DOJ sues Rite Aid for missing ‘red flags’ in opioid crisis

THe Department of Justice Is suing pharmaceutical giant Rite AidThe company was accused of having knowingly filled illegal prescriptions for controlled substances. “red flags” Despite the nation’s opioid crisis.

DOJ claims that hundreds of thousands of illegal drugs were filled by the company’s pharmacists. Prescriptions For “excessive quantities of opioids” These included oxycodone, fentanyl and hydromorphone between May 2014 and June 2019, and deliberately deleted some pharmacists’ internal notes on suspicious prescriptions that did no appear to have a legitimate medicinal purpose. According to a complaint.

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“According to our complaint, Rite Aid’s pharmacists repeatedly filled prescriptions for controlled substances with obvious red flags, and Rite Aid intentionally deleted internal notes about suspicious prescribers,” Vanita Gupta, Associate Attorney General, said. “These practices opened the floodgates for millions of opioid pills and other controlled substances to flow illegally out of Rite Aid’s stores.”

The DOJ alleges that Rite Aid submitted false prescription claims to government plans such as Medicare or Medicaid, in violation of the False Claims Act. According to the government’s claims, the company instructed its pharmacists to be “mindful of everything that is put in writing,” Some pharmacists also wrote internal notes on illegitimate prescriptions.

One of the most prominent examples are pharmaceutical chains main entities Recent opioid crisis lawsuits have led to them being held responsible. They have been accused of failing comply with federal laws which require them to evaluate whether controlled substance prescriptions are being written for a legitimate medical purpose within the usual course and practice of a prescriber. These claims have been refuted by pharmacies, who claim that doctors are responsible for prescribing too many drugs to patients.

Over 3,000 lawsuits were filed by cities and states against opioid distributors and pharmacies in response to the crisis. CVS Health and Walgreens partnered with Walmart to pay more than $12 billion to settle thousands upon lawsuits alleging mishandling of prescriptions. Opioid painkillers.

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Between 1999 and 2020, overdoses with opioids led to the deaths of more than 500,000 Americans. According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Washington Examiner Rite Aid was asked for comments.