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Drugs pose temptation, even to pros in Oklahoma

 
BY JULIE BISBEE | Published: September 20, 2009    Comment on this article Leave a comment

More prescription pain pills are being consumed in Oklahoma and in some cases doctors and pharmacists play a role in getting those drugs to people who don’t have a medical reason to take them.

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The number of pharmacists losing their licenses hasn’t changed much over the past 12 years. However, the number of pharmacy technicians losing their licenses has increased, peaking at 36 in 2008. So far this year, 24 pharmacy technicians have lost their licenses, according to the state Board of Pharmacy.

About 90 percent of those licenses were revoked because of the theft of controlled substances, said Cindy Hamilton, chief compliance officer with the pharmacy board and a regional investigator.

In some cases, technicians are ordering more drugs than the pharmacy needs and selling the excess, Hamilton said.

"Techs are our biggest problem right now. They consume most of our time,” Hamilton said. "Our cases with technicians have skyrocketed.”

Technicians are not required to attend pharmacy school and often only have high school diplomas. They have access to drugs and in some cases are able to sell those drugs, Hamilton said. The board is now requiring pharmacists to take a more active role in policing their technicians, she said.

"In one case we had a technician ordering diet pills at a hospital,” Hamilton said. "A hospital doesn’t need diet pills. The pharmacist should have been catching that.”

No one’s immune
Licensed medical professionals and pharmacists are also falling prey to prescription drug addictions. The drugs are readily available and pharmacists have extensive knowledge of how the drugs work in the body.

In 2008, the pharmacy board was monitoring 15 pharmacists, one pharmacy student and one pharmacy technician for drug abuse, Hamilton said.

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