A former nurse at WellSpan Chambersburg (Pa.) Hospital has been accused of falsifying medical information following a patient's death, court documents show.
Sara Miller, RN, has been charged with three misdemeanor counts of furnishing false or fraudulent medical information. The charges were filed by the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General on July 16.
WellSpan hospital leaders reported the defendant to the state's Bureau of Narcotic Investigations in January, citing a "possible diversion of morphine," according to Tri-State Alert.
State investigators discovered discrepancies in morphine documentation for a patient who was being treated in the hospital's critical care unit for severe acute respiratory failure, bilateral pneumonia and sepsis. Another hospital employee told investigators that Ms. Miller appeared to have injected a substance into the patient's IV shortly before the individual died, according to the report. The staff member also found a small syringe between the mattress and rail of the patient's bed. No autopsy or drug testing was done on the patient's body.
Investigators found discrepancies in the data from the patient's IV pump and missing signatures from Ms. Miller. The defendant admitted to the poor documentation, but she attributed it to her uncertainty about the procedures, having worked at the hospital for only several weeks.
Ms. Miller's nursing license remains active in Pennsylvania. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 10.
A spokesperson for WellSpan shared the following statement with Becker's: "WellSpan is committed to providing safe, high-quality care for our patients. Per our standard safety protocols, we shared the matter with the appropriate state agencies and collaborated with them on the investigation. We are unable to share further details."