The logbooks are used to administer prescription painkillers that have been ordered to the business. In addition to the names of medicines and the number of tablets distributed to patients, the books also contain the patients' names and social security numbers.

- In the departments you have logbooks where you write how many medicines ordered and how many tablets were distributed, so that you see that the number is correct. The logs are stored in a locked cabinet. This cannot yet be managed digitally in our medical record system, but when we get a new digital health care system (SDV) in 2021, the data will be saved there instead, says Margareta Kitlinski, chief physician and section manager at RMC.

The books contained information on a total of about 7,200 patients. The patients are found mainly in Skåne but also in other parts of southern Sweden.

Theft and crime

The reason for the incident was that an employee tried to conceal theft of drug-classified pain tablets. Patients have been given the medicines they needed, but the employee has registered more tablets than those distributed. The theft of drugs has been going on for a limited time and therefore the company could not detect it.

- The logbooks are checked regularly but not every day, explains Margareta Kitlinski.

Found in trash cans in town

Some of the logbooks were found in trash cans by a private individual and returned to RMC. The company has tried to recover the rest of the books, but without success.

- We have recovered about 10 percent of the books and 90 percent have most likely gone to incineration. We take this event very seriously, but consider that the risk that individual patients will be affected in some way is very small, ”says Margareta Kitlinski, chief physician and section manager at RMC, in a press release on Monday.

SVT has applied for the section manager at RMC