A pharmacy in Cumberland, Maryland, agreed to pay a $120,000 civil penalty and enter a consent decree restricting opioid prescriptions, the Justice Department announced Thursday.
Neither pharmacist John Beckman nor his business, Beckman’s Pharmacy, has admitted liability, yet the government says its claims of improper prescriptions are well-founded.
The Justice Department alleges that, from 2017 onward, Mr. Beckman and his employees ignored red flags and filled prescriptions while knowing they were illegitimate, violating the Controlled Substances Act.
Patients were allowed to pay cash for their medicine even when they had insurance capable of paying for the prescriptions.
Part of these order fills included prescriptions for combinations of drugs that are not medically legitimate and are sought by drug users for recreational purposes.
One combo included an opioid, the depressant benzodiazepine and the muscle relaxant carisoprodol.
The dosages of opioids given out by Beckman’s Pharmacy were far larger than recommended, the government claimed.
More than 10 patients died within 10 days of getting their prescriptions filled at Beckman’s Pharmacy, according to the Justice Department.
In addition to paying a $120,000 civil penalty, Mr. Beckman and Beckman’s Pharmacy must abide by new rules in the consent decree.
These include identifying red flags, like a patient traveling long distance to get a prescription filled or a patient asking for combinations of opioids and other drugs like benzodiazepines. Before filling red flag prescriptions, the business will be required to document any signs of possible abuse and steps taken to ensure the prescription was medically legitimate.
Beckman’s Pharmacy is also forbidden by the settlement from filling certain prescriptions.
“Irresponsible pharmacies and pharmacists fan the flames of the ongoing opioid epidemic. Our office intends to use all tools at our disposal — criminal and civil — to hold accountable those at every step in the supply chain who violate the CSA,” U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron said in a statement.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.