A regional medical center in Keene, New Hampshire, agreed to pay $2 million to resolve allegations by the Drug Enforcement Administration that it violated several record-keeping requirements of the Controlled Substances Act. The agreement was announced in June 2023 and resolves allegations without a finding of liability.
The record-keeping issues came to light after the hospital discovered that an employed nurse had been diverting bags of fentanyl beginning in October 2021. According to the hospital's investigation, the nurse had diverted 283 bags of fentanyl, and the hospital could not account for an additional 163 bags.
DEA audits of the hospital identified multiple deficiencies in its controlled-substance records. Beyond the settlement, the New Hampshire Office of Professional Licensure and Certification disciplined the hospital's chief nursing officer, its director of pharmacy and a pharmacist in connection with the failures.
The case has been cited by professional liability insurers as an example of how gaps in controlled-substance accountability can expose a hospital to both regulatory penalties and individual licensing discipline for its leadership.