Healthcare Facility Rx Drug Diversion – Drug Theft by Nurse
The Washington state Department of Health Nursing Commission indefinitely suspended the license of registered Richland nurse, Emily Marie Hanson, for alleged misconduct on the job. She got her license in July 2013 and was working as a nurse supervisor at a local medical center around 2018-2019.
Hanson is accused of getting oxycodone and lying about giving it to a patient, according to the statement of charges from the DOH. In January 2019, she got oxycodone from a Pyxis machine, then reported giving it to a patient on his chart. The patient told another nurse that he hadn’t been given any pain medication.
When law enforcement asked Hanson about the incident, she reportedly admitted she had diverted the substances.
Based on those allegations, in December 2021 the DOH Nursing Commission accused Hanson of unprofessional conduct for possession of a controlled substance, appropriation of medication and violation of professional regulation.
In order to even petition to have her license reinstated, Hanson will have to enroll in the Washington Health Professional Services monitoring program until they say monitoring is no longer needed, according to the agreed order signed July 2022.
Tags: Automated Dispensing Machine Drug Theft Healthcare Diversion Nurse Diversion Opioid Crisis Oxycodone
