Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Only Handful Of VA Employees Fired Or Reprimanded In Over 11,000 Reported Incidents Of Drug Theft, Loss
The Associated Press: VA Data Show Low Rate Of Discipline For Drug Loss, Theft
Doctors, nurses or pharmacy staff at the Department of Veterans Affairs’ hospitals were fired or reprimanded in only a small fraction of thousands of reported cases of opioid theft and missing prescriptions since 2010, according to government data obtained by The Associated Press. About 372 VA employees were disciplined for a drug or alcohol-related issue across a network of 160 medical centers and 1,000 clinics over the last six years, according to internal figures kept by the facilities that were reported to VA’s headquarters. During that time, there were more than 11,000 reported incidents of drug loss or theft at federal hospitals — the vast majority within the VA, according to law enforcement data. Roughly translated, VA employees were disciplined in 3 percent of cases. (Yen, 2/27)
