Under a plea bargain, a defendant agrees to plead guilty in exchange for some benefit, such as a reduced sentence or lesser charge. Accused of Diverting Drugs. What got me on this path of prevention was observing the nurses as they would admit to what they did, he explains. It would be right before the procedure that I pull it, and I would waste the unused portion right after the procedure is done. Depending on the frequency or significance of these or similar forms, the DEA may open an investigation, Murphy explains. They told me to cut it out, and I did. //LBtag_id.innerHTML = ''; Over time, HCMC personnel became more comfortable coming forward with concerns about their coworkers. Before he retired, he says, that number had dropped to one or two a year. Later . 1625 Prince Street Please spend some time reading the Diversion section of the blog, for more information. By using the site you agree to our Privacy, Cookies, and Terms of Service Policies. 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. 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. That's where all the bogus charges came from. [Recommended Reading: Whos Liable for an Active Shooter Incident? 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. 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. The scope and frequency of drug diversion is almost impossible to grasp, due in large part to how diversion cases are addressed. Specializes in Neuro, Telemetry. If they dont have you, you can only hurt yourself by talking. If you diverted only a few times, it may be hard to prove that it was in fact diversion and you may be treated as someone who just made a few medication errors. Human resources, pharmacy personnel, security, everyone is being brought into this investigation, because the bigger picture is patient safety. It takes 12 hours for an interview. We had a nurse who was highly suspected of diverting, he says. Dont start dialing that 1800 number just yet we can help! 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. 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. You will be reported. She might have left them in the patients' med drawers. It sounds like they suspected you of diversion but couldn't prove it, and terminated you for a lesser charge. 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. USA, Whos Liable for an Active Shooter Incident? This is because they DONT WANT PROOF that you WERENT DIVERTING! 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. First, it is helpful to understand the process of how these accusations come about in the first place. Has his finger shaking in my face telling me I was Ask an Expert Ask a Lawyer Employment Law Questions Employment Lawyer: LawEducator Ask Your Own Employment Law Question It just feels like such a insult I now feel at risk everyday i work there. I think the combination is almost deadly.. Even if you did have a statistic, it would be off because how do you incorporate those so-called sloppy practicers, or diverters who thought they were about to get caught so they quit on you and left? You need to change yesterday. The people they are finding now are the people that have the needle in their arm or somebody has reported them. They pull out meds and "hold" them or document as given but take them themselves or take them home. After an investigation into a diverter is opened, it is unclear what happens to the offender. Not just security personnel should be involved with the diversion aspect, he says. You could lose it, you could accidentally take it home, someone could see you pocket it and report it, etc, etc. It takes about 4-6 months for a BRN investigator to contact you. Being condemned as guilty evoked the shame of being falsely accused, disrespected, and bad. You have nothing to hide, so don't hide yourself. When prescription medicines are obtained or used illegally, it is called drug diversion. Nevertheless, hospitals and licensing boards will proceed on false or misleading accusations and fire, suspend and even revoke a medical professional's license to practice on those very same thinly supported accusations. However, they typically do not carry guns, wear uniforms or flash their badge. Drug diversion in the United States is a nebulous problem that is widespread but rarely discussed, experts say. allnurses is a Nursing Career & Support site for Nurses and Students. After receiving the complaint, the Board of Nursing issued an Order of Summary Suspension pursuant to MCL 333.16231 for drug diversion. 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. Change your ways!! I was accused at my former job of drug diversion and let go. This will either be by phone or via a letter. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Student Nurse Applicants with Past Convictions, Petition for Nursing License Reinstatement, Please spend some time reading the Diversion section of the blog, for more information. 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 . Similarly, it is important to rotate who delivers the drugs to the patient floors. var currentLocation = window.location; The RN's co-worker, who falsely told others that she was taken off duty for diverting narcotics, clearly defamed the RN. Take the extra 5 minutes to pull med school per policy. 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.. If your reputation is under attack, Dr. Phil has advice on taking your power back: Accept that there is no way you can erase what has happened. If a facility loses its DEA registration, it cannot dispense controlled substances. 1441 W Long Lake RoadSuite 310Troy, MI 48098T. 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. By using the site you agree to our Privacy, Cookies, and Terms of Service Policies. 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. Lady Luck (Colorado Mountain, #3) by. Pharmacies. 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. Murphy encourages facilities to be in full DEA compliance to mitigate diversion. Prospective clients may not obtain the same or similar results. Nurse Sentenced in Drug Diversion and Tampering Scheme. The employer also may be named in the defamation suit under the theory of Respondeat superior. Rate this book. . Controlled Substances Act of 1971, which classifies substances based on how they are used and the potential for abuse. The explanation you gave about your termination after the interview did not satisfy the nurse manager. Has 13 years experience. 500North Hollywood, CA 91601 T. (818) 287-0576, 6841 Energy CourtSuite 120Sarasota, FL 34240T. (NICK REID / Monitor staff) '"; Protect it! Create well-written care plans that meets your patient's health goals. 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. It takes an average of 4 hours to review your case. These investigators are police officers with all the rights and abilities of police officers to conduct an investigation. 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 . Nurses who work in high paced intensive or critical care units or the emergency room are at particular risk of false allegations based simply on common charting errors. 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. There is too much at stake to try to represent yourself. 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! 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. Good luck to you. Unfortunately, experts acknowledge that most diverters dont get caught until they have been diverting for so long they start to get sloppy. Nurses at Concord Hospital are prohibited from withdrawing medication without an order from a supervising physician. South African nurse wants to work in Canada. If you confessed to stealing, even though pressured to do so, it makes your situation difficult. But there is no reason to panic. If you are accused of diverting drugs from a Pyxis, Diebold, or other brand of automated pharmacy dispensing machine, please contact us, immediately. Unfortunately, there are different laws and statutes in every state that set up some sort of reporting requirements, he says. Doctor's Patient Dies of Opioid Overdoses, Spiga & Associates | 655 N. Central Ave. Ste. 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. House Beautiful. I will spend as much time as you need listening to the details of your specific case, confidentially and without judgment. Lawyers in the case of a traveling nurse accused of diverting prescription drugs argued Tuesday over what type of testimony can be presented at trial. Department of Justice investigator Mark Myrdek (left) sits on the stand. 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. . They do occasionally make arrests but they are rare. 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. In that area, I knew immediately, this patient could have a broken bonethey were in intense pain and requiring this medication, Leon says. Its no secret that opioid addiction has reached epidemic levels in the United States. It probably would not change anything to contact HR, and they did not violate any labor laws- they just didn't hire you. When Circumstances Lead To False Or Exaggerated Accusations . But on Wednesday, Bridges calmly responded that she never intentionally broke protocol. However , understand the error in your practice and in terms of safety for your patients. Its just a question of whether you know it or not.. We are often contacted by nurses falsely accused of diverting narcotics, abusing narcotics, or stealing narcotics from patients. Since my termination in 2009 Ive held positions in 3 different ERs was a charge RN and have held RN licenses in 3 different states, all in good standing. This may be the case with some law firms, but it is not the case with us. However, if youve done any research, you may think that youll have to mortgage your house or cash out your 401K because fees can run in the tens of thousands. 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. Since 1997, allnurses is trusted by nurses around the globe. Very understaffed working place. If you were only warned, it sounds like your manager is trying to give you a gentle warning nudge to change your practice. Well gee, did you ever notice that John drives a Mercedes and has two boats and a house on Long Island? 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. 941.893.3449, 701 Waterford WaySuite 340Miami, FL 33126T. We have defended thousands of RNs facing the BRN. Yes, you may well be "flagged" in their system as a "Do not hire". Cichon notes that many hospitals throughout the country have no plan in place to actively look for diverters. With the cameras I was able to show that she wasnt diverting, just being sloppy. There is no overarching agency or organization that records every instance of drug diversion in the United States. 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. Cichon cautions that some hospitals hoping to avoid bad press and DEA scrutiny may look for loopholes. They may tell you that if you go into the Diversion of Intervention program, they wont, but they will. 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. Listen to what they have to say and then please hang up. You want to try to find them before that.. They have called all of their witnesses, and Bridges is the defenses only witness. Our mission is to Empower, Unite, and Advance every nurse, student, and educator. Pharmacists can make mistakes that mean life or death. Allegations of diversion always stem from charting issues, always. 6. 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. Virtually every healthcare practitioner has seen a colleague fired or disciplined after being accused of diverting drugs or misusing their prescription pad. The Associated Press used government-obtained data in its investigations on drug diversion at U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers. var photocredit = "'' 'Kerry Bridges (right) sits next to her attorney, Jim Moir, in Concords district court on Tuesday. var currentheadline = document.getElementById("headline").innerText; Kerry Bridges (right) sits next to her attorney, Jim Moir, in Concords district court on Tuesday. I thought I was being nice, but it wasn't the safest practice. 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. 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. Prosecutors will continue cross-examine Bridges today. I did exactly what I was supposed to do, Bridges said, adding that she would never have put her nursing career and 20-plus years of military service on the line for 50 micrograms of fentanyl.. No matter what number you come to, its probably bigger in reality.. Department of Justice investigator Mark Myrdek (left) sits on the stand. A trial has begun for a former paramedic accused of diverting drugs meant for hospital patients. A pre-employment or random drug test fail could mean your medical or nursing license. Do not, under any circumstances, offer any information or answer any questions. 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 honestly cant believe after all this time this has come back to haunt me. The employees appreciated the cameras because it showed they werent diverting medication, they just made a mistake.. Staff have said she showed no outward signs of drug use. HPRP attempted to force the nurse into treatment despite the fact that she did not need it. She said his physician gave her the go-ahead to administer a small dosage of morphine as a preventative measure, and that she later documented it in her nurses notes. 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. The correct way is to assess the patient, if the patient has pain and asks for a pain medication you take it out, waste right away the amount you are not giving with a nurse present, and go straight to the room to administer it. 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.