While street drugs remain popular, an influx of new prescription pain medications in the late 1990s helped to fuel an opioid epidemic that killed 50,000 Americans in 2019 alone. 14. allnurses, LLC, 175 Pearl St Ste 355, Brooklyn NY 11201 You need to change yesterday. Illinois dentist accused of diverting patients' anesthesia drug for personal use Phillip Jensen, 61, was arrested Monday on eight counts of drug diversion, eight counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud, one count of tampering with consumer products, and three counts of false statements related to health care matters. Nurses have emotional attachments to patients that they see die. Posted in Registered Nurses, THE PROBLEM OF FALSE AND MISLEADING ACCUSATIONS AGAINST MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS. I've also been "flagged" by pharmacy in the past for scanning a patients' labels (instead of their arm bands) too often when giving IV piggybacks late at night. Since 1997, allnurses is trusted by nurses around the globe. False accusations and gossip can destroy lives, even if the accused is innocent. Prospective clients may not obtain the same or similar results. 1-612-816-8773. allnurses Copyright allnurses.com LLC. 248.644.6324, 5250 Lankershim Blvd.Ste. 1 Article; Design: Artsteez, THE PROBLEM OF FALSE ACCUSATIONS AGAINST NURSES. var sellablestring = "MONITOR STAFF"; The nurse rightfully refused HPRP treatment, but her nursing license was suspended as a result. Pharmacists can make mistakes that mean life or death. In this instance it helps to have a lawyer. Before the facility started the annual training, Leon caught at least one diverter a month. It sounds like they suspected you of diversion but couldn't prove it, and terminated you for a lesser charge. Taking data such as medicine cabinet access, shift hours, time to waste, and departmental access allows software to identify anomalies, such as a nurse whose time to waste is often high, or a doctor who accesses patients files after they have been discharged. It is at this stage that your attorney gets to argue your case. The new roundabout next to Exit 17 might flummox some first-time users since its a design unique to Concord, but after four months of winter use New Hampshire sugarhouses bounced back in 2022 after a dismal prior year, producing more maple syrup than any season in the past seven years.The U Kerry Bridges (right) sits next to her attorney, Jim Moir, in Concords district court on Tuesday. Perhaps you failed to properly waste a med. 1,509 Posts. Illinois dentist accused of diverting patients' anesthesia drug for personal use. Specializes in Med nurse in med-surg., float, HH, and PDN. Accused of Diverting Drugs. (NICK REID / Monitor staff) Recently I applied and interviewed at an ER local to me here in Pa, the interview went fantastic and I was very excited. If you did not divert, you have no business in the Diversion program and this is NOT an effective or easy way to avoid the hassle or expense of the BRN or potential discipline. During this time, youve hopefully found a new job and are being absolutely fastidious about your charting. Think real hard about the names you put down for references. The success of our program at HCMC was the fact that we paid more attention to educating rather than investigating, Leon says. There is no overarching agency or organization that records every instance of drug diversion in the United States. HOSPITAL ADMINISTRATORS SOMETIMES DONT TELL THE TRUTH. South African nurse wants to work in Canada. I work on a really busy floor and I often have pulled out a pain med in expectation that the patient will ask for it, though when I go into their room, they are sleeping or don't want it at that time. I thought I was being nice, but it wasn't the safest practice. Hayes details the path of drugs through a hospital: a pharmacy technician orders the medication from a wholesaler, who will deliver them to the hospital pharmacy. If a facility loses its DEA registration, it cannot dispense controlled substances. To restock the shelves, pharmacy technicians compile lists of what medications they are low on to send to the wholesalers at the end of each day. Department of Justice investigator Mark Myrdek (left) sits on the stand. To be honest - your facility is right to raise red flags on you as your behavior is similar to people who divert medications. The jury's award came after the criminal charges were dropped seven months after being filed and a letter was sent by the State Attorney's office stat-ing she had been cleared of suspicion. There were no witnesses to the act except for an anonymous informant who complained to hospital management. Need Your Opinion About Medical Emergency. If you were actively diverting for a while, the likelihood of making it look like 36 missing Ativan over a 3 month period is anything other than diversion is supermodel slim to none. Specializes in Critical Care, Med-Surg. I was falsely accused of drug diversion. That's where all the bogus charges came from. This is because they DONT WANT PROOF that you WERENT DIVERTING! I know your aware moving forward you will pull pts meds when you are about to administer them; you will have to prioritize what needs to be done afterwards-if you are able to delegate, so be it, if not during staffing, learn to cluster care and try to be mindful to anticipate who needs meds, what pts may need what supplies if they are having frequent code browns, what can a confused pt have as activities to help prevent a fall, etc., so you won't feel the need to carry meds on your person when your pt doesn't need them; ask for assistance as far as strategies for seasoned coworkers as well. Our mission is to Empower, Unite, and Advance every nurse, student, and educator. Unfortunately, experts acknowledge that most diverters dont get caught until they have been diverting for so long they start to get sloppy. Yes, you may well be "flagged" in their system as a "Do not hire". She said she routinely visited the break room to grab a snack, check her cell phone or use the staff restroom inside, which she assumed was cleaner than the public ones. I am a physician who has been falsely accused of drug diversion, given mandatory fmla and inpatient addiction evaluation versus being fired. PUBLISHED: November 17, 2012 at 12:00 a.m. | UPDATED: September 11, 2018 at 12:00 a.m. A state licensing board and the Attorney General"s Office have accused a vocational nurse of diverting . Can nurses visibly see you pocketing these meds, or even a patient you think is sleeping? Sounds like, at a minimum, you ARE guilty of poor judgement and bad nursing practice. Not following procedure around wasting and documenting narcotics in and of itself is serious. When Circumstances Lead To False Or Exaggerated Accusations . allnurses is a Nursing Career & Support site for Nurses and Students. Cichon notes that many hospitals throughout the country have no plan in place to actively look for diverters. Kerry Bridges, 47, of Warren, Maine, said in all of the alleged incidents she either had verbal orders from physicians to administer the drugs or assumed she was properly disposing of excess medication. By using the site you agree to our Privacy, Cookies, and Terms of Service Policies. (NICK REID / Monitor staff), Support the We successfully negotiated an arrangement to permit immediate reinstatement of the RNs license following assessment by a mental health professional deeming our client safe with probation. If you were only warned, it sounds like your manager is trying to give you a gentle warning nudge to change your practice. You find out 60 days or six months later, or you dont see that pattern emerge by just using one or two data sets. Choosing a specialty can be a daunting task and we made it easier. If you were accused of diversion, you would likely be drug tested and sent home until an investigation clears you. Has 42 years experience. She has no criminal record. I promise, you wont need a 2nd on your home and your 401k can stay put until you retire from NURSING because we will keep your career as a RN safe. Kasey Leigh Travis has been charged with six counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud or deceit, failure to make keep or furnish records, furnishing false or fraudulent information and. The DEA doesnt regulate the personnelthats up to the state and the facility. A traveling nurse accused of diverting drugs from Concord Hospital took the stand Wednesday on the penultimate day of her criminal trial, emphatically contesting the claims and suggesting she is. (Jeremy Blackman can be reached at 369-3319, jblackman@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @JBlackmanCM.). //var LBtag_id = document.getElementById('buylinkLBBridgesTestimony-CM-051916,ph02'); USA, Whos Liable for an Active Shooter Incident? Please spend some time reading the Diversion section of the blog, for more information. Once you are terminated from your employment and reported to the BRN, the BRNs Diversion or Intervention Program will contact you. Later . They MUST! If a 300-bed hospital is finding one person a month, and Hospital B has the same amount of staff and beds and is finding nothing, NADDI has been providing training for hospitals to develop antidiversion policies. Has 8 years experience. Please spend some time reading the Diversion section of the blog, for more information. Fast forward to your recent interview in a different health care system. You were cleared of everything, yet it's all coming back and keeping you from getting hired. Has 4 years experience. The statistics Ive seen at hospitals that are being proactive and looking at this are finding at least one person a month who is diverting drugs in their facility. This study guide will help you focus your time on what's most important. How many times have you had things spill out of your pockets when pulling out a pen or bending over or something? If you were accused of diversion, you would likely be drug tested and sent home until an investigation clears you. House Beautiful. Our mission is to Empower, Unite, and Advance every nurse, student, and educator. Since 1997, allnurses is trusted by nurses around the globe. Kristen Ashley (Goodreads Author) (shelved 3 times as falsely-accused) avg rating 4.41 38,248 ratings published 2011. . Copyright 2023 RN Guardian, All rights reserved. Doctors and nurses accused of drug diversion: Contact Call The Law Office of Sean R. Dingle, LLC, in Denver, to learn how to protect your professional license. Carrying it around in your pocket is just asking for trouble. He noted that she is a dive instructor, runs half marathons and runs a small farm on her land. The patients were well-known to me and would have had to be woken up over and over to be scanned. Theres a lot of people investigators really suspected were diverters but had to be chalked up to sloppy practice due to a lack of concrete evidence, so any statistic is talking about known diverters who are fired for diversion, she tellsSecurity Management. There is too much at stake to try to represent yourself. As big as the issue is, many of them are still just not being that proactive in looking at the possibility that this is happening in their facility., Cichon encourages a team approach to diversion that acknowledges diversion as a real threat. We were successful in achieving both of these goals. Areas of Law:Nursing License DefenseDrug DiversionSummary Suspension of Nursing LicenseAdministrative Hearings and ComplaintsHealth Professionals Recovery Program (HPRP). There are different drugs today, of course, than there were 20 years ago.. At this point, Leon knew exactly what was going on, and watched with increasing alarm as the nurse headed to a patients room in the orthopedic area of the hospital. Wholesalers can even stop the flow of medication to pharmacies if they believe diversion is occurringwhich can be disastrous to a trauma center, Hayes notes. I think the combination is almost deadly.. Alexandria, Virginia 22314-2882 When selecting an administrative law or criminal law attorney, it is vital to select counsel skilled in trial and administrative hearing practice, as victory can only be achieved after a hearing or trial. You may be fired for failure to comply, but heres a news flash: if youre suspected of diverting, youre going to be fired anyway. Weve made it our career to save yours. Allegations of diversion always stem from charting issues, always. So what should you do if faced with an accusations concerning your charting errors and or alleged diversion of narcotics or other drugs? There are many ways in which drugs can be diverted in a pharmacy setting, including: Falsifying orders to cover for missing meds Stealing medication from drug storage areas Creating fake medication orders for personal use This puts the person who is being accused in a difficult spot: There is no proof of a crime, yet . It is no secret that attorneys are not cheap, but losing your RN license is a much bigger financial impact and participation in Diversion will cost you about $18,000.00 over the three or more years you are stuck in it. Being condemned as guilty evoked the shame of being falsely accused, disrespected, and bad. Once a drug is outside of the closed loop, when it gets dispensed from a pharmacy or administered by a doctor, its no longer in the purview of DEA rules and regulations, he explains. Healthcare providers are in very stressful jobs, Hayes says. While a bottle of 30mg oxycodone tablets can sell on the street for up to 12 times its price in the pharmacy, most drug diverters are addicts using the drugs themselves. Perhaps you were falsely accused as a result of the appearance of wrongdoing that was misconstrued by an observer. This seems crazy because if you are being accused of diverting meds, wouldnt the employer want to prove that those medications were in your system? Concord Monitor. Primary Issue:A Michigan nurse was accused of drug diversion for allegedly diverting a large amount of narcotics by stealing them and carrying drugsout of the building. Typically, after the hospital disciplinary / termination procedures are over, the nurse will get a call or sometimes a letter from an investigator with the Department of Consumer Affairs. Drug/alcohol abuse; Gross negligence/incompetence, resulting in patient endangerment; Patient abuse and neglect; Sexual, violent, or abusive offenses; . Wholesalers. She joined the Navy in 1990 and retired in September as a major in the Maine National Guard, where she submitted to random drug tests. Bridges was accused of misconduct in 2014 by Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, but it was never raised Wednesday in court. Murphy, who worked for the DEA for 25 years, now helps companies follow mandates he calls vague and difficult to interpret. For example, DEA requires anyone carrying controlled substances to report the theft or significant loss of any controlled substance within one business day of discovery., This hospital had 13 vials of morphine that went missing and someone called me in to find out why, Hayes says. Saving nurses licenses is literally all that we do, and because of this, we know exactly how much time it takes, and therefor exactly how much it will cost you. I know thats the standard practice, and thats what we strive to do, she told prosecutor Brooke Belanger, but as youve heard others testify, that doesnt always happen., Bridgess attorney, Jim Moir, criticized the hospital and state investigators for never reaching out to Bridges for explanations before arresting her in Maine and labeling her a fugitive from justice.. Chairperson of White Collar Defense & Government Investigations, Michigan Office1441 W. Long Lake Road, Suite 310Troy, MI 48098Phone:(248) 644-6326. Placing a narc in your pocket can be grounds for immediate dismissal. I am so upset and frustrated since my manager recently told me that the pharmacy put me on an alert list for possible medication diversion. Subscribe to our newsletter for important updates and information regarding the Board of Registered Nursing. Cichon cautions that some hospitals hoping to avoid bad press and DEA scrutiny may look for loopholes. Choosing a specialty can be a daunting task and we made it easier. Listen to what they have to say and then please hang up. Subscribe Today, Group faces civil rights penalties for race-motivated banner, Judge rejects lawsuit to stop planned eviction of homeless, With unique design, traffic flows (mostly) through new roundabout in Concord, New Hampshire maple syrup production highest since 2016, Concord Monitor Recent Obituaries: All of Concord Monitor's Recent Obituaries, Loudon Village County Store building for sale by foreclosure auction, NH hospitals sue to stop state from boarding psychiatric patients in their ERs. He tellsSecurity Managementthat he would call in a sheriffs detective to interview the suspect. Protect yourself and do not give the employer or the future BRN investigation all they need to unequivocally prove diversion. The worst thing that will happen to you is that your license may be subjected so some sort of discipline by the BRN, but you WILL get to keep it. I was wondering if anyone has any experience of being falsely accused of med diversion due to giving meds 1-2 hours after pulling them out of the pyxis. This may be the case with some law firms, but it is not the case with us. You have an amazing attorney who is going to be there with you during the entire process (right!?!?!?) When prescription medicines are obtained or used illegally, it is called drug diversion. I am a registered nurse accused of narcotic diversion even after dividing a negative drug screen. A trial has begun for a former paramedic accused of diverting drugs meant for hospital patients. For more on investigations, click here. Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 52 people in the United States die every day from overdosing on prescription painkillers. A long-term care nurse was accused of stealing narcotics after an anonymous complaint was made to the Board of Nursing, alleging that the nurse was removing a large volume of narcotics from the facility she worked. Rather than return the med immediately, I hold onto it until they need it so I am prepared for the next time. The people who are your real problem are the people who are hiding in the weeds, not doing enough to get caught, and those are the ones you want to find, Mitchell says. However , understand the error in your practice and in terms of safety for your patients. There are only so many DEA diversion investigators, so they have to prioritize what they get involved with, Murphy says. It takes 12 hours for an interview. Drug diversion by nurses can begin with a nurse misusing drugs as a pain killer followed by repeated, follow-up use as drug tolerance increases and ultimately, as an addicted user. Regardless of the reason, if you are a pharmacist who is accused of either of these violations, it can result in disciplinary action against your license by the California State Board of Pharmacy (CBP). These se things can all lead to you either losing the med or actually being accused of diversion. Click the link below to download our compliance eBook now! Disclaimer:This information is a sample of our past results. I was heartbroken as I really wanted this position! Maybe in can be shown by other witness testimony that he had the drugs.The only way a warrantcan be out for your arrest is ifa Complaint was filed. Its not doing the wrong thingyoure helping them, and thats the message we sent out. There is no overarching agency or organization that records every instance of drug diversion in the United States. The Board accepted the ALJs proposed decision and dismissed the entire drug diversion complaint. It is literally worth millions of dollars. This complaint / report initiates a disciplinary investigation. We found out through the course of investigations that if someone resigns and was not sanctioned it may not be a reportable action, he says. He called the doctor and the nurse into the hall and explained that the patient had just gotten saline and still needed the proper pain medication because the nurse had diverted the hydromorphone in the medication room. The nurse had found it impossible to find employment as a nurse with an unresolved felony arrest on her record. tampering and narcotics diversion. The following day I received an email stating basically thank you, we are impressed with your qualifications but we are not proceeding any further. I can personally tell you that I dealt with the same issues 15 or 20 years ago that the healthcare arena is facing today, specifically in the drug abuse and diversion by their own hospital healthcare employees, says Charlie Cichon, executive director of the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators (NADDI) and a member of the ASIS International Pharmaceutical Security Council. If they cant prove diversion, but can only prove a few charting errors, you are in much better shape. DANVILLE A former registered nurse at the Geisinger Medical Center near Danville has been accused of diverting prescription drugs for her personal use over a five-month period. 1-612-816-8773. allnurses Copyright allnurses.com LLC. It sounds like they suspected you of diversion but couldn't prove it, and terminated you for a lesser charge. 1700 Glendale, CA 91203 | 1-818-501-8600Copyright 2010-2012 Spiga & Associates. This is a horrible catch 22 in which to find yourself because you are faced with only 2 outcomes as the BRN sees it: 1.) Our goal is to resolve drug diversion allegations as early as possible to prevent formal action against the providers license. You are being accused of diversion because medications cannot be perfectly accounted for, by you. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has also brought charges against California pharmacists for violating the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act ("CMEA") portion of the CSA citing diversion of a significant amount of controlled substances, failure to control the pharmacies' inventory of . He also notes the importance of following up internally on each diversion case and figuring out what went wrong, and adjusting procedures to address any lapses. Controlled Substances Actafter committing record-keeping and dispensing violations that allowed millions of doses of controlled substances to enter the black market. Good luck to you. *For licenses in other states, please visit TAANA. chris camozzi musician. Are you sure it was hydromorphone? and she was insisting she had, Leon says. Fast forward to your recent interview in a different health care system. What got me on this path of prevention was observing the nurses as they would admit to what they did, he explains. Has 10 years experience. 6. Susan Hayes has been a private detective for healthcare facilities for more than a decade and says the opioid epidemic has magnified the drug diversion problem in recent years. Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac. No accusations from patients. Mitchell points out that any statistic derived from officially collected data still wouldnt accurately reflect the extent of drug diversion in the United States. Consider taking legal action. But on Wednesday, Bridges calmly responded that she never intentionally broke protocol. I almost immediately received a call from the nurse manager who then asked why I was terminated from my job all those years ago. Find out your top seven security news stories, delivered to your inbox weekly, and powered by ASIS International. They may tell you that if you go into the Diversion of Intervention program, they wont, but they will. Case Study 1: A licensed nurse in Providence, R.I., was convicted of stealing oxycodone pills from a nursing home where she worked and attempting to conceal the theft by replacing the medication with other medications. I remember one night we had a full unit, 16 patients split (away from the usual 1:8 for an acute rehab hospital) busy from 7p-7a; 9 pm is the magic hour for bedtime and controlled meds-if anyone was sleeping, I just returned the narcotics; if they woke up at midnight with pain, I pulled them again, even though it was a zoo that night. You are not following protocol. Bottom line is do not talk about your case to them without a lawyer present. People who are falsely accused tend to get angry --which makes others believe that they are indeed guilty. Our members represent more than 60 professional nursing specialties. That doesnt help. Prosecutors say doctors never signed off on the orders Bridges claims they gave her, and insist her behavior over the five weeks she worked in the hospitals emergency department was suspicious. They asked me, Are 13 vials substantial or not? 1 Article; I didn't take my stimulant the day of my follow-up because it was my day off, and I stupidly thought my doctor would prescribe me something else that same day. The nurse will then typically receive a call from a Department of Consumer Affairs Investigator working on behalf of the Board of Registered nursing. Cardinal Health, Walgreens supplier, was charged $34 million for failing to report suspicious sales of painkillers. The information provided has not been reviewed or approved by the StateBar. You thought I just told you that Diversion was not a good choice, but its seeming pretty great to you now! Change your practice habits to keep your job and your license. They pull out meds and "hold" them or document as given but take them themselves or take them home. She recalled having been told eating at the nurses stations was against protocol. Specializes in Emergency, Telemetry, Transplant. you didnt. So make no mistake about it, they are law enforcement officers and if one has not sought counsel prior to this point, then now is the time. Chapman Law Group has a team of attorneys skilled in representing licensed health professionals in state, federal, and administrative courts during trials and administrative hearings. We had a nurse who was highly suspected of diverting, he says. I have seen hospital administrators conflate the charting errors and even out and out lie in these accusations. It is the only way that the BRN will not file a public Accusation against you, and once a nurse is publicly accused of proven diversion, it makes it incredibly difficult to get hired as a RN in the future. Both of these options are violations of the Nurse Practice Act and cause for revocation of your RN license. Would it be worth emailing HR to plead my case? This is where things can turn ugly for the RN accused of diverting medication, but who didnt. Please Note: The statements and information provided on this website are for informational purposes only. Your employer will also probably not require a drug test. Healthcare providers who steal prescription medicines or controlled substances such as opioids for their own use put patients at risk. Unless you haven't been completely forthcoming, then there's something shady going on. The doctor went to properly treat the patient and Leon called the nurse manager and the local sheriffs detective in to begin an official investigation into the nurses actions. Look, these individuals are not bad individuals. However, DEA does not get involved in every suspected case of diversion. She stresses the importance of constantly mixing up the personnel who order and stock medications. A facility that identifies a diversion problem might bring in any combination of players, from private investigators and local law enforcement to state accreditation boards or the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). I worked in an ER as an LPN from 2000-2007, graduated RN and began my RN career at the same ER in 2007 until I was terminated in 2009. The paper record was never found, but Bridges said it would not have been the first time that the hospital lost one of her paper records in translation, she said. Has 14 years experience. Nov 21, 2018. So I wasted the medication myself down the drain, and my job went with it. Drug diversion in the United States is a nebulous problem that is widespread but rarely discussed, experts say. Human resources, pharmacy personnel, security, everyone is being brought into this investigation, because the bigger picture is patient safety. Prosecutors will continue cross-examine Bridges today. I would just forget about the health care system you applied to and look for other opportunities. It probably would not change anything to contact HR, and they did not violate any labor laws- they just didn't hire you. var tag_id = document.getElementById('buylinkBridgesTestimony-CM-051916,ph02'); The nurse held up the saline syringe and wasted the required amount, tricking her fellow nurse, and left the room. , ASIS International This is something that is probably happening but were not finding it, he says. We get a glowing testimonial from your new supervisor. Do not pocket or store anymore drugs in anticipation of needing them later. Recommended Stories. Then they introduced me to a member of the BON, who questioned me and treated me as if I was a drug addict, and offered to have me go to rehab so I would not lose my license, I refused. Nearly 8,000 people in eight states needed hepatitis tests after . our Last Nursing Class: How to Land Your First Nursing Job"and your next! Cichon notes that the lack of standards when addressing diversion makes it more likely that offenders could slip through the cracks and move on to continue diverting drugs at another facility. Three nurses indicted this week in Warren County are accused of stealing opioids from their patients for their own use, according to authorities. Expectations Are Changing]. Result:After successfully arguing our case, the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) promptly dissolved the summary suspension of the clients nursing license that day and delivered a favorable proposal to the Board of Nursing. HPRP attempted to force the nurse into treatment despite the fact that she did not need it. Phillip Jensen, 61, was arrested Monday on eight counts of drug diversion, eight counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud, one count of tampering with consumer products, and three . If you are wrongly accused, cooperate with the investigation. Drug and Alcohol Complaints Before the Missouri Board of Nursing Allegations involving drugs or alcohol are among the most common reasons nurses receive complaints from the Board of Nursing. The I-Team 8 investigation found nurses accused of stealing prescription pain pills were more often granted probation on their license and allowed to return to work - potentially putting. With the cameras I was able to show that she wasnt diverting, just being sloppy. In one alleged incident, Bridges said she withdrew 100 micrograms of fentanyl, went to the bathroom, then administered half of the drug and disposed of the rest, sending a paper copy of the disposal to a separate department. A single addicted health care worker who resorts to "drug diversion," the official term for stealing drugs, can endanger thousands. If we allow this person to resign rather than take action against him, then we dont have to report it.. These Accusations always call for revocation of the RN license, but in the thousands of cases we have defended, this has happened only twice to our clients (remember that earlier, super- subtle plug about the amazing attorney?) Allegations of diversion always stem from charting issues, always. It is a charge that should be taken very seriously. Under a plea bargain, a defendant agrees to plead guilty in exchange for some benefit, such as a reduced sentence or lesser charge. A few weeks later I received a letter from the BON stating basically that they did not find any reason to discipline me and that my license was in good standing! This act is illegal and opens up offenders to criminal prosecution, including those related to felony charges. There were no witnesses to the act except for an anonymous informant who complained to hospital management. Indirect questions help you as they mean the accuser has to reflect on their own behavior. you diverted 2.) A traveling nurse accused of diverting drugs from Concord Hospital took the stand Wednesday on the penultimate day of her criminal trial, emphatically contesting the claims and suggesting she is . Prescription drug use by medical personnel and drug diversion by health care providers has risen to epidemic proportions and become a significant public health issue. Karen MD started YouTube channel to bash nurses and NP. The closest estimates of drug diversion rates come from people or organizations who dig up the numbers themselves. You have nothing to hide, so don't hide yourself. I was ultimately terminated for documenting issues. You have to keep those investigative skills up, but you have to spend equal amount of time on prevention and awareness.. If youre both ordering and putting away drugs, thats a bad thing because you can order six bottles when you only need five and keep one for yourself, Hayes notes. 7. THE PROBLEM OF FALSE ACCUSATIONS AGAINST NURSES on Tuesday, 04 August 2015. Every case is different and each case must be evaluated and handled on its own merits. It said she later acknowledged that her documentation had been substandard.. 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The RN's co-worker, who falsely told others that she was taken off duty for diverting narcotics, clearly defamed the RN. Having support is essential when you're accused of something that you haven't done. These investigators are police officers with all the rights and abilities of police officers to conduct an investigation. Review the policy.Pharmacy has a protocol that THEY must follow. Did your manager write you up for this.. or simply make you aware that you cannot walk around with a narc in your pocket? Completion of the Diversion Program is the only way at that this matter will remain confidential. Maybe his prints are on the container in which the drugs were found. If you are diverting medication you need to get help. I have known a nurse who would fill the medication vial with normal saline after taking out the narcotics and injected the normal saline while injecting the drug im into herself. Nurse Sentenced in Drug Diversion and Tampering Scheme. During both hearings, we were able to successfully cross-examine HPRP representatives, the clients evaluators, and fact witnesses, as well as provide favorable character testimony on behalf of our client. The only reason for this is because I have pulled out morphine at times and not given it until 1-2 hours later. notice of intent to sell property; what kind of gun will kill a grizzly bear The goal is to identify these people as quickly as possible so they are no longer a risk to themselves or the patients or anyone they work with.. Protect it! Do I really need to fill out the form? I counsel them on whats substantial because the language is very loose.. There can also be false negatives because an opioid is simply prescribed in too low of a dose to be detected. God forbid it falls out in front of another nurse, or you take it home, or you lose it, you are going to be in a world of trouble. who 'always' asks for the PRN right at the moment it is due, I would not pull it out. 941.893.3449, 701 Waterford WaySuite 340Miami, FL 33126T. Reported incidents of diversion at about 1,200 VA facilities jumped from 272 in 2009 to 2,926 in 2015, the data revealed, and the VA inspector general has opened more than 100 criminal investigations since last October. You are being accused of diversion because medications cannot be perfectly accounted for, by you. The patient was still screaming in pain and the doctor was frantically asking the nurse, Are you sure you got the right dosage? Immediately. The employer also may be named in the defamation suit under the theory of Respondeat superior. Bridges testified that she was never once questioned by hospital officials about the discrepancies or given the chance to submit to a drug test. Has 16 years experience. This can result in several types of patient harm, including: Staff have said she showed no outward signs of drug use. The scope and frequency of drug diversion is almost impossible to grasp, due in large part to how diversion cases are addressed. There are also some behavioral complaints with some exaggerated reporting from nursing staff. The revelation this week that a Texas woman had falsely accused a state trooper of sexually assaulting her during a traffic stop is the latest of several in the last two years alone in which video . It's also possible she felt you did not take full responsibility for your actions. HR continues to harras me and even mention that my director could have given me a heads up 2 hours before I was to report in for a meeting in which I knew nothing about. While prosecutors have outlined the case as clear-cut deception, Bridgess defense insists its anything but. Well gee, did you ever notice that John drives a Mercedes and has two boats and a house on Long Island? Drug diversion is a multifactorial and multidisciplinary issue, particularly involving pharmacy, nursing and medical staff. In fact, Moir tried to show jurors Wednesday that there is no reason to believe Bridges has any history of drug use. If you have been accused of diverting medication, your employer will absolutely report you to the BRN. Nicole Irmer | Posted in News on December 8, 2021. But dont turn to the impairment program first do this instead. False accusations can cause a lingering sense of damage, or can push a relationship into a crisis. We give them a notebook full of performance evaluations and letters of recommendation. Instead, they insist she was unfairly and haphazardly targeted, and that the case exposes the serious flaws of an emergency department that still depends on paper records and whose administrators dont realize how divergent policy and practice become in the rush of the job. When prospective employers are doing reference checks, who are they calling? The nurse was terminated, referred to HPRP, and a complaint was lodged with theState of Michigan, Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA). Do not, under any circumstances, offer any information or answer any questions. var photocredit = photocredit.toUpperCase(); There isn't any medication missing. NEW! These investigators investigate all kinds of complaints regarding all kinds of professions and they are not experts in medical charting or the Nursing Practices Act. Those are the highly frustrating results of a new study from researchers at Harvard.. The Associated Press used government-obtained data in its investigations on drug diversion at U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers. It takes 14 hours to negotiate an Accusation or 20.5 for a Hearing. 248.644.6326F. Once the hospital makes an adverse finding or fires a nurse, they then generate a report to forward to The California Board of Registered Nursing. After receiving the complaint, the Board of Nursing issued an Order of Summary Suspension pursuant to MCL 333.16231 for drug diversion. We give them CEUs of classes on charting. Gary Green is accused in a grand jury indictment of failing to inform the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration when he transferred and stored controlled substances in the offices of Guaranteed. There was a poster recently that lost their job and were reported to the BoN & authorities for mishandling controlled & prescription only substances by pulling & "holding" onto narcotics & Benadryl "just in case" in a pocket. Fudin says fentanyl may not show up on an opiate screen because it has a different chemical structure compared to most commonly prescribed opioids. After an investigation into a diverter is opened, it is unclear what happens to the offender. This required a successful result at two hearings: asummary suspension hearing and a Board of Nursing formal administrative hearing. Hospital staff called the pattern unusual. They are under a lot of pressure to catch instances of diversion, and repeatedly pulling a narc an hour of more before you give it is a definite red flag. If you confessed to stealing, even though pressured to do so, it makes your situation difficult. Moving forward, you could just list dates of employment unless the application forces an answer, such as "Were you ever terminated?" Specializes in Pediatrics, Rehab, Trauma. They told me to cut it out, and I did. allnurses is a Nursing Career & Support site for Nurses and Students. Today a woman from the finnish customs called me saying its narcotics, she asked me if it was me who ordered the narcotics saying that that way i wont get into much trouble and it will be easier but if i deny ordering them i would have to go to the police station for a court hearing so they can get my statement and decide what to do. Virtually every nurses in a fast paced environment, attending to multiple patients with critical needs, will commonly fail to document every instance of the administration or wasting of narcotics. [5] Take the initiative and invite someone out for coffee who you haven't seen in a while. Even though the accusations may be unfair and untrue, the situation is real. And one should not rely on a union rep to come to the rescue. If you have been falsely accused of a crime, you need a lawyer to help plan and present your defense. Closing arguments are expected to follow. In one especially egregious case, a traveling medical technician with hepatitis C would inject himself with his patients fentanyl and refill the same syringe with saline, ultimately spreading the virus to at least 30 people in two states. Whether its a retail pharmacy or a hospital pharmacy, wholesalers are responsible for cutting them off if they start to request unusually high amounts of opioids. Pharmacies. Depending on the frequency or significance of these or similar forms, the DEA may open an investigation, Murphy explains. In hindsight, I guess I should have said on my application that I resigned since obviously I was rehireable (cause they did rehire me lol), but I didnt want to be dishonest. You will be reported. Your license is the single most valuable thing you have in your life. If you did divert, only you can decide if the BRNs Diversion or Intervention is right for you. Your attorney can advise you about how best to handle this entire matter, including the false confession. You need to change yesterday. Every specialty faces its own peculiar risks. The circumstances of your case may differ from the results provided. If somebody wants to steal or becomes addicted, they are going to find a way to do it, and sooner or later they are going to get caught, but then theres a problem because the hospital has to work backwards to determine how much was stolen and reconcile all that, he says. . When they call that means that you are in trouble. The employees appreciated the cameras because it showed they werent diverting medication, they just made a mistake.. Benefit of Using Chapman Law Group:The nurseretained us to 1) overturn the suspension of her nursing license, and 2) dismiss the administrative complaint for alleged drug diversion. Specializes in HH, Peds, Rehab, Clinical. Controlled Substances Act of 1971, which classifies substances based on how they are used and the potential for abuse. If you know that the medication you are accused of diverting is NOT going to show up in a drug test, please go get one on your own. For a free initial consultation, call 866-970-0783 or contact our .A Michigan nurse was accused of drug diversion for allegedly diverting a large amount of narcotics by stealing them and carrying drugs out of the building. While filing a complaint with the BRN is not mandated by law . I hired a lawyer, and went through all the steps to have this . and three counts of false statements related to health care matters. Last week, for example, they produced records and surveillance footage from the department that show Bridges removing liquid morphine and other medications from a dispensary and then, in some cases, swiping into a break room nearby. If a nurse or anesthesiologist or physician is speaking with you and telling you they are having these issues, then you should say something, Leon explains. We frequently defend nurses and doctors accused of diverting drugs. Specializes in Tele, ICU, Staff Development, Freelance Writer. I am so upset that this is happening. I agree that she needs to stop doing what she got flagged for. A Georgia man who was busted for shoplifting at a Walmart found himself in even more trouble when officers found 37 pounds of marijuana in his trunk, according to the Morgan Citizen. If your employer believes that you were stealing medication especially if it was pharmaceutical meds, of course you can be fired for that - or any lawful reason. Similarly, it is important to rotate who delivers the drugs to the patient floors. Its no secret that opioid addiction has reached epidemic levels in the United States. The City of Trinidad has reached a $375,000 settlement in a lawsuit brought by the ACLU of Colorado on behalf of two women who were arrested three years ago in a botched drug-sting investigation. DEA will look at these recordkeeping forms and determine if in fact everything has been filled out correctly, that they have been keeping good records, he says. If DEA determines that they are lax or have not been adhering to requirements, there could be anything from a fine to a letter of admonition requiring corrective actions. In more serious cases, DEA could revoke the registration because the activity or behavior was so egregious that it was determined that the facility is not responsible enough, Murphy explains. you were incompetent or negligent in your charting. I will tell you whether Diversion is the only way to save your career. Doctor's Patient Dies of Opioid Overdoses, Spiga & Associates | 655 N. Central Ave. Ste. Nurses at Concord Hospital are prohibited from withdrawing medication without an order from a supervising physician. 13,952 Posts. Leon, who was in charge of diversion investigations at HCMC for 20 years before becoming a consultant for HelioMetrics, was able to investigate but not interview suspected diverters. Even then, I would only pull out what the doctor states to have at BS, and I know I have witnesses if he give a verbal order during the procedure for the med. Our members represent more than 60 professional nursing specialties. 305.712.7177. Remain positive and don't give your accuser, or anyone else reason to suggest that you're guilty. Perhaps you failed to properly waste a med. Hayes notes that many pharmacies do not conduct a retroactive analysis on what is being purchasedwhich is why wholesalers must pay attention to any unusual changes in orders. He kept a trained eye on one registered nurse who was suspected of stealing hydromorphone, an opioid pain medication, for her personal use. You are not accused of med diversion, you have not followed policy. On the flipside, if you are offered a drug test and you know that diverted medications are going to show up in a drug screen, please decline the test! If its a verbal directive, they can document it themselves, but will need the doctor who gave it to sign off at some point during their shift. NOTHING else. Very understaffed working place. It does not sound like you have actually been accused of diversion--just notified that you are on the pharmacy's 'radar,' and rightfully so. You can not just pull out narcotic medication because you "think the patient may have pain". Recommended Stories Reuters Anger in. They want me to come in instead of DEA or law enforcement, she explains. If the diverter has a license from one of those state agencies, usually its required that they be reported, and then its up to the board how they proceed with the personal license of the individual, he says. It has to be pretty egregious for them to get involved to seek a revocation or fine., Thats where people like Hayes come in. I needed help, didnt know how to ask for it, and I was hoping somebody would stop me. Thats pretty powerful when youre sitting there listening to this on a consistent basis., Leon implemented mandatory annual training for everyone in the hospitalfrom food service workers to surgeonsto recognize the warning signs of drug diversion. Agreed with the above. Controlled substances were going missing at Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC), and the hospitals security investigator, William Leon, was determined to get to the bottom of it. Akeya Lee . //LBtag_id.innerHTML = ' Buy this Image'; You are not falsely accused as you are not following protocol for pulling meds in anticipation or not returning meds not administered in a timely fashion. The diverting healthcare worker typically isnt one whos going to be selling or diverting his or her drugs on the street, but they are abusing the drugs while they are working., Leon worked hard on diversion prevention at HCMC after discovering a surprising pattern: almost all of the diverters he investigated wanted to be caught. Im a private citizen, I understand law enforcement procedures, and I can help them get at the root of the problem before they call in law enforcement.. Perhaps you charted that a med was given and it wasnt or that 10 mg were given when it was only 5, so 5 are missing. By using the site you agree to our Privacy, Cookies, and Terms of Service Policies. Even orderlies have very stressful physical jobs, theyre lifting patients. I was brought to a conference room after a night shift in 2009. Through a series of tough negotiations with the prosecutor and by portraying a strong defensive position, we were successful in dismissing four of the five counts and obtaining diversion pursuant to MCL 333.7411. Specializes in Neuro, Telemetry. Puts patients at risk for healthcare-associated infections. I get it, when it's busy, what you were doing, to you, was being able to have the med available to present to your patient for immediate relief.
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