U.S. Attorney's Office Collects $35,000 in Penalties for Narcotics Recordkeeping Violations
United States Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced today that her office's Affirmative Civil Enforcement Unit has collected $35,000 from an Idaho dentist and an Idaho pharmacy for failing to keep proper distribution records for controlled pharmaceuticals.
Under federal law, all health professionals licensed to dispense, administer or prescribe controlled pharmaceuticals and all pharmacies authorized to fill prescriptions must register with the Drug Enforcement Administration and comply with regulatory requirements relating to drug security and recordkeeping.
A DEA audit revealed a shortage of approximately 72,100 milligrams of Demerol at the office of Dr. H Aaron Blaser in Ketchum, Idaho. Another audit at Paul's Pharmacy in Caldwell, Idaho, owned by Z, Inc., revealed a shortage of approximately 11,733 dosage units of hydrocodone. Failure to maintain distribution records is punishable by up to $10,000 per violation. Dr. Blaser and Z, Inc. settled the United States Attorney's Office's allegations on May 6 and June 6, respectively. Settlements collected on civil penalty cases are paid into the Department of Treasury's General Fund.
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