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Reports show the VA hospital in Charleston is doing a better job than others around the country keeping a close eye on prescription drug thefts.
Numbers provided by the local hospital indicate, in the past three years, there were 10 reports of missing prescription drugs and two incidents of employee “pilferage.” One of the employees who stole drugs was fired. The other resigned, VA hospital spokeswoman Tonya Lobbestael confirmed. Most of the losses were deemed accidental.
Meanwhile, as the opioid epidemic continues killing thousands of Americans each year, The Associated Press reported on Monday that drug theft, missing prescriptions and unauthorized drug use by VA employees have risen sharply in federal hospitals since 2009.
The AP reported that the VA’s inspector general and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration have increased their scrutiny of drug thefts from the VA.
DEA officials spent a week reviewing procedures at the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center in Charleston last summer, staff said. After the unannounced visit, inspectors were complimentary of hospital protocol, said Sharon Castle, chief of pharmacy for the Charleston VA.
“The only request that came out of that was that we present some of our documentation … in a different format,” she said. “Minor paperwork adjustments.”
In 2016, VA hospitals around the country reported nearly 2,500 incidents of drug loss or theft. The Charleston hospital reported five such incidents last year. On three occasions, the drugs were lost in transit from a commercial carrier. On another occasion, video footage confirmed that a drug was accidentally thrown away. In the final case, a liquid medication was lost during the pre-packing and dispensing process “because the medication was concentrated.”
Lobbestael said theft just hasn’t been a major problem here. “We’re really proud of that fact.”
More than 200 inspections of controlled substances were conducted last year at the Charleston VA hospital and pharmacy staff count their inventory every 72 hours, Lobbestael said. Security cameras also monitor the pharmacy’s supply.
Norma Jean Cole, a nurse at the VA hospital and the controlled substance coordinator, said her team must remain vigilant.
“Addiction is an illness,” she said. “Criminals get very creative to get what they need. That’s not specific to the VA. We need to make sure that we’re clear on that. I come from the private sector and this is not new.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.