Omnicare settles federal case for $50M
Long-term care pharmacy provider, Omnicare, has reached a settlement with the Justice Department that is the largest controlled substance settlement in history, said the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Omnicare will pay a civil penalty of $50 million to settle claims that some of its pharmacies:
• routinely dispensed controlled substances to residents of long-term care facilities without a prescription signed by a practitioner;
• dispensed controlled substances to residents of long-term care facilities from prescriptions missing essential elements such as drug name and dosage;
• did not properly documenting partially-filled prescriptions, which resulted in preventing the DEA from conducting an audit; and
• in a limited emergency situation, dispensed controlled substances without an oral prescription called in by a practitioner.
“These practices are all-too-prevalent in the long-term care industry and are a violation of federal law,” said Steven Dettelbach, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, in a statement released by the DEA on May 11. “With today’s settlement, we hope Omnicare will lead industry-wide efforts to establish controls over the dispensation of controlled substances to the elderly.”
"Omnicare is committed to compliance with the laws and regulations enforced by the DEA," said John Figueroa, Omnicare's CEO, in a statement about the settlement. "We believe this settlement provides long-term care pharmacies, long-term care facilities and prescribers with clear direction regarding the procedures that must be followed when dispensing controlled substances.”
In its statement, Omnicare noted that the settlement with the Justice Department “contains no allegation or finding that any controlled substances were unlawfully diverted from the intended patient or that any patient was harmed” and that it releases the company all civil penalty claims by the DEA related to the investigation.
Omnicare will pay the $50 million, which the company said it has fully reserved, to the Office of the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
