CVS to pay $795K through settlement, will strengthen policies around dispensing opioids

CVS HEALTH Corp. will pay $795,000 to Massachusetts through a settlement with the Attorney General’s Office, with $500,000 earmarked to address opioid dependence and addiction.
CVS HEALTH Corp. will pay $795,000 to Massachusetts through a settlement with the Attorney General’s Office, with $500,000 earmarked to address opioid dependence and addiction.

BOSTON – CVS Health Corp. will pay $795,000 to Massachusetts through a settlement with the Attorney General’s Office, with $500,000 earmarked to address opioid dependence and addiction.
A press release from Attorney General Maura Healey on Thursday described it as a “first-in-the-nation settlement with the largest pharmacy chain in the country.”
She said that CVS will strengthen its policies and procedures around the dispensing of opioids and will require its Massachusetts pharmacy staff to check the state’s Prescription Monitoring Program before filling prescriptions for commonly misused opioids.
The release said that CVS failed to provide its Massachusetts pharmacists with a way to access the Massachusetts Online Prescription Monitoring Program prior to March 2013. This program provides the prescription history of a patient that can help identify drug-seeking behavior.
“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,” Healey said in a statement.

CVS Health spokesman Mike DeAngelis said that the company “recognizes the importance of the state’s Prescription Monitoring Program as a tool to detect and prevent the abuse and misuse of controlled substances.”
“CVS provides its pharmacists access to the PMP website, trains its pharmacists to register for and use the PMP as appropriate, and has further agreed to implement policies requiring pharmacists to consult the PMP before dispensing certain opioids in Massachusetts. Moreover, the company’s agreement with Massachusetts is consistent with the company’s ongoing commitment to provide enhanced policies, procedures and tools to help our pharmacists properly exercise their corresponding responsibility to determine whether a controlled substance prescription was issued for a legitimate medical purpose before filling it,” he said in a statement.

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