CVS Settles with State, Tightens Prescription Drug Policies: AG

BOSTON, MA – CVS Pharmacy has settled with the state of Massachusetts for shy of $1 million and an agreement to plug pharmacists there into the state's opioid abuse prevention system, among other policy changes meant to prevent patients from pharmacy shopping and filling excess prescriptions.

The $795,000 settlement agreement with CVS includes altering the company's policy on dispensing opioids in Massachusetts – the first such specific requirement in the nation, according to Healey.

"This was never required before, and I believe it is a big deal. It is gonna make a difference in our state," Healey said Thursday.

Of that funding, $500,000 will be used to address opioid dependence and addiction in Massachusetts, the AG's office said.

The state DA's office previously alleged that CVS failed to provide its Massachusetts pharmacists with a way to access the Massachusetts Online Prescription Monitoring Program prior to March 2013. The PMP provides the prescription history of a patient that can help identify drug-seeking behavior, according to the AG's office.

The agreement filed Thursday, along with a separate settlement agreement, resolves those allegations. It ensures CVS requires that Massachusetts pharmacy staff check the PMP before filling prescriptions for commonly misused opioids.

It also resolves allegations that certain CVS pharmacies in Massachusetts failed to monitor drug use patterns or use sound professional judgment when dispensing controlled substances, particularly opioids.

According to Healey, CVS pharmacists sometimes allowed patients to pay out-of-pocket for prescription drugs, despite being part of a MassHealth-administered program for members who use large amounts of drug. The program is meant to ensure they are monitored by a primary pharmacy that can look for patterns of potential abuse, and cannot fill prescriptions elsewhere without being flagged by the system. The AG’s office alleged that practice violates state laws and regulations.

As a result of Thursday's agreement, CVS will be updating its written policies and procedures and conducting annual training on both issues.

CVS Pharmacies in June reached separately what federal authorities called a historically high settlement of $3.5 million, after pharmacists at 50 CVS stores in Massachusetts and New Hampshire were accused of filling forged prescriptions 523 times, mostly for addictive pain killers.

>> Image courtesy AG Maura Healey