Federal prosecutors in Utah announced in December 2017 what they described as the largest settlement of its kind in the state involving allegations of drug diversion. Intermountain Healthcare agreed to pay the United States $1 million to resolve civil claims that weak controls allowed a former employee to divert controlled substances for personal use. The settlement is not an admission of liability.
According to the government, the diversion occurred at a clinic and pharmacy in the Ogden area between September 2007 and March 2015 under the DEA registration numbers of a physician and the pharmacy. A DEA investigation found that a former medical assistant to a doctor at the clinic used the physician's registration number to issue prescriptions to herself and two family members for oxycodone, diazepam, phentermine and hydrocodone. The United States contended that 244 prescriptions for 30 mg oxycodone tablets, totaling 46,616 pills, were issued without a legitimate medical purpose, along with another 151 controlled-substance prescriptions totaling 11,430 pills. The pharmacy filled each prescription, and the former medical assistant picked them up.
The government's position was that the physician and the pharmacy shared equal responsibility for ensuring proper prescribing and dispensing. The matter was handled as a civil action by the U.S. Attorney's Office's Affirmative Civil Enforcement Division rather than as a criminal case against the health system.
Alongside the payment, the health system implemented a comprehensive corrective action plan intended to prevent, identify and address future diversion. The U.S. Attorney publicly credited the organization for addressing the problem and taking steps to prevent diversion by its personnel.