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. She now faces 11 felony counts of illegal possession. Do not pocket or store anymore drugs in anticipation of needing them later. Want to Read. They asked me, Are 13 vials substantial or not? 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. Alexandria, Virginia 22314-2882 Has 13 years experience. We save your license because we show that while you may have a made a mistake or 2 in the past, you did not divert medication and you have learned your lesson about the importance of perfect charting. Secondly, no matter how friendly, understanding or honest they may seem to be THEY ARE NOT YOUR FRIENDS AND THEY ARE NOT ON YOUR SIDE! 1,509 Posts. They MUST! The nurse had found it impossible to find employment as a nurse with an unresolved felony arrest on her record. Cichon cautions that some hospitals hoping to avoid bad press and DEA scrutiny may look for loopholes. Just follow policy. Immediately. allnurses, LLC, 175 Pearl St Ste 355, Brooklyn NY 11201 If you have been accused of substance problems or diverting narcotics and know that the allegations are false you should: Contact your primary care physician and request a drug screen to be done immediately. While filing a complaint with the BRN is not mandated by law . Has 16 years experience. I have been beyond frustrated with the work environment and now I am being falsely accused of this. Lady Luck (Colorado Mountain, #3) by. Bottom line is do not talk about your case to them without a lawyer present. HCMC has cameras set up in the medication room to monitor controlled substances, and Leon watched as the nurse began gathering prescribed medication for a patient in the emergency department. I hired a lawyer, and went through all the steps to have this . 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 did it, 2.) The reason I said at the beginning that being a RN accused of diverting medication doesnt turn out so great for the nurse is because in order to properly defend yourself and save your license from being revoked, you are going to have to shell out some money. Do NOT call them back without researching first and thoroughly and do NOT call them back if you are NOT going to enroll. There are many reasons why a person may get falsely accused of a crime. 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. I was accused at my former job of drug diversion and let go. We have defended thousands of RNs facing the BRN. Nurse Sentenced in Drug Diversion and Tampering Scheme. 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. Often they are bamboozled by reports misrepresenting chart and Pyxis information. However, those are just the numbers that were legally prescribedabout 75 percent of people who take opioids recreationally get them from a friend or family member. She recalled having been told eating at the nurses stations was against protocol. Maybe his prints are on the container in which the drugs were found. 13,952 Posts. It has to be pretty egregious for them to get involved to seek a revocation or fine., Thats where people like Hayes come in. You may even offer to do a drug test, many nurses in your situation have, and more often than not, the employer will decline. They told me to cut it out, and I did. She might have left them in the patients' med drawers. Click the link below to download our compliance eBook now! Once you are terminated from your employment and reported to the BRN, the BRNs Diversion or Intervention Program will contact you. 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. Check out this guide to help you assess your schools safety readiness for the upcoming year. If you are wrongly accused, cooperate with the investigation. 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. First, it is helpful to understand the process of how these accusations come about in the first place. you were incompetent or negligent in your charting. But dont turn to the impairment program first do this instead. 1 Article; Experts agree that the most egregious diversion occurs during the wasting and dispensing process in scenarios similar to the incident Leon witnessed at HCMC. allnurses, LLC, 175 Pearl St Ste 355, Brooklyn NY 11201 There is much more on these accusations in the blog, make sure to familiarize yourself with what these terms mean and what the outcome can be. After an investigation into a diverter is opened, it is unclear what happens to the offender. 14. With the cameras I was able to show that she wasnt diverting, just being sloppy. Our fees are flat, so there are never any surprises and never any additional fees to us. If you were only warned, it sounds like your manager is trying to give you a gentle warning nudge to change your practice. This act is illegal and opens up offenders to criminal prosecution, including those related to felony charges. To ensure safe quality nursing care, it is critical to immediately address nurses suspected of diverting drugs or using drugs. Not just security personnel should be involved with the diversion aspect, he says. 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. 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. You are being accused of diversion because medications cannot be perfectly accounted for, by you. I would just forget about the health care system you applied to and look for other opportunities. False accusations can cause a lingering sense of damage, or can push a relationship into a crisis. You thought I just told you that Diversion was not a good choice, but its seeming pretty great to you now! Fast forward to your recent interview in a different health care system. They want me to come in instead of DEA or law enforcement, she explains. The nurse rightfully refused HPRP treatment, but her nursing license was suspended as a result. A person cando five thingsif he/she is falsely accused of a crime. 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. You are not following protocol. I was ultimately terminated for documenting issues. Most people are using the logs from the medicine cabinets trying to do statistical analysis, Mitchell explains. Some medications can also trigger false positives for an illicit drug. I am trying not to get upset but it's truly difficult. 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. The process, called wasting, requires the healthcare worker to take a fresh vial or syringe full of medication and then dispose of the excess, leaving only the correct dosageall with a witness present. notice of intent to sell property; what kind of gun will kill a grizzly bear You could lose it, you could accidentally take it home, someone could see you pocket it and report it, etc, etc. Home Accused of Diverting Drugs. In a few cases, we have even had a nurse accused of diverting because they GAVE more medication than other nurses never mind that they were working tons of overtime, so of course they were giving more! Bridges testified that she was never once questioned by hospital officials about the discrepancies or given the chance to submit to a drug test. Remain positive and don't give your accuser, or anyone else reason to suggest that you're guilty. Remember that if they have something on you, nothing you can say will get you out of it. 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. NEW! 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. He kept a trained eye on one registered nurse who was suspected of stealing hydromorphone, an opioid pain medication, for her personal use. Wholesalers. Perhaps you charted that a med was given and it wasn't or that 10 mg were given when it was only 5, so 5 are missing. The employees appreciated the cameras because it showed they werent diverting medication, they just made a mistake.. Has 7 years experience. Because, as you well know, there are certain situations in which your word alone just isn't enough. Find out your top seven security news stories, delivered to your inbox weekly, and powered by ASIS International. Specializes in SICU, trauma, neuro. Subscribe to our newsletter for important updates and information regarding the Board of Registered Nursing. Doctor's Patient Dies of Opioid Overdoses, Spiga & Associates | 655 N. Central Ave. Ste. The administrator. Concord Monitor. Change your practice habits to keep your job and your license. Even if I have a pt. Over time, HCMC personnel became more comfortable coming forward with concerns about their coworkers. Our goal is to resolve drug diversion allegations as early as possible to prevent formal action against the providers license. tag_id.innerHTML = ''; The only reason for this is because I have pulled out morphine at times and not given it until 1-2 hours later. Please call me if you are reading this post because you are a RN accused of diverting medication. 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. Whether in manufacturing plants, retail pharmacies, hospitals, or long-term care facilities, healthcare workers are stealing drugstypically for their own personal useand putting themselves, patients, and coworkers at risk. 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. There is no overarching agency or organization that records every instance of drug diversion in the United States. //var LBtag_id = document.getElementById('buylinkLBBridgesTestimony-CM-051916,ph02'); The following day I received an email stating basically thank you, we are impressed with your qualifications but we are not proceeding any further. It takes an average of 4 hours to review your case. There can also be false negatives because an opioid is simply prescribed in too low of a dose to be detected. If you have been accused by your employer or the state of diverting drugs, please call us immediately so that we may help you protect your medical or nursing license. If youve received a letter, you wont be under so much pressure and you can do your own research on the BRN Diversion program. These are: hire a defense attorney, 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. Nurses at Concord Hospital are prohibited from withdrawing medication without an order from a supervising physician. 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.) So, a defamation suit in this case libel since the false claims were texted could be filed against the co-worker. It is a charge that should be taken very seriously. Due to the stigma of discovering diverters on staff, many hospitals just arent preparing themselves to address the problem proactively, Cichon explains. Although more people are paying attention to drug diversion due to recent high-profile cases and the current opioid epidemic in the United States, experts say they have been dealing with the same problems their entire careers. 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. John Burke, president of the International Health Facility Diversion Association, extrapolated data he obtained from facilities in Ohio to estimate the presence of 37,000 diverters in healthcare facilities across the country each year. 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. Our policy here (and I believe this comes from state regulation) is that controlled meds have to be given within 30 minutes of being pulled. 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. So be smart and get a lawyer. 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. So, at 11 p.m. on a Friday, Leon settled in for a night of observation at the Level I trauma center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Depending on the diverters role, state accreditation boardssuch as those that license nurses and pharmacistswould be notified and could potentially conduct their own investigations. We were successful in achieving both of these goals. 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. I was falsely accused of drug diversion. It is literally worth millions of dollars. If the investigator concludes that you either did divert medication or that you were negligent or incompetent in your charting, they will turn your case over to the BRNs attorney and the Attorney General of California will file a formal accusation against your RN license. 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. Look, these individuals are not bad individuals. They pull out meds and "hold" them or document as given but take them themselves or take them home. This study guide will help you focus your time on what's most important. 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.. I will tell you whether Diversion is the only way to save your career. Specializes in Med nurse in med-surg., float, HH, and PDN. He makes $40,000 a year, did you ever do any investigation into why?, On the floor. Any company involved with controlled substances, whether manufacturing, distributing, or dispensing, must be registered with the DEA and must adhere to certain rules and regulationswhich arent always easy to follow. 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. Healthcare Fraud Defense & Health Care Criminal Defense. 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. Dont start dialing that 1800 number just yet we can help! I have seen a great deal of both and neither of the scenarios are so great for the RN. I honestly cant believe after all this time this has come back to haunt me. Phillip Jensen, 61, was arrested Monday on eight counts of drug diversion, eight counts of obtaining a . 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars. Protect yourself and do not give the employer or the future BRN investigation all they need to unequivocally prove diversion. To be honest - your facility is right to raise red flags on you as your behavior is similar to people who divert medications. Because of this, diversion shouldnt be considered just a security concern but a patient safety concern, Cichon says. The nurse retained our attorneys to defend her against the drug diversion charges and to overturn the suspension of her nursing license. I was falsely accused of drug diversion. John the technician has been taking the drugs up to the floors for the last 20 years, Hayes says. Listen to what they have to say and then please hang up. When prescription medicines are obtained or used illegally, it is called drug diversion. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Unfortunately, there are different laws and statutes in every state that set up some sort of reporting requirements, he says. You are not accused of med diversion, you have not followed policy. Cardinal Health, Walgreens supplier, was charged $34 million for failing to report suspicious sales of 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. It's also possible she felt you did not take full responsibility for your actions. What most Veterinarians, Dentists, Doctors and Nurses don't know is often times these accusations are grossly exaggerated or false. No way would I pull drugs two hours ahead of time in ANTICIPATION of needing it. (NICK REID / Monitor staff) '"; Mitchell points out that any statistic derived from officially collected data still wouldnt accurately reflect the extent of drug diversion in the United States. 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. Specializes in Emergency, Telemetry, Transplant. I think the combination is almost deadly.. Expectations Are Changing, Introducing the New Executive Protection Certificate. 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. She offered to take a drug test but the hospital declined, according to an order last year by the New Hampshire nursing board. Prospective clients may not obtain the same or similar results. It doesn't take long to got to the Pyxis for a med once patient asks for it. You may be fired for failure to comply, but heres a news flash: if youre suspected of diverting, youre going to be fired anyway. But there is no reason to panic. It said she later acknowledged that her documentation had been substandard.. Hospital staff called the pattern unusual. 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