Justice Department sues CVS over opioid practices, including some in Ohio • Ohio Capital Journal

The U.S. Department of Justice is suing pharmacy giant CVS, accusing it of putting profits over patient safety and fueling the opioid crisis. The allegations have similarities to violations for which the Ohio Board of Pharmacy fined the company last year, and the DOJ complaint cites some of the board’s findings in its lawsuit.

The complaint was unsealed last week in Providence, Rhode Island

Essentially, it accuses CVS of understaffing its pharmacies so badly that pharmacists and technicians couldn’t ensure they were filling opioid prescriptions properly. In addition, CVS is accused of even more serious conduct.

“CVS also allegedly filled large quantities of prescriptions for controlled substances that were written by prescribers who were known to operate in “pill mills” – that is, prescribers who filled large numbers of prescriptions for controlled substances without for medical purposes,” says a statement announcing the lawsuit. “According to the complaint, CVS ignored material evidence from multiple sources, including its own pharmacists and internal data, that suggested its stores were filling unlawful prescriptions.”

Particularly notorious pill mills were located in and around Portsmouth, Ohio, in a region particularly hard hit by the opioid epidemic.

In a statement, CVS said it has already begun opioid enforcement.

“We have cooperated with the DOJ’s investigation for more than four years and strongly disagree with the allegations and misrepresentation in this complaint,” it said. “We will vigorously defend ourselves against this misguided federal lawsuit, which follows years of litigation by state and local governments on these issues – allegations that have largely already been made.” resolved through a global agreement with the attorneys general of the participating states.”

CVS added that it has taken extensive measures to prevent the overprescription of opioids.

“CVS Health has been an industry leader in developing innovative programs to combat opioid abuse,” the statement said. “For example, 12 years ago, CVS Pharmacy launched a unique program to block potentially worrisome physicians from prescribing controlled substances. To date, we have blocked more than 1,250 doctors, including nearly 600 prescribers to whom the government continues to grant licenses. This program is not required by law or regulation, and CVS Health has repeatedly defended lawsuits from people who allege we go too far in blocking opioid prescribers. “

However, the Justice Department accuses CVS of not spending enough money to staff its pharmacies so they can operate safely. The Ohio Board of Pharmacy came to the same conclusion in February when it fined the company $250,000, placed a CVS store in Canton on indefinite probation and imposed sweeping new rules to ensure adequate staffing. CVS later paid a $1.25 million penalty to settle violations the Board of Pharmacy found at 22 CVS stores in Ohio.

Inspection reports of these stores described wait times of up to a month to fill prescriptions, expired and adulterated medicines on shelves, and poor inspections Hundreds of doses of opioids like oxycodone and hydromorphone disappeared. Current and former CVS employees told the Capital Journal Upper management didn’t listen when pharmacy employees asked for additional help. They added that the problems are not limited to CVS stores in Ohio.

The Justice Department’s lawsuit cited the Ohio findings and made similar allegations.

“The complaint alleges that CVS’s violations were due to company-mandated performance metrics, incentive compensation and human resources policies that prioritized corporate profits over patient safety,” the statement announcing the lawsuit said. “CVS has set staffing levels far too low for pharmacists to meet both their performance metrics and their legal obligations. CVS also allegedly withheld important information from its pharmacists (e.g., by preventing pharmacists from warning each other about certain prescribers), which could have reduced the number of illegitimate prescriptions issued. The complaint alleges that CVS’s actions helped fuel the opioid crisis and that, in some particularly tragic cases, patients died of opioid overdoses shortly after filling unlawful prescriptions at CVS.”

The lawsuit was filed following a whistleblower complaint from a former employee. Under federal law, whistleblowers are entitled to a share of the money recovered in such lawsuits.

The Justice Department’s lawsuit seeks, among other things, treble damages, additional monetary penalties and a permanent injunction requiring the company to dispense opioids in accordance with its legal obligations.