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Sandra Yi reportingWe trust them with our lives. But what if we can't trust our health care providers with taking care of their own lives?
More and more fraud cases involve doctors and nurses feeding a drug habit. Addictions so powerful, they some see patients even while they're high.
Fraud investigators have made a number of drug-related arrests in the medical community this year. We've discovered charges are pending against a dozen more for similar shocking crimes.
Joe Christensen: "Two years ago, we didn't have any of these kinds of cases."
Now, prescription fraud investigations make up half this agency's caseload.
Some involve those we trust most. Those cases have made headlines: Last year, investigators busted an oxycontin drug ring, involving more than 200 people. The alleged kingpin was a doctor.
Joe Christensen, Utah Insurance Fraud Division: "This is the biggest organized crime ring we have found in Utah."
In April, prosecutors charged a nurse practitioner with multiple felonies. Steven Larsen admitted to seeing patients, while under the influence of drugs.
In another recent case, an anesthesiologist was found wandering a hospital hallway with a hypodermic needle in her arm.
Joe Christensen: "Prior to her going into surgery, she went into the bathroom to shoot herself up and get high. She passed out and knocked her head against the inside of the stall and had a concussion, and this was somebody who was going into surgery."
Since, 2000, the state has taken public, disciplinary action against 1050 people licensed in the medical field. Thirty-five percent of those cases involved substance abuse.
Dr. Charles Walton, Utah Recovery Assistance Program: "It's kind of set up in many ways for health care professionals to tumble, if they have the tendency to do so."
A woman, who didn't want to be identified, says she struggled with drug and alcohol abuse most of her life. It didn't get any easier as a nurse.
Nurse: "I was giving medication to patients, and I was seeing how it was helping their pain, helping relieve them."
In a hospital, the temptation was there. So was the access. One day, she gave pain medication to a patient, then kept the extra dosage, injecting herself in the hospital bathroom. She was caught early, and enrolled in the state's Diversion Program.
Designed for first-time offenders who have never harmed patients, participants are strictly monitored. In exchange, their information is kept confidential, and many continue to work.
Last year, nearly 90 health care professionals, mostly doctors and nurses, participated in the program.
For this woman, it was an opportunity for a second chance.
Nurse: "Nursing is a profession that people are dedicated to, and they want to continue with what they love doing."
You can check the licensing status of any health care provider through the link above. But keep in mind, it won't show if a provider has gone through the Diversion Program.
