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When he emptied the trash at the end of his shift, he pilfered whatever medications he needed for the night and slipped them into his pants. Because the trash dumpster was not monitored by a camera, he felt safe while stealing. He also knew that a security guard would check his bag each night, which is why he never stole the entire box.5
A California pharmacist-in-charge of a Target retail pharmacy was held liable by the state for the drug theft of a technician; as pharmacist- in-charge, he was responsible for record keeping and security. In 18 months, the technician stole more than 200,000 tablets of hydroco- done, valued at more than $1 million when illicitly sold on the streets. She ordered drugs — up to 3,000 tablets at a time — at least 85 times from her home phone, scheduling deliv- ery for a scheduled workday. When orders arrived, the technician took the delivery to a workstation located farthest away from the pharmacist’s station. She would then destroy the packing invoice, remove the bot- tles and hide them in a storeroom. When the pharmacist on duty took
a break, the technician would go to the storeroom, put the bottles in her purse and take them to her car. Her theft was discovered only after the pharmacist found a bottle of hydro- codone in the storeroom. Because the pharmacy did not normally sell or dispense the drug, the pharma- cist reported the incident to Target management and an investigation began. Ultimately, the California Board of Pharmacy led charges against the pharmacist — failure to maintain records of acquisition and disposition; allowing a nonpharma- cist to order and sign for deliveries; failure to secure and maintain the facility from theft; and failure to provide effective controls to prevent
theft—and suspended his pharma- cist license.6
Drug theft by healthcare workers became so common in Minnesota that it accounted for nearly 20 per- cent of abuse cases affecting elderly nursing home residents. A report by the Minneapolis Star Tribune said nursing home staff replaced patients’ oxycodone or Vicodin medications with over-the-counter pills; others removed pain-relieving patches containing fentanyl from elderly patients to syphon the drug for their own purposes.7
Methods of Diversion
Wherever controlled substances are located, drug diversion is possible. Obvious locations in hospitals are pharmacies and automated dis- pensing cabinets (ADCs), yet drug diverters steal from transportation carts, from patient rooms during drug administration, from waste and sharps containers, and in receiving areas and mailrooms.
A common initial method used by diverters is theft of waste. Tactics in- clude failure to waste, wasting entire doses, delayed wasting to facilitate
Even when addicts are fired, they can keep their licenses and their histories secret by promising to enter drug treatment.
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