Pharmacy to pay $11M to settle unlawful drug dispensing suit

Injured Workers Pharmacy will pay $11 million to settle allegations leveled by the Massachusetts Attorney General that the pharmacy failed to implement safeguards against unlawful drug dispensing.

Attorney General Maura Healey filed a complaint against the company in Suffolk Superior Court, arguing that IWP violated Massachusetts consumer protection laws because of its alleged lack of policies and procedures for reviewing prescriptions to detriment if they were legitimate. The complaint also alleged that the pharmacy engaged in unlawful practice [plural?] to drive sales and paid law firms for patient referrals.

Ms. Healey also accused the pharmacy of dispensing thousands of prescriptions written by problem doctors, including high-dose prescriptions for fentanyl formulations, and dispensed combinations of opioids, benzodiazepines and muscle relaxants — a drug combination known for misuse and its potential for overdose.

Under the terms of the proposed consent judgment, issued Wednesday, IWP will pay $11 million to the state and will hire a full-time chief compliance officer to develop and administer a training program to teach staff about red flag prescribing. The consent judgment also mandates that IWP hire a data analyst to review dispensing data to identify at-risk patients or suspicious prescribers and a pain management specialty pharmacist to counsel patients; offer to dispense naloxone to all patients receiving Schedule II or III drugs at no expense to the patient; upgrade dispensing software; eliminate incentive programs based on controlled substance prescriptions dispensed; eliminate payments for referrals; and hire an auditor approved by Ms. Healey’s office to conduct a one-year compliance audit.