Pharmaceutical Homicide: A Forensic Approach to Patient Safety

It may seem bizarre, even surreal, but sometimes people intentionally use therapeutic pharmaceutical products as weapons to kill other people. Lethal medications can be readily obtained from a community or hospital pharmacy where they are stocked with the intent that they be used in patient care. This book describes how pharmaceutical products under the control of licensed pharmacies, and intended for use in therapy for patients, are sometimes used instead by criminals to commit murder. A surprisingly large number of healthcare professionals have committed serial killings of patients within healthcare settings. Healthcare professionals have also stolen pharmaceuticals from practice sites and have used them outside a healthcare setting to kill relatives, friends, and acquaintances. The widespread availability of pharmaceutical products in households provides the means to commit what is often thought to be “the perfect crime” by poisoning a victim with an overdose of medication. This book explores the means through which pharmaceutical homicide can be committed, and the strategies that can be utilized to recognize and prevent murder with medication.