NORFOLK, Va. — The Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters (CHKD) is paying a civil penalty of $68,400 after an investigation regarding the record keeping of controlled substances, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said.
In a news release released Thursday, the department alleged that CHKD failed to comply with recordkeeping requirements outlined by the Controlled Substances Act.
A spokesperson for CHKD said in a statement the investigation came after the hospital's pharmacy discovered that a shipment of a controlled substance was unaccounted for, prompting them to alert the Drug Enforcement Agency.
The DOJ said that between March 29 and Dec. 22, 2021, CHKD had packages of prescription drugs delivered to its receiving warehouse, a location not registered with the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The delivered packages allegedly included the delivery of 200 one-milliliter fentanyl syringes that the DOJ claimed CHKD couldn't show were delivered to its pharmacy or accounted for anywhere else.
"The recordkeeping requirements under CSA are designed to protect the health and safety of the public from dangers posed by highly addictive or dangerous controlled substances while also ensuring that patients have access to pharmaceutical controlled substances for legitimate medical purposes," the DOJ release stated. "In a separate agreement with the DEA Diversion Group, CHKD agreed to take measures to prevent such conduct from occurring in the future."
The CHKD spokesperson said, in response to the DOJ's news release, the hospital "cooperated fully with the ensuing investigation."
"CHKD no longer allows the delivery of controlled substances to their warehouse," the statement read. "Shipments are now delivered directly to the pharmacy. The hospital has also strengthened its system of record-keeping and receiving procedures to prevent incidents of this nature from occurring in the future."
