CEO viewpoint: We need a new system to prevent repeat drug diverters from working in hospitals

Rocky Allen, a former surgical technician arrested last week for drug theft, was employed by at least five hospitals before he was arrested for stealing pain medication, switching syringes and putting patients at risk for bloodborne diseases.

Mr. Allen worked at Northwest Hospital & Medical Center in Seattle for less than three months and was fired from there in March 2012, according to the Denver Post. From there, he worked as a surgical technician trainee at Scripps Green Hospital in La Jolla, Calif., from May 9 to June 7, 2013, before he was terminated for attempting to switch a pain medication syringe with a saline syringe. Even though Scripps notified the Drug Enforcement Agency at the time of Mr. Allen's termination, he was still able to find employment at two Arizona hospitals in 2014 and worked at Swedish Medical Center in Englewood, Colo., from Aug. 17, 2015, to Jan. 22 of this year.

At Swedish, Mr. Allen allegedly diverted drugs and possibly left behind dirty syringes, putting patients at risk for bloodborne diseases. Swedish fired him in January, and in February he was taken into federal custody on charges of tampering with a consumer product and obtaining a controlled substance by deceit.

During his employment at Swedish and the other hospitals, Mr. Allen potentially put thousands of patients at risk for HIV and hepatitis B and C due to his alleged practices.

Scripps President and CEO Chris Van Gorder is now calling for more open communication between healthcare providers when it comes to drug diversion.

"While I absolutely respect privacy rights, it sure would be helpful for healthcare employers to be able to share past employee information as it relates to drug diversion or have a government body where this information could be reported," Mr. Van Gorder said in an email to Becker's. "As in this case, the inability to share this information put patients at risk in multiple states."

What is your opinion? Email Heather Punke at hpunke@beckershealthcare.com and your comments could appear in a future Becker's article.

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