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Allegheny County sues chain pharmacies, alleges they aided opioid epidemic
Allegheny County this week filed a lawsuit against three major pharmaceutical retailers, alleging they were knowingly culpable in the push to flood the market with prescription opioids.
The 215-page lawsuit, filed July 1 in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, names CVS, Rite Aid and Walgreens as defendants. The county alleges the retailers distributed more opioids — namely oxycodone and hydrocodone — than could have been used for legitimate means between 2006 and 2014.
By failing to monitor and restrict the improper sale and distribution of millions of doses of opioids, the companies contributed to the deadly opioid epidemic in Allegheny County and across the nation, the suit alleges.
- snip -
The suit alleges the companies ignored red flags by allowing the distribution of more opioids than could have been used for legitimate medical purposes. The county says the defendants failed to report orders that they knew, or should have known, were likely being diverted for illicit uses.
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The defendants had a duty as distributors to monitor and report suspicious activity in their pharmacies, the suit says.
That includes: patients with multiple prescriptions; prescriptions of unusual size and frequency; orders from out-of-state patients or prescribers; an unusual or disproportionate number of orders paid in cash; and prescriptions paired with other drugs frequently abused with opioids.
According to the suit, Rite Aid alone distributed approximately 58.2 million* dosage units of hydrocodone and oxycodone into its pharmacies in Allegheny County from 2006 to 2014, yet the company failed to put up safeguards to stop potentially illegitimate or dangerous orders.
The 215-page lawsuit, filed July 1 in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, names CVS, Rite Aid and Walgreens as defendants. The county alleges the retailers distributed more opioids — namely oxycodone and hydrocodone — than could have been used for legitimate means between 2006 and 2014.
By failing to monitor and restrict the improper sale and distribution of millions of doses of opioids, the companies contributed to the deadly opioid epidemic in Allegheny County and across the nation, the suit alleges.
- snip -
The suit alleges the companies ignored red flags by allowing the distribution of more opioids than could have been used for legitimate medical purposes. The county says the defendants failed to report orders that they knew, or should have known, were likely being diverted for illicit uses.
- snip -
The defendants had a duty as distributors to monitor and report suspicious activity in their pharmacies, the suit says.
That includes: patients with multiple prescriptions; prescriptions of unusual size and frequency; orders from out-of-state patients or prescribers; an unusual or disproportionate number of orders paid in cash; and prescriptions paired with other drugs frequently abused with opioids.
According to the suit, Rite Aid alone distributed approximately 58.2 million* dosage units of hydrocodone and oxycodone into its pharmacies in Allegheny County from 2006 to 2014, yet the company failed to put up safeguards to stop potentially illegitimate or dangerous orders.
- more at link -
*The population of Allegheny County PA is 1.25 million
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