California Hospital chain fined $1.55 million for missing drugs

http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20140718/A_NEWS/407180311

From the article:

An investigation into 20,000 tablets of prescription narcotics missing from St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Stockton has led to Dignity Health, the state’s largest hospital chain, paying a $1.55 million penalty for mishandling medications, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.

As compared to …

Are we talking “small potatoes ” here ?

https://www.pharmaciststeve.com/?p=5203

Drug enforcement officials are investigating several CVS pharmacies in California over missing prescription painkillers – pills state officials fear may have ended up on the black market.

Investigators in the Sacramento office of the Drug Enforcement Agency are specifically interested in finding out what happened to more than 37,000 tablets of hydrocodone, a narcotic typically sold under brand names like Vicodin and Norco. The pills were reported lost or stolen by four CVS stores in Fairfield, Dixon, Turlock, and Modesto, according to the DEA’s warrant applications.

CVS says it is cooperating with the DEA’s review and working to improve its internal audit procedures and drug storage and control measures. It could face up to $29 million in fines as a result of the investigation.

Maybe I am missing the math here on size of the  fines in relationship to the amount of opiates missing… or is the size of the fines in relationship to the entity’s ABILITY TO PAY ?

Maybe DEA’s fines are like income taxes.. the more you make .. the more you pay !

 

 

Filed under: General Problems