Andrew Charles Hartwig, D.D.S. / Oral Surgery Associates of Iowa City
Outcome
Iowa City oral surgeon Andrew Hartwig, 55, pleaded guilty October 2022 and was sentenced March 2023 to 2 years in federal prison for tampering with the dental practice's fentanyl supply by removing medication from vials for personal use at Oral Surgery Associates of Iowa City from April 2019 through July 2019.
Details
Andrew Charles Hartwig, D.D.S. / Oral Surgery Associates of Iowa City — Fentanyl Self-Diversion (2019–2023)
Outcome: Iowa City oral surgeon Andrew Charles Hartwig, 55, pleaded guilty in October 2022 to one count of tampering with consumer products and was sentenced in March 2023 to two years in federal prison for diverting fentanyl from his dental practice's patient-use supply for personal consumption at Oral Surgery Associates of Iowa City (also known as Oral Surgery and Dental Implant Center of Iowa City).
Andrew Charles Hartwig was an oral surgeon at Oral Surgery Associates of Iowa City in Iowa City, Iowa. Beginning at least as early as April 2019 and continuing until at least July 10, 2019, Hartwig diverted fentanyl from his dental practice's surgical supply. He removed fentanyl medication from the vials that were intended for use in managing patient pain during oral surgery procedures and used the diverted fentanyl for his own personal consumption.
As with similar diversion schemes in dental and veterinary practices, Hartwig's method involved accessing the practice's controlled substance supply — likely under the guise of preparing surgical doses — and taking a portion for personal use. Patients undergoing oral surgery at the practice during this period may have received less than the intended dose of fentanyl, potentially affecting their pain management during procedures.
Hartwig pleaded guilty in October 2022. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa sentenced him to two years in federal prison in March 2023. The case was investigated jointly by the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations and the DEA.
Primary Source: DOJ USAO-SDIA — Oral Surgeon Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for Fentanyl Tampering
How Crucible Prevents This
Hartwig diverted fentanyl from patient-use vials at his oral surgery practice — the same type of substitution scheme seen in veterinary and hospital diversion cases. Crucible's controlled substance vial-level reconciliation controls, requiring documented pre-surgical fentanyl quantity and post-surgical waste accounting, would have identified the volume discrepancy between ordered and administered fentanyl before the diversion persisted across multiple surgical sessions.
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