Compliance Perspective – Tampering:
When the Compliance Officer becomes aware through a Med-Net Compliance Alert that a pharmacy supplying controlled substances to their nursing home has experienced a drug diversion, he or she should involve the Compliance Committee in reviewing the facility’s policies and procedures regarding the protocol for determining if a drug diversion has affected any of the facility’s residents. Staff will be educated and trained on this protocol and this training will include competency evaluations for carrying out the protocol. The Compliance Officer will ensure that an audit is developed and implemented to determine whether any resident is experiencing symptoms of pain or behavior that might be indicative of not receiving their prescribed medications.
A 30- year-old pharmacy technician, who had previously pled guilty in February 2018, to tampering with fentanyl by using a syringe to replace the painkiller with another solution, was recently sentenced by a United States District Court Chief Judge to serve 30-months in prison for tampering with consumer products. The man was ordered to serve three years of supervised release to follow his prison term.
According to the plea agreement entered on February 26, 2018, between September 7, 2016 and October 2, 2016, the man was employed as a pharmacy technician at an Iowa Hospital. During that time, he had access to fentanyl-a Schedule II controlled substance-that was stored at the hospital for administration to hospital patients. The technician tampered with the hospital’s fentanyl and fentanyl vials while he was employed by the hospital pharmacy.
Specifically, he inserted a syringe into multiple fentanyl vials, removed the fentanyl with that syringe, and injected the fentanyl into himself. Using a different syringe, he then replaced the fentanyl he had removed from the vials with a different fluid. He then placed the tampered vials back into storage at the hospital.
