Pharmacy tech charged with stealing diabetic test strips

Pharmacy technician Stacie-Lynn K. Pihana ordered cases of glucose or diabetic test strips on the job at Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center, hid them in the recycling bin, retrieved the cases when the bins were taken outside and placed the strips in her car, Deputy Prosecutor Chris Van Marter said Wednesday.

Van Marter said Pihana, 47, did this with 2,346 cases of test strips worth $695,618 from July 1, 2016, to Sept. 29 this year.

An Oahu grand jury indicted Pihana on Wednesday for first-degree theft.

Circuit Judge Colette Garibaldi set Pihana’s bail at $250,000.

Van Marter said Pihana told police she sold the test strips to a local buyer, who then took them to Las Vegas and sold them on the black market. He said Pihana refuses to identify the person she sold the strips to but that police recovered WCCHC security video of a man pulling up to the facility in a truck and retrieving some of the cases. Police are trying to identify the man, he said.

President and CEO Richard Bettini and board Chairman Anthony Guerrero said in a written statement that WCCHC has taken steps to enhance its surveillance systems and to recover the loss by filing a claim with its insurance carrier. They also said the theft has not impacted the level of services WCCHC provides.

Van Marter said the theft was discovered during a financial audit in October. The audit revealed that an inventory had not been performed as scheduled in June. Pihana was responsible for performing the inventory. She also got rid of all of the paperwork of the test strip purchases, Van Marter said.

Hawaii nurse practitioner Kimi Prentice says people with diabetes need to check their blood-sugar levels one to three times per day. A blood glucose meter reads their blood-sugar levels from a drop of blood on a test strip and indicates whether they need to take insulin.

Honolulu Prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro warns residents that black-market vendors could be selling counterfeit, expired or even defective merchandise. He said diabetic test strips are very sensitive to temperature variations and can render inaccurate results if not properly stored.

Prentice said the manufacturers of different brands of test strips have different instructions for storage. She said she had not heard of test strips being sold on the black market.

Van Marter said Pihana ordered 10 different brands of test strips but that one brand accounted for most of the stolen cases. He said one case of that brand contains 24 boxes of 100 test strips.

CVS Pharmacy stores sell two brands of 100-strip boxes that cost $140.99 or $163.99. The per-unit cost is higher in 50- and 25-strip boxes.

Walgreens sells test strips for $55.99 for a 100-strip box of its own brand and up to $199.99 for other brands. It also sells 50- and 25-strip boxes.