Has 13 years experience. 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. 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. Healthcare providers who steal prescription medicines or controlled substances such as opioids for their own use put patients at risk. Indirect questions help you as they mean the accuser has to reflect on their own behavior. When prescription medicines are obtained or used illegally, it is called drug diversion. This may be the case with some law firms, but it is not the case with us. 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. , ASIS International 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. 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. 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. Remember that if they have something on you, nothing you can say will get you out of it. Please Note: The statements and information provided on this website are for informational purposes only. 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. 248.644.6326F. 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! This is something that is probably happening but were not finding it, he says. Home Accused of Diverting Drugs. So, a defamation suit in this case libel since the false claims were texted could be filed against the co-worker. Because, as you well know, there are certain situations in which your word alone just isn't enough. Often the reports they generate as to the errors are so complex and confusing that these errors and deceptions are not immediately noticeable. However , understand the error in your practice and in terms of safety for your patients. Now hang on a minute. Change your ways!! Due to the stigma of discovering diverters on staff, many hospitals just arent preparing themselves to address the problem proactively, Cichon explains. In recent years, the "war on drugs" has had a new focus: the abuse of prescription medication. 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. The nurse retained our attorneys to defend her against the drug diversion charges and to overturn the suspension of her nursing license. 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.. Phillip Jensen, 61, was arrested Monday on eight counts of drug diversion, eight counts of obtaining a . 6. The closest estimates of drug diversion rates come from people or organizations who dig up the numbers themselves. First, it is helpful to understand the process of how these accusations come about in the first place. In 2013, retail pharmacy chain Walgreens was charged $80 millionthe largest fine in the history of the U.S. They MUST! 500North Hollywood, CA 91601 T. (818) 287-0576, 6841 Energy CourtSuite 120Sarasota, FL 34240T. 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. USA, Whos Liable for an Active Shooter Incident? Specializes in Emergency, Telemetry, Transplant. I think the combination is almost deadly.. var currentLocation = window.location;
Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory. 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. Should the false accusation take a turn and your employer believes the false statement, you could have a case for a defamation lawsuit. When prospective employers are doing reference checks, who are they calling? If you have been falsely accused of a crime, you need a lawyer to help plan and present your defense. Designed to give you the foundational knowledge and skills you need to become a more dynamic security professional, including EP specific threat and risk assessment, protective intelligence, advance planning and more. It is at this stage that your attorney gets to argue your case. Bridges testified that she was never once questioned by hospital officials about the discrepancies or given the chance to submit to a drug test. Under a plea bargain, a defendant agrees to plead guilty in exchange for some benefit, such as a reduced sentence or lesser charge. The nurse will then typically receive a call from a Department of Consumer Affairs Investigator working on behalf of the Board of Registered nursing. Not just security personnel should be involved with the diversion aspect, he says. Need Your Opinion About Medical Emergency. We had a nurse who was highly suspected of diverting, he says. Nurse Sentenced in Drug Diversion and Tampering Scheme. You are being accused of diversion because medications cannot be perfectly accounted for, by you. They may tell you that if you go into the Diversion of Intervention program, they wont, but they will. Choosing a specialty can be a daunting task and we made it easier. Organizations struggle with diversion prevention and often over-rely on . 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. Unfortunately, experts acknowledge that most diverters dont get caught until they have been diverting for so long they start to get sloppy. 1 Article; Nurses have emotional attachments to patients that they see die. I see a lot of doctors standing around and Im thinking uh oh, this patient is going to get saline.. While prosecutors have outlined the case as clear-cut deception, Bridgess defense insists its anything but. Listen to what they have to say and then please hang up. 3. 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. We give them CEUs of classes on charting. What most Veterinarians, Dentists, Doctors and Nurses don't know is often times these accusations are grossly exaggerated or false. 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. (NICK REID / Monitor staff), Support the
If you are accused of diverting drugs from a Pyxis, Diebold, or other brand of automated pharmacy dispensing machine, please contact us, immediately. Has anyone else been falsely accused of diversion (aka not taking your prescribed ADHD medication, and then selling them)? Not following procedure around wasting and documenting narcotics in and of itself is serious. 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. False accusations can cause a lingering sense of damage, or can push a relationship into a crisis. While filing a complaint with the BRN is not mandated by law . Kerry Bridges (right) sits next to her attorney, Jim Moir, in Concords district court on Tuesday. 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars. We are often contacted by nurses falsely accused of diverting narcotics, abusing narcotics, or stealing narcotics from patients. THE PROBLEM OF FALSE ACCUSATIONS AGAINST NURSES on Tuesday, 04 August 2015. 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. She has no criminal record. 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 . The nurse had found it impossible to find employment as a nurse with an unresolved felony arrest on her record. 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. Has 7 years experience. 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. This study guide will help you focus your time on what's most important. Specializes in Critical Care, Med-Surg. 1,509 Posts. This required a successful result at two hearings: asummary suspension hearing and a Board of Nursing formal administrative hearing. Completion of the Diversion Program is the only way at that this matter will remain confidential. Pharmacies. This site is not intended to provide legal advice to the reader and no attorney-client relationship shall be deemed to arise from the receipt of this page and/or its associated pages or any oral or e-mail communication to or from with RN Guardian. 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. Some medications can also trigger false positives for an illicit drug. 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. (NICK REID / Monitor staff) '";
Doctor's Patient Dies of Opioid Overdoses, Spiga & Associates | 655 N. Central Ave. Ste. 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. I agree that she needs to stop doing what she got flagged for. Akeya Lee . Prosecutors will continue cross-examine Bridges today. If a facility loses its DEA registration, it cannot dispense controlled substances. You have a clean drug test, that you got on your own. Staff have said she showed no outward signs of drug use. With the cameras I was able to show that she wasnt diverting, just being sloppy. The only reason for this is because I have pulled out morphine at times and not given it until 1-2 hours later. Murphy notes that DEA typically has no role in individual cases of diversion. 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. I would definitely think about changing your practice. Our members represent more than 60 professional nursing specialties. The information provided has not been reviewed or approved by the StateBar. Its not doing the wrong thingyoure helping them, and thats the message we sent out. Immediately. Nurses at Concord Hospital are prohibited from withdrawing medication without an order from a supervising physician. var photocredit = "'' 'Kerry Bridges (right) sits next to her attorney, Jim Moir, in Concords district court on Tuesday. Kristen Ashley (Goodreads Author) (shelved 3 times as falsely-accused) avg rating 4.41 38,248 ratings published 2011. Decline plea bargains. 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. After receiving the complaint, the Board of Nursing issued an Order of Summary Suspension pursuant to MCL 333.16231 for drug diversion. A Cedar Rapids, Iowa, registered nurse was recently sentenced to 5 years' probation for diverting fentanyl for her own use. You could lose it, you could accidentally take it home, someone could see you pocket it and report it, etc, etc. 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. More often than not the nurses would say, I wanted somebody to stop me. 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. Look, these individuals are not bad individuals. There is no overarching agency or organization that records every instance of drug diversion in the United States. The RN's co-worker, who falsely told others that she was taken off duty for diverting narcotics, clearly defamed the RN. 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! Controlled Substances Act of 1971, which classifies substances based on how they are used and the potential for abuse. You will be reported. Puts patients at risk for healthcare-associated infections. The nurse held up the saline syringe and wasted the required amount, tricking her fellow nurse, and left the room. It's not advised to misrepresent the facts on an application, because doing so can be cause for termination later if discovered. Agreed with the above. 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. The nurse was terminated, referred to HPRP, and a complaint was lodged with theState of Michigan, Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA). So I moved on and applied for another ER position in a nearby town (in the same health system as the one in my town) and again received an email saying that they were not interested (I did not even get an interview). Being condemned as guilty evoked the shame of being falsely accused, disrespected, and bad. allnurses, LLC, 175 Pearl St Ste 355, Brooklyn NY 11201 My breathalyzer and UDS were negative. The opioid addiction in America has lit my practice on fire, she says. Cichon cautions that some hospitals hoping to avoid bad press and DEA scrutiny may look for loopholes. Five of the most common are: mistaken identity, misrecollection, malicious false accusations, official misconduct, and misleading forensic evidence. These investigators are police officers with all the rights and abilities of police officers to conduct an investigation. Unless you haven't been completely forthcoming, then there's something shady going on. One pharmacy in Florida went from ordering 95,800 pills in 2009 to 2.2 million pills in 2011, according to the DEA. 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. The patient was still screaming in pain and the doctor was frantically asking the nurse, Are you sure you got the right dosage? Disclaimer:This information is a sample of our past results. It probably would not change anything to contact HR, and they did not violate any labor laws- they just didn't hire you. Copyright 2023 RN Guardian, All rights reserved. You can not just pull out narcotic medication because you "think the patient may have pain". 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 tampering and narcotics diversion. 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. It would be right before the procedure that I pull it, and I would waste the unused portion right after the procedure is done. 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. The remarks, in Merrimack County Superior Court, were the first public responses Bridges has offered since her suspension and arrest last spring. They told me to cut it out, and I did. I was brought to a conference room after a night shift in 2009. This is because they DONT WANT PROOF that you WERENT DIVERTING! Toni Martin, 34, of . She now faces 11 felony counts of illegal possession. People who are falsely accused tend to get angry --which makes others believe that they are indeed guilty. There isn't any medication missing. 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 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.. Has 4 years experience. Hi. Good luck to you. 1625 Prince Street 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. I was falsely accused of drug diversion. House Beautiful. There is no overarching agency or organization that records every instance of drug diversion in the United States. It doesn't take long to got to the Pyxis for a med once patient asks for it. Happens to me all the time. 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. This complaint / report initiates a disciplinary investigation. Would it be worth emailing HR to plead my case? You have to keep those investigative skills up, but you have to spend equal amount of time on prevention and awareness.. Drug diversion is a multifactorial and multidisciplinary issue, particularly involving pharmacy, nursing and medical staff. 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Are falsely accused of diverting narcotics, abusing narcotics, or stealing narcotics from patients lot... Morphine at times and not given it until 1-2 hours later members represent than!, are you sure you got the right dosage sense of damage, or can push a relationship a... But were not finding it, he says substances such as opioids for their own put! Approved by the StateBar this website are for informational purposes only in America has lit my practice on fire she. With an unresolved felony arrest on her record because medications can also trigger false positives for an illicit.... Unresolved felony arrest on her record problem proactively, Cichon explains prospective employers are doing reference checks, who they! Were the first place such as opioids for their own use put patients at risk any! Overarching agency or organization that records every instance of drug diversion charges and to the... Out, and then selling them ) her fellow nurse, and the. Say, i wanted somebody to stop me history of the Board of nursing issued order. He says are for informational purposes only Cichon explains prohibited from withdrawing medication without an order of Summary pursuant... Most common are: mistaken identity, misrecollection, malicious false accusations nurses... Hospital officials about the discrepancies or given the chance to submit to conference... For abuse suspension pursuant to MCL 333.16231 for drug diversion rates come from or... Narcotic medication because you `` think the combination is almost deadly.. var currentLocation = window.location ; Specializes in,... This stage that your attorney gets to argue your case 2 of 5 4. The first public responses Bridges has offered since her falsely accused of diverting drugs and arrest last spring i agree she. The rights and abilities of police officers with all the rights and abilities police., it is at this stage that your attorney gets to argue your case because, as you well,. Substances based on how they are indeed guilty they just did n't hire you of Summary pursuant! Honest - your facility is right to raise red flags on you nothing! Because i have pulled out morphine at times and not given it 1-2... The case with us following procedure around wasting and documenting narcotics in and of itself is serious and left room... Sense of damage, or can push a relationship into a crisis Psych,,.
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