CVS Settles Prescription Forgery Case for $3.5 Million

A federal probe into Massachusetts and New Hampshire CVS Pharmacies ended in a historically high settlement Thursday of $3.5 million.

It's one of the largest settlements in such cases to date, according to federal authorities.

The allegations were made against 50 CVS stores in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, where pharmacists were accused of filing forged prescriptions 523 times, mostly for addictive pain killers.

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The settlement comes as New England and the rest of the country fight an opioid abuse crisis that has taken the thousands of lives. Deaths and overdoses associated with the epidemic are frequently linked to prescription painkiller abuse.

In addition to paying out $3.5 million to resolve the claims, CVS has entered into a three-year compliance agreement with the Drug Enforcement Administration, which requires the company maintain and enhance programs for detecting and preventing diversion of controlled substances.

It represents the resolution of dual investigations launched by the DEA in response to growing reports of forged oxycodone prescriptions. The first investigation identified 403 forged prescriptions filled at 40 CVS stores in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The second identified 120 forged prescriptions filled at 10 CVS stores in and around Boston. The incidents transpired between 2011 and 2014.

The DEA estimates the street value of the pills at over $1 million.

The forgeries were committed by "just a few individuals," according to the U.S. Department of Justice's Massachusetts District office. It cited one woman who forged a single dentist's name for 56 oxycodone prescriptions and another who signed a dentist’s name on 131 prescriptions for hydrocodone. One store, in South Dennis, Massachusetts, filled 29 forged prescriptions in just six months, totaling 1,290 pills of hydrocodone, or seven pills a day, according to the DOJ. A third man filled over 200 fake prescriptions for hydrocodone and methadone at CVS stores, including picking up prescriptions meant for female patients.

In each case, the government alleged, CVS pharmacists ignored red flags or failed to make simple checks.

"Under DEA regulations," the DOJ press release said, "pharmacists dispensing the drugs have a responsibility to ensure that he/she is filling only valid prescriptions written for a legitimate medical purpose by a practitioner acting in the usual course of his/her professional practice. Fulfilling this responsibility requires identifying and resolving red flags that, individually or collectively, indicate that a prescription may be forged or otherwise invalid."

>> Photo by Mike Mozart via Flickr/Creative Commons

>> This article has been edited to correctly reflect the states in which the investigation took place.