The Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit is available to help local law enforcement investigate drug diversion in Ohio’s long-term care facilities.
In recent years, the unit has helped investigate and prosecute several such cases:
-
A Fairfield County nursing assistant was convicted of pulling pain patches off the body of a patient on multiple occasions.
-
Three nurses in Meigs County were convicted of stealing prescription pain patches and pills after being caught on surveillance camera.
-
A Cuyahoga County nurse was convicted of stealing Percocet and Oxycodone and replacing them with other pills.
This summer, the Attorney General — along with Ohio’s Office of the Long-term Care Ombudsman and Ohio Department of Health — reminded all nursing homes and assisted living/residential care facilities of their obligation to report suspected prescription drug diversion. Drug diversion that deprives a care facility resident of prescribed medication or places the resident at risk of being deprived of their medication is a form of patient neglect and, by law, must be reported.
“Our law enforcement officers have been aggressively shutting down pill mills across the state, but now addicts may turn to care facilities as a source to feed their dependence,” Attorney General Mike DeWine said. “Every time this happens, a real patient is deprived of the medication they need to get well.”
The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigates crimes against care facility residents. Law enforcement agencies interested in assistance or details should call 614-466-0722.