CVS will pay $795,000, strengthen policies around dispensing opioids in agreement with state
CVS Pharmacy will strengthen its policies around dispensing opioids and require its employees in Massachusetts to check a prescription monitoring database before filling prescriptions for commonly misused opioids, according to the state’s Office of the Attorney General.
Attorney General Maura Healey heralded the settlement agreement with the pharmacy as the first of its kind and said it resolves allegations that CVS previously failed to provide its Massachusetts pharmacists with a way to access the state’s Prescription Monitoring Program. The online monitoring system provides a prescription history of a patient, helping to identify drug-seeking behavior.
This marks the first time in the nation that @CVSHealth has instituted a specific requirement to check the PMP. This is a big deal.
— AG Maura Healey Archived (@AGHealeyArchive) September 1, 2016
An investigation conducted by Healey’s Consumer Protection Division found CVS failed to provide “sufficient internet connectivity” for pharmacists to access the online database.
“To effectively combat the opioid epidemic that is claiming lives and devastating families and communities across our state, we must work together to use all tools at our disposal,” Attorney General Maura Healey said in a statement. “Through this groundbreaking settlement, these pharmacists will be better equipped to responsibly dispense opioids and will be required to use the Prescription Monitoring Program, which is a vital resource in preventing the misuse of opioids.”
CVS will also pay $795,000 to the state, $500,000 of which will be used to address opioid addiction and dependence, and require annual training for pharmacists to identify drug-seeking behavior, according to the AG’s office.
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