Residents in nursing homes received controlled substances without valid prescriptions from a long-term care pharmacy that has agreed to pay $3 million to resolve allegations it broke federal law.
PharmScript of KS, LLC, received money from Medicare and Medicaid programs for the wrongful distribution of the Schedule II controlled substances, said a federal report Tuesday.
The head of the Drug Enforcement Administration division that leads DEA investigations in Kansas and Missouri noted that pharmacies and doctors have a duty to lawfully prescribe controlled medications — especially highly addictive opioids.
“PharmScript’s dispensing practices were so egregious, it warranted a significant civil penalty,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael A. Davis.
The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of PharmScript Holdco LLC, which provides medication services to thousands of patients in hundreds of facilities across 25 states. The accused division serves residents of skilled nursing and assisted living facilities in Kansas and Missouri.
PharmScript of KS, LLC, self-reported violations of the Controlled Substances Act to the Drug Enforcement Administration, which conducted its own investigation. Nearly always, Schedule II controlled substances require a written prescription by a physician, and refills are forbidden by law.
The US government alleged that between Oct. 1, 2019, and March 31, 2021, PharmScript of KS, LLC, distributed Schedule II controlled substances for purported emergencies when quantities of the controlled substances dispensed exceeded what was sufficient for the emergency period, and that PharmScript of KS, LLC, didn’t get written prescriptions within seven days after a verbal authorization.
The government also alleged that other controlled substances were dispensed by the long-term care pharmacy without a written prescription and when no verbal authorization was received from a physician.
