of Tampering with Consumer Products, which is punishable by up to 10 years of imprisonment, a fine up to $250,000.00, or both. On August 17, 2023, the United States Attorney’s Office filed an information that charged her with tampering with consumer products that affected interstate and foreign commerce, specifically fentanyl and hydromorphone, between, on, or about March 2022 and April 22, 2022. The charges arose from an investigation by the United States Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Office of Criminal Investigations and the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics.
At the plea hearing on August 31, 2023, the defendant admitted to stealing fentanyl and hydromorphone intended for patients while she was employed as a nurse at the intensive care unit (ICU) of a hospital. As part of her plea agreement, she confessed she removed the pain medication from their vials, refilled the empty vials with tap water, and returned the tampered vials to the controlled storage locker. She admitted she did so despite knowing the pain medication vials were intended for patients in acute pain and distress, and that by depriving patients of the medication, she knew she was placing them at risk of death and bodily injury.
“Patients rely on the knowledge that they will receive FDA-approved medications to manage their pain,” said Special Agent in Charge Charles L. Grinstead, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Kansas City Field Office. “We will continue to pursue and bring to justice healthcare professionals who jeopardize patients’ health by tampering with their pain medications.”
“Our healthcare system is built upon trust,” said US Attorney Christopher J. Wilson. “This office will not hesitate to prosecute healthcare workers who abuse that trust.”
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 (MNA) offers all clients three PowerPoint training programs in our new category of Substance Use. Visit MNA to access all three. Additionally, a program titled Drug Diversion – What Every Facility Needs to Know is available in the Fraud, Waste, and Abuse Category of MNA and is available to all Med-Net clients.
- 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.*
