In the midst of an opioid epidemic, a report reveals that more doctors are stealing prescriptions

When Lauren Lollini went to the hospital for a kidney operation in 2009, she was shocked when she left with hepatitis C and a liver infection.

"My life has changed dramatically because now I am a 40 year old woman with a one year old daughter who is so tired that I can not work," said Lollini.

The hospital technician, Kristen Parker, infected Lollini and at least 18 other people by stealing their pain medication and leaving contaminated syringes for reuse. She is now serving 30 years in prison.

"She removed them from surgical trays, used them for herself for her own use, then filled them with saline and put them back on trays," said Lollini. "I was really angry at the broken system.The hospital that hired her – without their knowledge she had been fired from other jobs."

A new report released Tuesday by the Protected Data Processing Company reveals that "opioid diversion" is a growing problem. In 2018, more than 47 million doses of opioids prescribed by law were stolen, an increase of 126% over the previous year.

According to Protenus, 34% of these incidents occurred in hospitals or medical centers, followed by private practices, long-term care facilities and pharmacies. Only 77% of cases identified a particular drug, but the most common was oxycodone, followed by hydrocodone and fentanyl.

Sixty-seven percent of the time, doctors and nurses are responsible. Dr. Stephen Loyd from Tennessee was one of them.

"What I did not know was how quickly it was going to escalate, from that half of a five milligram Lortab to about 500 milligrams of Oxycontin a day in three years. 39, is about 100 Vicodin, "he said.

For three and a half years, he siphoned off the drugs of his patients.

"There was no requirement on what happened to these pills – they could go to the bathroom or in my pocket," Loyd said.

He warns that people working in the health care sector are at high risk of abuse.

"They have very stressful jobs, many of them, like me, have a workaholic, and not only do you have access," said Loyd.

He has been clean for 15 years and was Director of the Mental Health and Addiction Treatment Services Division in Tennessee before leading a rehabilitation center in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Loyd implores addict health care workers to admit that they need help, which he knew to be the hardest part for him until he got the job done. he is confronted with his own father.

After confessing to his father that he was afraid of losing his house, his car and his career should have been honest, his father replied: "None of these things will do you any good if you are dead . "

Kira Caban of Protesters stated that the firm's findings are likely a "tip of the pack", as only a fraction of the opioid diversions are discovered because an addict admits this behavior or that 39, a patient falls ill. Department of Justice has created an opioid fraud and abuse detection unit fight against this problembut it is operational in less than one third of the country.