There are different drugs today, of course, than there were 20 years ago.. Posted in Registered Nurses THE PROBLEM OF FALSE AND MISLEADING ACCUSATIONS AGAINST MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS Virtually every healthcare practitioner has seen a colleague fired or disciplined after being accused of diverting drugs or misusing their prescription pad. Prospective clients may not obtain the same or similar results. [Recommended Reading: Whos Liable for an Active Shooter Incident? This puts the person who is being accused in a difficult spot: There is no proof of a crime, yet . This study guide will help you focus your time on what's most important. Nicole Irmer | Posted in News on December 8, 2021. 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. Pharmacies. Weve made it our career to save yours. Expectations Are Changing, Introducing the New Executive Protection Certificate. That doesnt help. Nearly 8,000 people in eight states needed hepatitis tests after . False accusations can cause a lingering sense of damage, or can push a relationship into a crisis. 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 the victim of one giant misunderstanding. When a patient needs medication, a nurse goes to the medicine cabinet and dispenses the drug for the patient. Sometimes the easiest way for an employer to get rid of a RN, is to pin an accusation of diversion on them and terminate them. Hayes says that she typically gathers evidence and gets a confession from diverters, at which point her client calls in law enforcement to arrest them. Consider taking legal action. Recommended Stories Reuters Anger in. These investigators are police officers with all the rights and abilities of police officers to conduct an investigation. Since 1997, allnurses is trusted by nurses around the globe. This complaint / report initiates a disciplinary investigation. Cardinal Health, Walgreens supplier, was charged $34 million for failing to report suspicious sales of painkillers. I was then sent for a urine drug screen and breathalyzer. Controlled substance management is dictated by a number of laws, including the U.S. The closest estimates of drug diversion rates come from people or organizations who dig up the numbers themselves. Our members represent more than 60 professional nursing specialties. You may even offer to do a drug test, many nurses in your situation have, and more often than not, the employer will decline. who 'always' asks for the PRN right at the moment it is due, I would not pull it out. Healthcare workers are not immune to the draw of opioids. 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. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Markus Rashad Tull, 28, was arrested at a Morgan County Walmart on Saturday after he was accused of "skip scanning" items in the self- checkout lane. Specializes in Med nurse in med-surg., float, HH, and PDN. 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! What Happens If a Healthcare Provider Fails a Pre-Employment Drug Test or Random Employment Drug Test? Often the reports they generate as to the errors are so complex and confusing that these errors and deceptions are not immediately noticeable. So I wasted the medication myself down the drain, and my job went with it. In 2013, retail pharmacy chain Walgreens was charged $80 millionthe largest fine in the history of the U.S. [5] Take the initiative and invite someone out for coffee who you haven't seen in a while. They have called all of their witnesses, and Bridges is the defenses only witness. 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. 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. Specializes in Critical Care, Med-Surg. . When prescription medicines are obtained or used illegally, it is called drug diversion. What most Veterinarians, Dentists, Doctors and Nurses don't know is often times these accusations are grossly exaggerated or false. Specializes in HH, Peds, Rehab, Clinical. 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. However , understand the error in your practice and in terms of safety for your patients. 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. 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. I was completely honest even revealing that the BON was present but they did not discipline me and pointed out that I was rehired into the same health system years later. Choosing a specialty can be a daunting task and we made it easier. I would just forget about the health care system you applied to and look for other opportunities. Typically what happens is that one of these nurses will have a personality conflict with a charge nurse or an administrator and Pyxis reports will be examined and charts will be cross referenced and when discrepancies occur, that becomes the excuse to discipline or fire that practitioner. Under a plea bargain, a defendant agrees to plead guilty in exchange for some benefit, such as a reduced sentence or lesser charge. It would be right before the procedure that I pull it, and I would waste the unused portion right after the procedure is done. Virtually every healthcare practitioner has seen a colleague fired or disciplined after being accused of diverting drugs or misusing their prescription pad. var currentheadline = document.getElementById("headline").innerText; Wholesalers. I hate to tell you, but if you have controlled substances and dispense narcotics, youve got diversion going on, says Cherie Mitchell, president of drug diversion software company HelioMetrics. 14. //var LBtag_id = document.getElementById('buylinkLBBridgesTestimony-CM-051916,ph02'); Can nurses visibly see you pocketing these meds, or even a patient you think is sleeping? 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. Similarly, it is important to rotate who delivers the drugs to the patient floors. Design: Artsteez, THE PROBLEM OF FALSE ACCUSATIONS AGAINST NURSES. 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). Your employer will also probably not require a drug test. They asked me, Are 13 vials substantial or not? So I chalked it up to a learning experience and got another job, in fact, I have had NO issues in finding employment and about 7 years after being terminated I was RE-HIRED into the same hospital system that had terminated me in 2009! Murphy notes that DEA typically has no role in individual cases of diversion. Expectations Are Changing]. Closing arguments are expected to follow. They do occasionally make arrests but they are rare. 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. She made me wait another 3 weeks for my new dose. 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. The Board accepted the ALJs proposed decision and dismissed the entire drug diversion complaint. Staff have said she showed no outward signs of drug use. Prosecutors will continue cross-examine Bridges today. If you have to surrender yourself in Court, so be it. var tag_id = document.getElementById('buylinkBridgesTestimony-CM-051916,ph02'); Hi. Our members represent more than 60 professional nursing specialties. These se things can all lead to you either losing the med or actually being accused of diversion. (Jeremy Blackman can be reached at 369-3319, jblackman@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @JBlackmanCM.). When they call that means that you are in trouble. 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. Specializes in Neuro, Telemetry. I am on a floor where there aren't any CNAs at times, nor a resource RN and sometimes no unit clerk and every minute counts. Depending on the diverters role, state accreditation boardssuch as those that license nurses and pharmacistswould be notified and could potentially conduct their own investigations. Decline plea bargains. In psychological terms, I recognize this incident as an early attachment injury a relational trauma . Allegations of diversion always stem from charting issues, always. Accused of Diverting Drugs. Specializes in Pediatrics, Rehab, Trauma. It also dictates how the substances are dispensed, and a facility may be fined if it does not comply. There is no overarching agency or organization that records every instance of drug diversion in the United States. 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. Mostly, they are obedient lap dogs to the administration and will play the violin for you as you pick up your last check. Having support is essential when you're accused of something that you haven't done. After receiving the complaint, the Board of Nursing issued an Order of Summary Suspension pursuant to MCL 333.16231 for drug diversion. allnurses, LLC, 175 Pearl St Ste 355, Brooklyn NY 11201 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. NOTHING else. tag_id.innerHTML = ' Buy this Image'; Your employer is a mandatory reporter, and regardless of how beloved you are, I can promise you that they are not going to put themselves on the line by not doing what they are required by law to do. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. var currentLocation = window.location; You are not following protocol. The employees appreciated the cameras because it showed they werent diverting medication, they just made a mistake.. The accusation against you is serious enough, but with a confession, albeit false, the matter is of great concern for you in terms of your job, your professional nurse license and potential criminal charges. Dear Falsely Accused, So basically you were falsely accused of diverting drugs and terminated for "documenting issues". 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. Fast forward to your recent interview in a different health care system. He references several high-profile diversion cases in which the diverters used the same syringe full of medicine on both themselves and their patients, spreading bacterial infections and hepatitis. This process takes about a year from the conclusion of the interview, during which time youve been great at your new job without so much as an undotted i or uncrossed t. Recently I applied and interviewed at an ER local to me here in Pa, the interview went fantastic and I was very excited. 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. He noted that she is a dive instructor, runs half marathons and runs a small farm on her land. You find out 60 days or six months later, or you dont see that pattern emerge by just using one or two data sets. In another, Bridges said that her patient, a man with cancer, had been taking high doses of morphine at home and was at risk of going through withdrawals while he waited for hours for a bed in the main part of the hospital. 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