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Judge Refuses to Dismiss $21 Million Suit against Florida Pharmacy Alleging Illegal Kickback Scheme

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On February 13, 2019, a federal judge turned down a Florida pharmacy’s motion to dismiss a $21 million False Claims Act (FCA) suit, but allowed its sister company out of the suit. The judge said Z Stat Medical LLC, which operates as Oldsmar Pharmacy and its owner, must face the government’s claims that it engaged in illegal kickback schemes to defraud Tricare. Oldsmar’s sister company, Stat Direct LLC, was dismissed from the lawsuit completely. There was no evidence it was also involved in the alleged misconduct, according to court documents.

The First Alleged Scheme.

The case was originally brought as a result of a whistleblower complaint that alleged two schemes to defraud Tricare. The first scheme was allegedly a deal between Oldsmar and Centurion Compounding Pharmacy. Centurion was alleged to have hired sales reps as independent contractors. The sales reps marketed costly compounded medications, usually creams for pain and scars, to Tricare beneficiaries. Patients recruited by the sales reps were told to send their prescriptions to Centurion, which then directed them to Oldsmar to fill. The sales representatives would then get part of the reimbursement profit, according to the complaint.

In total, Tricare was stated to have paid about $18 million for these bogus claims, and Oldsmar was alleged to have paid about $6.1 million in kickbacks in a little over a year, the suit says.

The Second Alleged Scheme.

The second alleged scheme involved companies that included Health Savings Solutions and Vici Marketing. Oldsmar allegedly worked with Vici Marketing and published online advertisements offering free consultations. Referrals were funneled through Health Savings Solutions for compounded pain creams. These prescriptions were written and filled, without a patient ever seeing a doctor in person, according to court documents.

According to the government, from September 2014 to February 2015, Oldsmar Pharmacy filed 700 prescription claims with Tricare based on referrals from Health Savings Solutions. In return, Oldsmar Pharmacy paid a 41 percent kickback to the marketers. This resulted in Tricare paying out about $3.4 million. Oldsmar made $5.5 million in payments to Health Savings Solutions, including three payments of about $1 million each, according to the complaint.

Click here to read the complaint in full.

Liable for False Claims.

Judge Hernandez Covington said the government pled the allegations sufficiently to keep Oldsmar and its owner in the case. The government has also satisfactorily alleged that Oldsmar’s owner has enough of an understanding of the Anti-Kickback Statutes (AKS) to have known better, according to the Judge.

While Oldsmar Pharmacy did return $19 million to Tricare, the FCA calls for treble damages Three times the amount), so the company can’t avoid litigation, the judge said, adding that she’ll deduct the $19 million from any final amount determined top be owed.

Click here to read the judge’s order in full.

To read about a case Judge Hernandez Covington made a similar ruling on dealing with a Florida Compounding Pharmacy’s FCA Suit, click here to read one of my prior blogs. (https://www.thehealthlawfirm.com/blog/posts/federal-judge-refuses-to-dismiss-florida-compounding-pharmacys-fca-suit.html)

Contact Health Law Attorneys Experienced in Representing Pharmacies and Pharmacists.

The Health Law Firm represents pharmacists and pharmacies in DEA, DOH and FDA investigations, qui tam and whistleblower cases, regulatory matters, licensing issues, litigation, administrative hearings, inspections and audits. The firm’s attorneys include those who are board certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law as well as licensed health professionals who are also attorneys.

To contact The Health Law Firm please call (407) 331-6620 or (850) 439-1001 and visit our website at www.TheHealthLawFirm.com.

Sources:

Kass, Dani. “Pharmacy Must Face $21M Prescription Kickback Suit.” Law360. (February 13, 2019). Web.

“13 IN TAMPA CHARGED AS PART OF NATIONAL HEALTHCARE FRAUD TAKEDOWN.” Tampa Bay Reporter. (June 29, 2018). Web.

Hale, Nathan. “Feds Want FCA Suit Over $21M Kickback Scheme To Proceed.” Law360. (January 28, 2019). Web.

About the Author: George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., is Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law. He is the President and Managing Partner of The Health Law Firm, which has a national practice. Its main office is in the Orlando, Florida, area. www.TheHealthLawFirm.com The Health Law Firm, 1101 Douglas Ave., Altamonte Springs, FL 32714, Phone: (407) 331-6620.

KeyWords: False Claims Act defense attorney, FCA legal counsel, TRICARE false claims legal defense attorney, TRICARE physician representation, legal representation violating False Claims Act, pharmaceutical fraud lawyer, compounding pharmacy attorney, fraudulent practices of pharmaceutical companies, whistleblower lawyer, whistblower defense attorney, representation for FCA violations, financial interest in physician referrals, TRICARE fraud attorney, The Health Law Firm, representation for healthcare fraud investigations, conflict of interest in physician referrals, representation for compounding pharmacies, compounding pharmacy defense lawyer, prescription reimbursement representation, Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) attorney, Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) violations lawyer, representation for kickback allegations, representation for allegations of fraud, legal defense of military physicians, legal defense of TRICARE providers, FDA investigation attorney, representation for FDA investigations, DEA defense attorney, representation for DEA investigations against healthcare professionals, representation for DOH investigations, DOH investigation attorney, attorney reviews of The Health Law Firm, Veterans Administration (VA) physician defense attorney, The Health Law Firm attorney reviews, legal representation for pharmacies, legal representation for pharmacists, health law defense attorney, legal representation for health care professionals

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Copyright © 2019 The Health Law Firm. All rights reserved.

Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Blocks Shipping of Controlled Substances at Walgreens Distribution Center in Florida

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On September 14, 2012, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) blocked the Walgreens distribution center in Jupiter, Florida, from shipping oxycodone and other controlled drugs to its pharmacies in Florida and the East Coast with an immediate suspension order, according to the DEA. In the press release, the DEA called the Walgreens distribution facility an “imminent danger” to the public.

To see the entire press release from the DEA, click here.

Back in April 2012, the DEA served an administrative inspection warrant at the same facility, as well as its six top retail Walgreens pharmacies in Florida. To see my blog post on that story, click here.

DEA Suspension Order Only Stops the Distribution of Controlled Substances.

The DEA said the Jupiter distribution center has been “the single largest distributor of oxycodone products in Florida” since 2009. The DEA issued the suspension order because it believes Walgreens failed to maintain proper controls to ensure its retailers didn’t dispense drugs to addicts and drug dealers.

The order only applies to the Jupiter distribution center and only suspends the distribution of controlled substances.

Whether or not bath salts fall into this category is unclear. The Florida Legislature recently banned the sale of bath salts and 90 other substances to help stop the big face-eating zombie outbreak in Florida. See my blog on bath salts and the zombie outbreak in Florida.

Recently, the DEA revoked the controlled substance licenses from two CVS pharmacies in Sanford, Florida. The two stores are accused of dispensing an inappropriate number of prescriptions for oxycodone and had a suspicious number of sales of other controlled substances. There is a blog on this story on our website, click here to read it.

Millions of Oxycodone Pills Purchased by Walgreens Stores.

According to a USA Today article, six of Walgreens’ Florida pharmacies allegedly ordered more than a million oxycodone pills a year. One pharmacy in Oviedo, Florida, went from ordering more than 80,000 oxycodone pills in 2009, to nearly 1.7 million in 2011.

Click here to read the USA Today article.

Continued War on Prescription Drug Abuse.

According to the DEA, this is an effort to curb Florida’s prescription drug epidemic. Special Agent Mark Trouville, with the DEA’s Miami Division, said all DEA licensees “have an obligation to ensure that medications are getting into the hands of legitimate patients. When they choose to look the other way, patients suffer and drug dealers prosper.”

Neither Agent Trouville nor the DEA was, apparently, requested to comment on the bath salts ban and its effect on the zombie outbreak, however.

Oxycodone Numbers Published for Shock Value.

I really do not see why the public or our elected representatives are shocked and awed by the meaningless numbers and statistics used in connection with these matters. The fact that Walgreens, the biggest pharmacy retailer in Florida, might distribute over a million oxycodone pills in a year, is a meaningless statistic by itself. If a doctor prescribes a pain management patient a prescription for three (3) pills a day, that is approximately 90 pills per month or 1,080 pills per year. If Walgreens has only 1,000 patients with such a prescription in a year throughout the entire state of Florida, that is in excess of one million (1,000,000) pills per year. I would venture to guess that many single Walgreens retail stores have more than 1,000 customers per day, much less all Walgreens stores throughout Florida.

My point is that any such statistics are meaningless out of context and are only meant to sound huge of one doesn’t stop and think about it.

Another concern is that many, if not the vast majority of the Walgreens customers who now will not be able to get their prescriptions filled, are legitimate pain management patients with legitimate prescriptions written by legitimate physicians.

Where Do Legitimate Chronic-Pain Patients Turn?

I am constantly being contacted by patients who are in dire straits, suffering because they cannot locate a pharmacy to fill their legitimate pain medicine prescriptions. These include injured military veterans, patients who are 100% disabled and on disability or social security, patients injured in automobile accidents and job-related accidents (whose medications are paid for by insurance, if they can find a pharmacy to fill it) and others with real chronic pain issues.

If the largest legitimate chains of pharmacies in the state and nation are not allowed to fill these prescriptions, where will these suffering patients turn? Are these actions driving our citizens into the hands of shady independent pharmacies that have fewer safeguards and less accountability? Are these actions driving our citizens to seek out illegal drug dealers and turn to illegal drugs to cope with their legitimate medical problems? I hope not.

Thank you. I will get off my soapbox now.

Contact Health Law Attorneys Experienced in Representing Pharmacies and Pharmacists.

The Health Law Firm represents pharmacists and pharmacies in DEA investigations, regulatory matters, licensing issues, litigation, administrative hearings, inspections and audits. The firm’s attorneys include those who are board certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law as well as licensed health professionals who are also attorneys.

To contact The Health Law Firm please call (407) 331-6620 or (850) 439-1001 and visit our website at www.TheHealthLawFirm.com.

Sources:

Leinwand, Donna. “DEA Inspects Walgreens for Oxycodone Probe.” USA Today. (September 15, 2012). From: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012/09/14/walgreens-and-oxycodone/57782912/1

Pavuk, Amy. “DEA Blocks Controlled-Substance Distribution at Florida Walgreens Facility.” Orlando Sentinel. (September 14, 2012). From: http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-09-14/news/os-walgreens-dea-suspension-20120914_1_distribution-center-dea-miami-field-division

DEA. “DEA Serves a Suspension Order on Walgreens Distribution Center in Jupiter, Florida.” DEA.gov. (September 14, 2012). From: http://www.justice.gov/dea/divisions/mia/2012/mia091412.shtml

About the Author: George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., is Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law. He is the President and Managing Partner of The Health Law Firm, which has a national practice. Its main office is in the Orlando, Florida, area. www.TheHealthLawFirm.com The Health Law Firm, 1101 Douglas Ave., Altamonte Springs, FL 32714, Phone: (407) 331-6620. He does not own stock in Walgreens or any other pharmacy.

“The Health Law Firm” is a registered fictitious business name of George F. Indest III, P.A. – The Health Law Firm, a Florida professional service corporation, since 1999.

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:00:35-04:00June 1, 2018|Categories: In the Know, In the News, Pain Management, Pharmaceutical Drugs, The Health Law Firm Blog|Tags: administrative hearings, controlled substance licenses, DEA defense attorney, DEA defense lawyer, DEA raid, defense attorney, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) administrative law attorney, emergency suspension order, Immediate Suspension Order, investigation, pharmacist, pharmacy, pharmacy investigation, prescription drug trafficking, registration, revoked license|Comments Off

Walgreens Files a Petition to Lift the Immediate Suspension Order

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

There’s a firefight brewing between Walgreens and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). On October 10, 2012, Walgreens filed a petition asking a federal judge to lift the Immediate Suspension Order (ISO) that bans its distribution center in Jupiter, Florida, from shipping controlled substances to its stores in Florida and on the East Coast.

Back on September 14, 2012, the DEA issued an ISO on the distribution center, calling it an “imminent danger” to the public. Click here to read a blog I previously wrote when the DEA issued the ISO.

Walgreens Claims the DEA Ignored Relevant Information.

In its petition, Walgreens claims the DEA ignored and “conspicuously omitted” recent and relevant information in its ISO. The pharmacy said it took voluntary steps designed to address concerns about the number of new prescriptions for controlled substances presented by pain clinic patients. Earlier this year the company also voluntarily stopped selling all Schedule II drugs, including OxyContin, at eight pharmacies that were of concern to the DEA and that were serviced by the Jupiter distribution center. Walgreens claims as a result of these efforts, the number of oxycodone pills and pain clinic prescriptions filled in recent months is an extremely small percent of the 2011 numbers, on which DEA relied upon to issue the ISO.

Walgreens is asking the federal appeals court to clear the ISO against the distribution center.

To see the Orlando Sentinel article, click here.

Numbers Released for Mean Nothing.

In an earlier blog I wrote that according to the DEA, six of Walgreens’ Florida pharmacies allegedly ordered more than a million oxycodone pills a year. That number might seem big at first, but after breaking it down, it’s actually not all that scary. You have to remember that Walgreens is the biggest pharmacy retailer in Florida.

For example, if a doctor issues a pain management patient a prescription for three (3) pills a day, that is approximately 90 pills per month or 1,080 pills per year. If Walgreens has only 1,000 patients with such a prescription in a year throughout the entire state of Florida, that is in excess of one million (1,000,000) pills per year. I would guess that many single Walgreens retail stores have more than 1,000 customers per day, much less all Walgreens stores throughout Florida.

My point is that such statistics are meaningless out of context and are only meant to sound huge if one doesn’t stop and think about it.

Click here to see the press release from the DEA with the number of oxycodone pills purchased by store.

Contact Health Law Attorneys Experienced in Representing Pharmacies and Pharmacists.

The Health Law Firm represents pharmacists and pharmacies in DEA investigations, regulatory matters, licensing issues, litigation, administrative hearings, inspections and audits. The firm’s attorneys include those who are board certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law as well as licensed health professionals who are also attorneys.

To contact The Health Law Firm please call (407) 331-6620 or (850) 439-1001 and visit our website at www.TheHealthLawFirm.com.

Comments?

What do you think of the appeal? Should the DEA have taken this action against Walgreens? Please leave any thoughtful comments below.

Source:

Pavul, Amy. “Walgreens Fights Back Against DEA, Wants Ban at Florida Distribution Center Lifted.” Orlando Sentinel. (October 11, 2012). From: ttp://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-walgreens-dea-oxycodone-20121011,0,1860346.story

About the Author: George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., is Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law. He is the President and Managing Partner of The Health Law Firm, which has a national practice. Its main office is in the Orlando, Florida, area. www.TheHealthLawFirm.com The Health Law Firm, 1101 Douglas Ave., Altamonte Springs, FL 32714, Phone: (407) 331-6620. He does not own stock in Walgreens or any other pharmacy.

“The Health Law Firm” is a registered fictitious business name of George F. Indest III, P.A. – The Health Law Firm, a Florida professional service corporation, since 1999.

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Investigates Six Walgreens Pharmacies in Florida

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) served an Order to Show Cause (OSC) on a Fort Myers Walgreens pharmacy on February 21, 2013. According to the DEA, the OSC was served as a notice to provide Walgreens with an opportunity to show cause as to why their DEA registration should not be revoked. The Fort Myers pharmacy is one of six Walgreens pharmacies to be targeted for prescribing practices by the DEA.

Click here to read the press release from the DEA.

According to the DEA, these investigations are part of an effort to curb Florida’s prescription drug epidemic.

Six Walgreens Pharmacies and One Distribution Center Targeted by DEA.

In April 2012, the DEA served and Administrative Inspection Warrant (AIW) on the Fort Myers Walgreens pharmacy, as well as five other Walgreens pharmacies in Florida and its distribution center in Jupiter. According to the DEA, the AIWs were served to determine if the pharmacies were dispensing prescriptions for legitimate medical purposes.

Based on the DEA’s findings, the Walgreens distribution center was served with an immediate suspension order (ISO). Click here to read our previous blog on the ISO served on the distribution center.

Between November 2012 and February 2013, the DEA has served OSCs on six Florida Walgreens pharmacies.

According to an article in Naples News, no action has been taken against the stores’ licenses, so they are still able to fill prescriptions pain medications and controlled substances. An administrative hearing will be held in April 2013. The hearing is an opportunity for Walgreens to present their cases. To read the entire Naples News article, click here.

Two CVS Stores in Sanford, Florida Lost Controlled Substance Licenses.

In September 2012, the DEA revoked the controlled substance licenses from two CVS pharmacies in Sanford, Florida. The two stores are accused of dispensing an inappropriate number of prescriptions for oxycodone and had a suspicious number of sales of other controlled substances. There is a blog on this story on our website, click here to read it.

The Ultimate Results of Such Crackdowns.
I am constantly being contacted by patients who are in dire straits, suffering because they cannot locate a pharmacy to fill their legitimate pain medicine prescriptions. These include injured military veterans, patients who are 100% disabled and on disability or social security, patients injured in automobile accidents and job-related accidents (whose medications are paid for by insurance, if they can find a pharmacy to fill it) and others with real chronic pain issues.

If the largest legitimate chains of pharmacies in the state and nation are not allowed to fill these prescriptions, where will these suffering patients turn? Are these actions driving our citizens into the hands of shady independent pharmacies that have fewer safeguards and less accountability? Are these actions driving our citizens to seek out illegal drug dealers and turn to illegal drugs to cope with their legitimate medical problems? I hope not.

Contact Health Law Attorneys Experienced in Representing Pharmacies and Pharmacists.

The Health Law Firm represents pharmacists and pharmacies in DEA investigations, regulatory matters, licensing issues, litigation, administrative hearings, inspections and audits. The firm’s attorneys include those who are board certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law as well as licensed health professionals who are also attorneys.
To contact The Health Law Firm please call (407) 331-6620 or (850) 439-1001 and visit our website at www.TheHealthLawFirm.com.

Comments?

What do you think of these investigations on big pharmacies? Please leave any thoughtful comments below.

Sources:

Drug Enforcement Administration. “DEA Serves an Order to Show Cause on Walgreen’s Pharmacy in Fort Myers.” Drug Enforcement Administration. (February 22, 2013). From: http://www.justice.gov/dea/divisions/mia/2013/mia022213a.shtml

Freeman, Liz. “DEA Targets Fort Myers Walgreens, 5 Other State Stores.” Naples News. (March 7, 2013). From: http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2013/mar/07/dea-targets-fort-myers-walgreens-5-other-state/?print=1

About the Author: George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., is Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law. He is the President and Managing Partner of The Health Law Firm, which has a national practice. Its main office is in the Orlando, Florida, area. www.TheHealthLawFirm.com The Health Law Firm, 1101 Douglas Ave., Altamonte Springs, FL 32714, Phone: (407) 331-6620. He does not own stock in Walgreens or any other pharmacy.

The Health Law Firm” is a registered fictitious business name of George F. Indest III, P.A. – The Health Law Firm, a Florida professional service corporation, since 1999.
Copyright © 1996-2012 The Health Law Firm. All rights reserved.

Former Pharmaceutical Sales Rep to Serve 70 Months in Prison for Part in $13M Oxycodone Scheme

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On March 24, 2017, a federal judge in the U.S. Southern District of Florida in Miami sentenced a former pharmaceutical salesman to nearly six years in prison for his part in a $13 million money laundering scheme. The scheme involved more than two million oxycodone pills, which the salesperson allegedly helped supply to pain clinics by falsely telling pharmaceutical wholesalers that the clinics weren’t “pill mills.”

U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom, sentenced Jonathan Sendor to 70 months in prison after he pled guilty in January 2017 to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Sendor was essentially working as a broker between wholesale pharmaceutical suppliers and pain clinics attempting to procure a supply of oxycodone for patients of pill mills.
The Scheme.

According to prosecutors, Sendor and two co-conspirators operated six pain clinics in Florida between March 2010 and June 2011. The co-conspirators operated the clinics to ensure that the maximum amount of oxycodone would be prescribed without a legitimate medical need, and purely for the sake of profit. The six clinics dispensed and distributed more than two million oxycodone pills before they were caught and shut down in 2011. The clinics made roughly $13.5 million from the unlawful prescriptions, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Sendor helped the pain clinics receive a steady supply of the drug through the wholesalers, prosecutors alleged. For his part in the scheme, Sendor allegedly created multiple companies, building on the connections he had formed as a pharmaceutical salesman. He then proceeded to act as a “quasi-broker” between the doctors of the pain clinics needing the oxycodone and the wholesalers distributing the drug.

Sendor was able to mislead wholesale pharmaceutical companies and told them that he would function as an inspector. It is alleged that he conducted fake inspection visits to the pain clinics and required the clinics’ doctors to complete a survey. When the surveys were completed, he misrepresented the results and advised the doctors, pain clinic managers, owners and other co-conspirators to lie on the survey form.

In 2010, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi helped pass legislation banning doctors from dispensing narcotic medications out of their office. After the law changed, Sendor then assisted in the opening of two pharmacies – one in Boca Raton and another in Orlando, Florida. Patients of the six pain clinics were then directed to these pharmacies for oxycodone.

To read the DOJ’s press release in full, click here.

To learn more about the pill mill problem in Florida, click here to read one of my prior blogs.

Contact a Health Law Attorney Experienced in DEA Cases.

At the Health Law Firm, we provide legal services for all health care providers and professionals. This includes physicians, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, psychologists, psychiatrists, mental health counselors, durable medical equipment suppliers (DME), medical students and interns, hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, pain management clinics, nursing homes, and any other health care provider. We defend pain management physicians, clinics and pharmacists in state license investigations, in administrative hearings, and in DEA actions. The services we provide include reviewing and negotiating contracts, preparing contracts, helping employers and employees enforce contracts, advice on setting aside or voiding contracts, litigation of contracts (in start or federal court), business transactions, professional license defense, opinion letters, representation in investigations, fair hearing defense, representation in peer review and clinical privileges hearings, litigation of restrictive covenant (covenants not to compete), Medicare and Medicaid audits, commercial litigation, and administrative hearings.

To contact The Health Law Firm, please call (407) 331-6620 or (850) 439-1001 and visit our website at www.TheHealthLawFirm.com.

Sources:

Lincoff, Nina. “South Florida pain clinics tied up in $13M money laundering conspiracy.” South Florida Business Journal. (January 17, 2017). Web.

Posses, Shayna. “Sales Rep To Serve 70 Months For $13M Oxycodone Scheme.” Law360. (March 24, 2017). Web.

About the Author: George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., is Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law. He is the President and Managing Partner of The Health Law Firm, which has a national practice. Its main office is in the Orlando, Florida area. www.TheHealthLawFirm.com The Health Law Firm, 1101 Douglas Ave., Altamonte Springs, FL 32714, Phone: (407) 331-6620.

KeyWords: Legal representation for prescription drug abuse, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) cases, legal representation for DEA investigations, Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, legal representation for schemes to over-prescribe narcotics, legal representation for schemes to traffic narcotics, pill mill defense attorney, legal representation for doctor shopping, legal representation for pill mills, legal representation for pharmacists, legal representation for pharmacies pharmacy defense attorney, pharmacist defense attorney, administrative hearing attorney, DEA defense attorney, Department of Health investigations, legal representation for DOH investigations, DOH investigation defense attorney, prescription drug crackdown, Florida prescription drug abuse, prescription drug trafficking, The Health Law Firm reviews, reviews of The Health Law Firm attorneys

“The Health Law Firm” is a registered fictitious business name of and a registered service mark of The Health Law Firm, P.A., a Florida professional service corporation, since 1999.
Copyright © 2017 The Health Law Firm. All rights reserved.

Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Serves Up Immediate Suspension Order for Walgreens Distribution Center

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On September 14, 2012, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) blocked the Walgreens distribution center in Jupiter, Florida, from shipping oxycodone and other controlled drugs to its pharmacies in Florida and the East Coast with an immediate suspension order, according to the DEA. In the press release, the DEA called the Walgreens distribution facility an “imminent danger” to the public.

To see the entire press release from the DEA, click here.

Back in April 2012, the DEA served an administrative inspection warrant at the same facility, as well as its six top retail Walgreens pharmacies in Florida. To see my blog post on that story, click here.

DEA Named the Distribution Center “Largest Distributor of Oxycodone Products in Florida.”

The DEA said the Jupiter distribution center has been “the single largest distributor of oxycodone products in Florida” since 2009. The DEA issued the suspension order because it believes Walgreens failed to maintain proper controls to ensure its retailers didn’t dispense drugs to addicts and drug dealers.

The order only applies to the Jupiter distribution center and only suspends the distribution of controlled substances.

Whether or not bath salts fall into this category is unclear. The Florida Legislature recently banned the sale of bath salts and 90 other substances to help stop the big face-eating zombie outbreak in Florida. See my blog on bath salts and the zombie outbreak in Florida.

Recently, the DEA revoked the controlled substance licenses from two CVS pharmacies in Sanford, Florida. The two stores are accused of dispensing an inappropriate number of prescriptions for oxycodone and had a suspicious number of sales of other controlled substances. There is a blog on this story on our website, click here to read it.

Six Walgreens Pharmacies Allegedly Purchased Millions of Oxycodone Pills.

According to a USA Today article, six of Walgreens’ Florida pharmacies allegedly ordered more than a million oxycodone pills a year. One pharmacy in Oviedo, Florida, went from ordering more than 80,000 oxycodone pills in 2009, to nearly 1.7 million in 2011.

Click here to read the USA Today article.

DEA Continues to Fight Prescription Drug Abuse in Florida.

According to the DEA, this is an effort to curb Florida’s prescription drug epidemic. Special Agent Mark Trouville, with the DEA’s Miami Division, said all DEA licensees “have an obligation to ensure that medications are getting into the hands of legitimate patients. When they choose to look the other way, patients suffer and drug dealers prosper.”

Neither Agent Trouville nor the DEA was, apparently, requested to comment on the bath salts ban and its effect on the zombie outbreak, however.

Meaningless Numbers Used for Shock and Awe.

I really do not see why the public or our elected representatives are shocked and awed by the meaningless numbers and statistics used in connection with these matters. The fact that Walgreens, the biggest pharmacy retailer in Florida, might distribute over a million oxycodone pills in a year, is a meaningless statistic by itself. If a doctor prescribes a pain management patient a prescription for three (3) pills a day, that is approximately 90 pills per month or 1,080 pills per year. If Walgreens has only 1,000 patients with such a prescription in a year throughout the entire state of Florida, that is in excess of one million (1,000,000) pills per year. I would venture to guess that many single Walgreens retail stores have more than 1,000 customers per day, much less all Walgreens stores throughout Florida.

My point is that any such statistics are meaningless out of context and are only meant to sound huge of one doesn’t stop and think about it.

Another concern is that many, if not the vast majority of the Walgreens customers who now will not be able to get their prescriptions filled, are legitimate pain management patients with legitimate prescriptions written by legitimate physicians.

Crackdowns Leave Pain Patients to Suffer.

I am constantly being contacted by patients who are in dire straits, suffering because they cannot locate a pharmacy to fill their legitimate pain medicine prescriptions. These include injured military veterans, patients who are 100% disabled and on disability or social security, patients injured in automobile accidents and job-related accidents (whose medications are paid for by insurance, if they can find a pharmacy to fill it) and others with real chronic pain issues.

If the largest legitimate chains of pharmacies in the state and nation are not allowed to fill these prescriptions, where will these suffering patients turn? Are these actions driving our citizens into the hands of shady independent pharmacies that have fewer safeguards and less accountability? Are these actions driving our citizens to seek out illegal drug dealers and turn to illegal drugs to cope with their legitimate medical problems? I hope not.

Thank you. I will get off my soapbox now.

Contact Health Law Attorneys Experienced in Representing Pharmacies and Pharmacists.

The Health Law Firm represents pharmacists and pharmacies in DEA investigations, regulatory matters, licensing issues, litigation, administrative hearings, inspections and audits. The firm’s attorneys include those who are board certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law as well as licensed health professionals who are also attorneys.

To contact The Health Law Firm please call (407) 331-6620 or (850) 439-1001 and visit our website at www.TheHealthLawFirm.com.

Sources:

Leinwand, Donna. “DEA Inspects Walgreens for Oxycodone Probe.” USA Today. (September 15, 2012). From: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012/09/14/walgreens-and-oxycodone/57782912/1

Pavuk, Amy. “DEA Blocks Controlled-Substance Distribution at Florida Walgreens Facility.” Orlando Sentinel. (September 14, 2012). From: http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-09-14/news/os-walgreens-dea-suspension-20120914_1_distribution-center-dea-miami-field-division

DEA. “DEA Serves a Suspension Order on Walgreens Distribution Center in Jupiter, Florida.” DEA.gov. (September 14, 2012). From: http://www.justice.gov/dea/divisions/mia/2012/mia091412.shtml

About the Author: George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., is Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law. He is the President and Managing Partner of The Health Law Firm, which has a national practice. Its main office is in the Orlando, Florida, area. www.TheHealthLawFirm.com The Health Law Firm, 1101 Douglas Ave., Altamonte Springs, FL 32714, Phone: (407) 331-6620. He does not own stock in Walgreens or any other pharmacy.

“The Health Law Firm” is a registered fictitious business name of George F. Indest III, P.A. – The Health Law Firm, a Florida professional service corporation, since 1999.Copyright © 1996-2012 The Health Law Firm. All rights reserved.

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:01:39-04:00May 15, 2018|Categories: Legal Defense for Pharmacists, Pain Management, Pharmacist, Pharmacy, Pharmacy Law|Tags: administrative hearings, controlled substance licenses, DEA defense attorney, DEA defense lawyer, DEA raid, defense attorney, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) administrative law attorney, emergency suspension order, Immediate Suspension Order, investigation, pharmacist, pharmacy, pharmacy investigation, prescription drug trafficking, registration, revoked license|Comments Off