A Pennsylvania health system agreed to pay $2.75 million to resolve claims by the U.S. Department of Justice that it violated the Controlled Substances Act by failing to stop drug theft and diversion from its pharmacies. The settlement stemmed from a series of incidents in which a pharmacy technician at one of the system's hospitals allegedly siphoned controlled substances and forged paperwork to cover the activity.
According to the report, the technician used another employee's passwords to hide the diversions. The Department of Justice did not say whether those credentials were stolen or whether the credential holder faced any consequences, and the technician was not named. Prosecutors also alleged that the health system's record keeping for controlled substance stocks was inadequate and contributed to the diversions going undetected.
As part of the resolution, the health system admitted that its security was inadequate to prevent theft and that it failed to properly control the drugs. The specific controlled substances involved and the period over which the diversions occurred were not described in the report.
A spokesperson said the system's hospitals were working with authorities to identify any other Controlled Substances Act violations and to secure its pharmacies against future theft. The health system said it had strengthened controlled substance security and compliance, including adopting a drug diversion detection application to better monitor clinician access to medications.