On October 28, 2020, the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) announced that it had served an order summarily suspending the license of a registered nurse in southwest Michigan. The Public Health Code allows summary suspension when the public health, safety or welfare requires emergency action.
The accompanying administrative complaint alleges that the nurse diverted fentanyl from the workplace and replaced the stolen fentanyl with saline to conceal the activity. According to the complaint, this put numerous patients at risk of receiving saline instead of fentanyl for pain control. These remain allegations rather than proven facts.
The case was investigated by LARA's Pharmacy and Drug Monitoring Section, which focuses on individuals who overprescribe or divert controlled substances and on facilities that over-dispense them. The department's director described the case as one that warranted swift action.
LARA noted that an order of summary suspension is a temporary measure to protect the public and is not a final determination that the licensee violated the Public Health Code. The release does not say how the alleged diversion was detected or what final discipline, if any, followed.