Should we randomly drug test healthcare professionals?

26-year-old surgical technician, Kristen Parker had a very serious drug problem. When doctors and nurses in the OR weren't looking, Parker would quietly steal syringes filled with the narcotic Fentanyl, which is up to 100 times as powerful as morphine, and replace them with syringes filled with saline. At first those replacement needles were new and sterilized. But as Parker's addiction worsened, she became sloppier. Soon she was swapping the Fentanyl syringes for dirty needles she'd used to inject herself.

Horrifying? Absolutely, especially given this fact: The previous summer, while living in New Jersey, Parker thinks she contracted hepatitis C from using dirty needles to shoot herself up with heroin.

Parker's behavior eventually aroused suspicions, and she was fired after failing a drug test. But it wouldn't be until over a year after Parker began work that officials, along with the state health department, began piecing together the damage she had caused. Ultimately, they calculated, she had exposed nearly 6,000 patients to hepatitis C.


via: Today

Tags: Should, be, drug, for, healthcare, professionals?, random, tests, there

Views: 126

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Laura P on June 24, 2010 at 8:25am
I see no reason why people shouldn't do drug and alcohol tests every once in awhile. If you have nothing to be guilty for than make sure you show that and just do it. It's not exactly hard and it will make the company realize you are far more reliable and if you are taking something than bring it up before hand.
Permalink Reply by IanJ on June 24, 2010 at 12:46pm
Aside from the hepatitis exposure, just imagine how many people had to suffer in pain because they were given saline instead of pain meds. I've had my fair share of drug tests for the various jobs I've had and it seems only natural to expect people who handle this kind of stuff to occasionally get checked out. It would be annoying by seems like it should naturally come with the job.
Permalink Reply by Annie on June 24, 2010 at 1:56pm
That was my first thought too! All those people out of surgery and without pain meds! My goodness.....
Permalink Reply by Eugene on June 24, 2010 at 2:48pm
It's absolutely absurd that the people who were supposed to get the pain meds got saline instead. This girl deserves more than just being fired, she deserves severe jail time.
Permalink Reply by Kevin on June 24, 2010 at 2:25pm
Does this happen often or was this a case of just one bad apple? I find it hard to believe that she was that deep into a drug habit and none of her coworkers had a clue as to what was going on. If this does happen regularly then by all means let's drug test. If not then people should be tested when their behavior is brought into question. After all the testing process is not free and would be passed on to the patient. Also I have seem my share of druggies pass the test when they need to.
Permalink Reply by Johnny Blue on June 24, 2010 at 2:53pm
Cost and effectiveness are the biggest issues in this case. Like Kevin said, passing a simple urine test is wayyyyy to easy. So, is mandatory widespread drug testing really the answer? I don't think it's really going to solve everything. I think coworkers and supervisors should be more aware of their surroundings, and not be afraid to speak up if they observe something fishy going on.
Permalink Reply by IanJ on June 24, 2010 at 7:50pm
Chem panels are routine in ER's. In fact one of the responsibilities I had as an EMT was to draw about 4 vials of blood from the patient before we even got out of the ambulance (to tell us what drugs they're on and a few other things). I was a very good vampire too by the way. I also think that it's a standard condition of employment these days to be open to random drug tests. It's just that most companies don't because it seems invasive and only "randomly" select people when they start acting weird.
Permalink Reply by IanJ on June 24, 2010 at 7:41pm
I know from first hand experience that the kind of drugs she was after are usually protected by a rigorous inventory system. For example, at my local ER you have to type in a Pin and a Password in order to have the drugs dispensed from a cart to you which maintains a record of the transaction. The problem with this case is saline isn't well guarded, it's water after all, and almost all IV drugs I've seen look the same outside the bottle.
Permalink Reply by Kristine Allen on June 24, 2010 at 11:56pm
Not everyone has those machines yet though : /
Permalink Reply by Rachel on June 25, 2010 at 12:41pm
at almost every job you could be randomly drug tested so yea why not? they work around drugs all of the time and they have access.... hell yea they should
Permalink Reply by Hoai Thu on June 27, 2010 at 4:43pm
I think companies should have random and planned drug tests periodically but more frequently in industries where there is higher liability risks for consumers or the company, like the health care industry, etc. It's true that it's costly to do drug testing but it's necessary to help prevent incidents like these from happening. Companies have a legal and moral obligation to make decisions that ensure public safety. Doing that will help them to avoid lawsuits, maintain good company image and establish/maintain trust with stakeholders. Most times these incidents happen b/c management focus more on short term goals rather than long term goals and it's a shame really.
Permalink Reply by Hoai Thu on June 27, 2010 at 4:49pm
I can't believe it took them that long to figure out the magnanimity of this case. Nearly 6,000 people were affected??? They can just all file a class action lawsuit against the hospital. The lawsuit and loss of reputation for the hospital should make them reconsider the way things are ran.

RSS

ADVERTISEMENT

© 2013   Created by alice.

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service