Opioid Theft Ring Stole Millions of Drugs from Hospital

Two pharmacy employees at Emory University Hospital Midtown illegally diverted more than 1 million doses of controlled drugs in a scheme that lasted more than four years, according to a Georgia Board of Pharmacy consent order.

Details of the thefts came to light in the consent order with the Atlanta hospital, finalized in February 2016.

The stolen drugs included Alprazolam, known generally as Xanax, which is used to treat anxiety disorders. Pain medications — hydrocodone and codeine products — were also diverted.

The two pharmacy technicians were fired.

The Emory Midtown hospital “suffered significant financial losses due to the employees’ illegal thefts/diversion scheme,’’ the consent order said.

“Emory has cooperated fully in the investigation of these activities, and no patients were harmed,’’ Dollard said. “Emory has conducted a full review of its pharmacy processes and has reinforced and added procedures to prevent this scheme from recurring.”

The Georgia Drugs and Narcotics Agency has conducted a criminal investigation into the actions of the two individuals, Dollard said Tuesday.

“To the best of our knowledge that investigation is still pending, and we are unable to speak to details about its current status,” he said.

The diversion scheme began in October 2008 and lasted until July 2013, when the hospital “became aware of a suspicious single purchase by a pharmacy technician of schedule III, IV and V controlled substances,” the board order said.

The hospital immediately began an investigation that revealed that the pharmacy techs “illegally and without authorization had ordered and received controlled substances from [Emory Midtown’s] pharmacy wholesale supplier,’’ the document said.

“The scheme was perpetuated through coordinated illicit activity, including misappropriating credentials from a pharmacy buyer; exploiting use of an electronic function in the [hospital’s] system to conceal the unauthorized purchases, and bypassing the receiving/inventorying process.”