BOSTON (Legal Newsline) — Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey has announced a settlement with CVS Pharmacy Inc., the nation's largest pharmacy chain, in which the company agreed to strengthen its policy and procedures concerning the dispensing of opioids.
CVS will also require its pharmacy staff in the state of Massachusetts to check the state’s Prescription Monitoring Program before filling opioid prescriptions.
“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,” Healey said . “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.”
The settlement comes after allegations CVS failed to provide its pharmacists in Massachusetts a method for utilizing the Massachusetts Online Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP) before March 2013. Additional allegations include the failure to monitor drug patterns or use sound professional judgment when dispensing substances like opioids.
“This is an important first step in enforcing critical prevention measures needed to address the opioid crisis in our communities across the commonwealth and our country,” said Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan, president and CEO of The Dimock Center.