The United States Attorney’s Offices for the Northern and Southern Districts of West Virginia announced that West Virginia University Health System (WVUHS) agreed to pay $4,177,139 and enter a three-year Memorandum of Agreement with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to resolve civil allegations after the agency’s investigation found that the health system violated multiple provisions of the Controlled Substances Act across various registered facilities over a seven-year span.
The government stated that WVUHS committed “numerous recordkeeping and reporting violations between 2017 and 2024,” and that WVUHS facilities “failed to notify the DEA regarding thefts or significant losses of controlled substances.” The DEA found other violations: “errors in orders regarding controlled substances; failures to maintain accurate and current inventory records; failures to ensure proper authority for use of DEA order forms; maintaining policies and procedures not fully consistent with the requirements of the Controlled Substance Act; and other administrative violations.”
“When a healthcare system controls large quantities of addictive medications, strict compliance with the Controlled Substances Act is necessary to protect the public,” stated First Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Prezioso. “This settlement, along with the corresponding Memorandum of Agreement, demands accountability and mandates meaningful reform across WVUHS.”
WVUHS’ Memorandum of Agreement with the DEA imposes “detailed systemwide compliance requirements, including additional diversion oversight; rapid reporting of thefts or losses; installing hundreds of security cameras at controlled substance storage sites; enhancing training and auditing procedures; and other policy improvements to detect, investigate, and prevent diversion,” according to the government.
The fine levied against WVUHS “reflects the serious nature of their failure to meet their obligations in accordance with the Controlled Substances Act,” stated Special Agent in Charge Jim Scott, head of DEA’s Louisville Field Division.
News organization Mountain State Spotlight on Friday published a report that provides ample detail about what was occurring at WVUHS that led to the investigation and subsequent settlement and Memorandum of Agreement.
