Pill Theft Leads to $2M Security Investment at Abington Hospital

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Abington Hospital
A rash of pill thefts pills resulted in a hefty court settlement and pushed Abington Hospital to invest close to $2 million in program to prevent similar thefts in the future.

The theft of thousands of pills that resulted in a hefty court settlement has pushed Abington Hospital to invest close to $2 million in program to prevent similar issues in the future, writes John George for Philadelphia Business Journal.

The hospital has agreed to pay the government $510,000 to settle the case which alleged that failures in control and practices made it possible for one of its pharmacists to steal over 35,000 pills.

In an internal investigation, the hospital determined that on 85 different occasions over a three year period ending August 20, 2013, Reneta Dul stole over 35,000 pills.

These included highly addictive painkillers such as oxycodone. The pharmacist pleaded guilty last year to 25 counts of possession with the intent to distribute.

The hospital, which was known as Abington Memorial Hospital prior to its merger with Jefferson, has followed up on the settlement with a program to prevent, identify, and address any future diversions.

This includes a $2 million investment in security technology, equipment, and systems which has provided upgrades to the hospital’s inpatient pharmacy computer systems, installation of additional new security cameras and badge swipe access to certain areas.

Read more about the investments at Philadelphia Business Journal by clicking here.

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