DEERFIELD, Ill. — The U.S. Department of Justice accuses Walgreens of filling millions and more prescriptions over the past decade without legitimate purpose, including for dangerous amounts of opioids, according to a lawsuit filed this week.
Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the complaint alleges that pharmacists at the drug chain filled prescriptions for controlled substances with red flags indicating they were illegal. Walgreens systematically pressured pharmacists to fill prescriptions without taking the time to confirm validity, according to the complaint.
The lawsuit alleges that Walgreens filled “illegal” prescriptions in violation of the Controlled Substances Act and sought reimbursement from federal health care programs in violation of the False Claims Act.
Walgreens, one of the nation’s largest drugstore chains with more than 8,000 locations, said in a statement that it stands behind its pharmacists. He said prescribers authorized by the Drug Enforcement Administration must fill legitimate prescriptions for drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations.
The complaint accuses Walgreens of ignoring evidence that the stores were dispensing illegal prescriptions, including from its pharmacists and internal data. It also allegedly withheld crucial information from pharmacists, including preventing them from alerting each other about particular prescribers.
“This lawsuit seeks to hold Walgreens accountable for many years of failing to fulfill its obligations in dispensing dangerous opioids and other drugs,” Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, said in a statement. . “These practices allowed millions of opioid pills and other controlled substances to illegally exit Walgreens stores.”
The company said it is asking the court to clarify the responsibilities of pharmacies and pharmacists and to protect against the government’s attempts to enforce arbitrary “rules” that do not appear in any law or regulation and have never gone through the official rulemaking process.
“We will not stand by and allow the government to put our pharmacists in a no-win situation by trying to meet ‘rules’ that simply do not exist,” Walgreens said in a statement.
The company also said it has been a leader in providing education and resources, as well as implementing the best policies and procedures to help fight opioid misuse.
DOJ He filed a similar lawsuit against CVS in december The spokesperson for that chain said that it completely disagrees with the allegations and what the complaint called a “false narrative”.
Federal prosecutors are trying to hold companies accountable for their alleged roles in the addiction and overdose crisis in the US, which has been linked to more than 80,000 annual deaths from opioids in recent years.
Over the past decade, most of these deaths have been largely attributed to illegal fentanyl, which is included in many illegal drugs. Prescription pills were the first reason.
Over the past eight years, drugmakers, wholesalers and pharmacies have agreed to around $50 billion in settlements with governments, handing over the majority of the money. coping with the crisis.
