Nurse Practitioner Faces Charges for Fraudulent Narcotic Prescriptions
More than 50 prescriptions were written to individuals who weren’t under the NP’s care.
A Pennsylvania nurse practitioner was charged with writing 52 fraudulent prescriptions for narcotics to her friends and family, according toPittsburgh’s Action News 4.
At the time, 49-year-old Amy Ann Busch was working at Heartland Home Health Care and Hospice in North Huntingdon, PA.
The affidavit of probable cause states that Busch wrote prescriptions for 5 individuals who weren’t under her care, dating back to June 2013,TribLivereported.
Among the 5 were Busch’s husband, Regis P. Busch Jr., who allegedly received prescriptions for painkillers on 30 different occasions, and a friend who received 19 prescriptions, according to investigators. The remaining individuals each filled 1 prescription.
The prescriptions were for dextroamphetamine, hydrocodone, and oxycodone and were obtained at 4 pharmacies, according toTribLive.
The investigation was launched after workers at a physician’s office noticed suspicious activity on a patient’s schedule 2 narcotic reports.
Busch was charged with 5 felony counts of drug delivery by a practitioner and 5 misdemeanor counts for furnishing false information,TribLivereported.
Heartland Hospice spokeswoman Kelly Kessler said in a statement that none of the fraudulent prescriptions were written for any patients, and Busch has since been let go from the company.
“We understand that a former employee was arrested for writing prescriptions,” Kessler said, as reported byAction News 4. “The incident was unrelated to the care and services Heartland provides and did not affect any patients. We take any allegations of inappropriate behavior seriously and have zero tolerance of any abuse of the system. The nurse is no longer associated with Heartland.”
Busch was arraigned on Tuesday before North Huntingdon District Judge Wayne Gongaware. She was released on $50,000 unsecured bond.
