Doctor insists I use expired Dilaudid on patients

[Buffy31]

Let me state that I have desperately been looking for a new job. I am a single mother and have been staying at my current job out of necessity.

I work at an oral surgery office, doing conscious sedation. We had some dilaudid expire November of 2013. I alerted the doctor to this, and he told me several times to use it, or find another job. We also have midazolam that expired last month, I asked if I could toss it, and he said to keep using it.

Further, we prescriber hydrocodone in the office. A couple months ago, a bottle of it went missing. I insisted that we report it to the DEA (as recommended by the DEA), but he specifically told me not to.

My question is: as soon as I can get the hell out of this office, after I report this, can I lose my RN license for using this expired stuff? Even though I was only working there to support my family?

[Buffy31]

This is such a huge mess. An asst that was just told to go on medical leave is trying to get a settlement & we were told not to talk to her bc someone here at the office gave her info on what the docs were doing . That was me, telling her they're trying to pin stuff on her.

Can someone pinch me? Because this is too messed up to be real!!

[Paws2people]

An asst that was just told to go on medical leave is trying to get a settlement & we were told not to talk to her bc someone here at the office gave her info on what the docs were doing . That was me, telling her they're trying to pin stuff on her.

And now they're trying to pin stuff on YOU... Great. Get out now.

[emergenceRN17, ASN, BSN, RN]

There has to be a way out of this for you. I will say a BIG prayer..... Karma is a B* and things will eventually come full circle to bite him in the behind, don't you worry!

I say that the next time he asks you to administer expired meds outright refuse and make sure others are around to hear/witness. If he fires you, LET HIM! ... you will be able to obtain unemployment, and you will have witnesses to his unethical requests.

[Buffy31]

Will do, Hopeful.

I appreciate the prayer!

[stephr78]

Wow. I'm sorry to hear this. What a crazy situation. Keep us updated on what happens!

[JustBeachyNurse, LPN]

Consulting your personal malpractice/liability insurance would be a wise choice at this time.

[CrunchRN, ADN, RN]

Through no fault of your own you are really and truly in a mess. I wish you the best and hope it resolves in a way that is not hurtful to you.

[RLJS]

You need to report the missing medication to the DEA!!! I'm an RN now but before that I worked as a medical assistant in a general surgeon's office. While the surgeon was on vacation, he told our RN, to have us clean and restock the entire office, which included the medication cabinet and locked narcotic cabinet. The RN and I removed, LOGGED IN and OUT, and properly disposed of all of the expired medications. The empty bottles were then put in the trash compactor. Afterwhich, we reordered the expired medications from the pharmacy (which included a bottle of powdered cocaine that we sometimes used for cautery during surgical procedures.) The pharmacy, which was located on the ground floor of our office building, delivered the medications to our office, and they were signed for by the other medical assistant who worked in our office. Fortunately for me, it was my day off the day they were delivered. A few weeks later, during a hemorrhoidectomy procedure in the office, the surgeon asked for the bottle of powdered cocaine so he could cauterize. I went to get it out of the narc cabinet but it was'nt there. We turned the office upside down looking for it. It was no where to be found. Thank God the RN and I had the foresight to go through the medication cabinet and the locked narcotic cabinet together; had logged in and out every single medication in both boxes; and had properly disposed of it. Luckily, the trash compactor bag was also still in the trash compactor so we were able to slit the bag open and show the physician that the contents matched our log. We then back tracked with the pharmacy to find out when they delivered the medications, who they delivered them to, who signed for the delivery, etc. and figured out that the other medical assistant was most likely responsible for taking the cocaine. Of course, the physician had no intention of reporting it to the DEA b/c the medical assistant had worked for him for years and was a close personal friend of his son, but our RN reported it anonymously and the Pharmacist reported it outright. The DEA was swift, prompt, and thorough in their investigation. In addition to the missing narcs, their investigation determined that the physician was also committing medicare billing fraud. He was ultimately convicted of medicare fraud and sent to prison.

[justmermcRN]

I wouldnt worry so much about the expired medications, this practice is often done in private offices. I would, however, worry about the missing bottle of hydrocodone. You are the person who counts these narcotics and is responsible for keeping records. You must report this to the DEA immediately. Don't let this come back and bite you when they start investigating from someone elses report. Boards of Nursing take this very seriously and even though you need this job, you will find another one. But for this to go unreported and eventually blamed on you, will be left on your nursing record and follow you the rest of your life. Good luck.

[CrunchRN, ADN, RN]

I worked in private offices for over a decade and we ALWAYS destroyed expired medications and we did not use them.

[Torbls]

Get lawyered. You area liable for action comited by you. Knowingly that such were out of date. Can you provide 12 peers that would under the same circunstanses do the same. Any way first things first. Stop this so called doctor. Report him. Be ready. Some of those patients may get contacted by his laweyers or yours. Be prepared read rverything. Godspeed.

[GM2RN]

I agree that you need to report the missing narcs to the DEA, and talk to an attorney...today! Do it before you quit so the attorney can advise you on the best course of action to protect yourself from becoming a scapegoat.