Judge: Pharmacies owe 2 Ohio counties $650M in opioids suit
By MARK GILLISPIE
11 mins ago
CLEVELAND (AP) — A federal judge in Cleveland awarded $650 million in damages Wednesday to two Ohio counties that won a landmark lawsuit against national pharmacy chains CVS, Walgreens and Walmart, claiming the way they distributed opioids to customers caused severe harm to communities and created a public nuisance.
U.S. District Judge Dan Polster said in the ruling that the money will be used to abate a continuing opioid crisis in Lake and Trumbull counties, outside Cleveland. Attorneys for the counties put the total price tag at $3 billion for the damage done to the counties.
Lake County is to receive $306 million over 15 years. Trumbull County is to receive $344 million over the same period. Polster ordered the companies to immediately pay nearly $87 million to cover the first two years of the abatement plan.
In his ruling, Polster admonished the three companies, saying they “squandered the opportunity to present a meaningful plan to abate the nuisance" after a trial that considered what damages they might owe.
CVS, Walmart and Walgreens said they will appeal the ruling.
Trumbull County Commissioner Frank Fuda praised the award in a statement, saying “the harms caused by this devastating epidemic" can now be addressed.
Lake County Commissioner John Hamercheck said in a statement “Today marks the start of a new day in our fight to end the opioid epidemic.”
A jury returned a verdict in November in favor of the counties after a six-week trial. It was then left to Polster to decide how much the counties should receive from the three pharmacy companies. He heard testimony in May to determine damages.
The counties convinced the jury that the pharmacies played an outsized role in creating a public nuisance in the way they dispensed pain medication into their communities.
It was the first time pharmacy companies completed a trial to defend themselves in a drug crisis that has killed a half-million Americans since 1999.
Attorneys for the pharmacy chains maintained they had policies to stem the flow of pills when their pharmacists had concerns and would notify authorities about suspicious orders from doctors. They also said it was doctors who controlled how many pills were prescribed for legitimate medical needs not their pharmacies.
Walmart issued a statement Wednesday saying the counties’ attorneys “sued Walmart in search of deep pockets, and this judgment follows a trial that was engineered to favor the plaintiffs’ attorneys and was riddled with remarkable legal and factual mistakes.”
Walgreens spokesperson Fraser Engerman said "The facts and the law did not support the jury verdict last fall, and they do not support the court’s decision now.
“The court committed significant legal errors in allowing the case to go before a jury on a flawed legal theory that is inconsistent with Ohio law and compounded those errors in reaching its ruling regarding damages.”
CVS spokesperson Michael DeAngelis said “We strongly disagree with the Court’s decision regarding the counties’ abatement plan, as well as last fall’s underlying verdict.”
CVS is based in Rhode Island, Walgreens in Illinois and Walmart in Arkansas.
Two chains — Rite Aid and Giant Eagle — settled lawsuits with the counties before trial. The amounts they paid have not been disclosed publicly.
Mark Lanier, an attorney for the counties, said during trial that the pharmacies were attempting to blame everyone but themselves.
The opioid crisis has overwhelmed courts, social services agencies and law enforcement in Ohio’s blue-collar corner east of Cleveland, leaving behind heartbroken families and babies born to addicted mothers, Lanier told jurors.
Roughly 80 million prescription painkillers were dispensed in Trumbull County alone between 2012 and 2016 — equivalent to 400 for every resident. In Lake County, some 61 million pills were distributed during that period.
The rise in physicians prescribing pain medications such as oxycodone and hydrocodone came as medical groups began recognizing that patients have the right to be treated for pain, Kaspar Stoffelmayr, an attorney for Walgreens, said at the opening of the trial.
The problem, he said, was “pharmaceutical manufacturers tricked doctors into writing way too many pills.”
The counties said pharmacies should be the last line of defense to prevent the pills from getting into the wrong hands.
The trial before Polster was part of a broader constellation of about 3,000 federal opioid lawsuits consolidated under the his supervision. Other cases are moving ahead in state courts.
Kevin Roy, chief public policy officer at Shatterproof, an organization that advocates for solutions to addiction, said in November the verdict could lead pharmacies to follow the path of major distribution companies and some drugmakers that have reached nationwide settlements of opioid cases worth billions. So far, no pharmacy has reached a nationwide settlement.
Also on Wednesday, attorneys general from numerous states announced they had reached an agreement with Endo International plc to pay as much as $450 million over 10 years to settle allegations the company used deceptive marketing practices “that downplayed the risk of addiction and overstated the benefits” of opioids it produced.
Based in Ireland, Endo’s U.S. headquarters are in Malvern, Pennsylvania. The company did not respond Wednesday to telephone and email requests for comment.
The agreement calls for the $450 million to be divided between participating states and communities. It also calls for Endo to put opioid-related documents online for public viewing and pay $2.75 million in expenses to publicly archive those documents.
Endo can never again market opioids, according to the agreement.
The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Tuesday night.
Endo produces generic opioids and name brands such as Percocet and Endocet. The company’s Opana ER opioid was withdrawn from the market in 2017. The attorneys general say Endo “falsely promoted the benefits” of Opana ER’s “so-called abuse deterrent formulation.” The attorneys general said the formulation did not deter abuse of the drug and led to deadly outbreaks of hepatitis and HIV resulting from people injecting the drug.
___
This story has been corrected to show that Trumbull County was awarded $344 million, not $444 million.
I don't get how the pharmacies get nailed for this? The doctors write the scripts, that is where it starts. It's like suing the car dealership for selling the car that the company made. They are a middle man...
I see a lot more counties and states doing this. I don't get how it broke any laws or was negligent without hindsight?
Roughly 80 million prescription painkillers were dispensed in Trumbull County alone between 2012 and 2016 — equivalent to 400 for every resident. In Lake County, some 61 million pills were distributed during that period.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Judge: Pharmacies owe 2 Ohio counties $650M in opioids suit
By MARK GILLISPIE
11 mins ago
CLEVELAND (AP) — A federal judge in Cleveland awarded $650 million in damages Wednesday to two Ohio counties that won a landmark lawsuit against national pharmacy chains CVS, Walgreens and Walmart, claiming the way they distributed opioids to customers caused severe harm to communities and created a public nuisance.
U.S. District Judge Dan Polster said in the ruling that the money will be used to abate a continuing opioid crisis in Lake and Trumbull counties, outside Cleveland. Attorneys for the counties put the total price tag at $3 billion for the damage done to the counties.
Lake County is to receive $306 million over 15 years. Trumbull County is to receive $344 million over the same period. Polster ordered the companies to immediately pay nearly $87 million to cover the first two years of the abatement plan.
In his ruling, Polster admonished the three companies, saying they “squandered the opportunity to present a meaningful plan to abate the nuisance" after a trial that considered what damages they might owe.
CVS, Walmart and Walgreens said they will appeal the ruling.
Trumbull County Commissioner Frank Fuda praised the award in a statement, saying “the harms caused by this devastating epidemic" can now be addressed.
Lake County Commissioner John Hamercheck said in a statement “Today marks the start of a new day in our fight to end the opioid epidemic.”
A jury returned a verdict in November in favor of the counties after a six-week trial. It was then left to Polster to decide how much the counties should receive from the three pharmacy companies. He heard testimony in May to determine damages.
The counties convinced the jury that the pharmacies played an outsized role in creating a public nuisance in the way they dispensed pain medication into their communities.
It was the first time pharmacy companies completed a trial to defend themselves in a drug crisis that has killed a half-million Americans since 1999.
Attorneys for the pharmacy chains maintained they had policies to stem the flow of pills when their pharmacists had concerns and would notify authorities about suspicious orders from doctors. They also said it was doctors who controlled how many pills were prescribed for legitimate medical needs not their pharmacies.
Walmart issued a statement Wednesday saying the counties’ attorneys “sued Walmart in search of deep pockets, and this judgment follows a trial that was engineered to favor the plaintiffs’ attorneys and was riddled with remarkable legal and factual mistakes.”
Walgreens spokesperson Fraser Engerman said "The facts and the law did not support the jury verdict last fall, and they do not support the court’s decision now.
“The court committed significant legal errors in allowing the case to go before a jury on a flawed legal theory that is inconsistent with Ohio law and compounded those errors in reaching its ruling regarding damages.”
CVS spokesperson Michael DeAngelis said “We strongly disagree with the Court’s decision regarding the counties’ abatement plan, as well as last fall’s underlying verdict.”
CVS is based in Rhode Island, Walgreens in Illinois and Walmart in Arkansas.
Two chains — Rite Aid and Giant Eagle — settled lawsuits with the counties before trial. The amounts they paid have not been disclosed publicly.
Mark Lanier, an attorney for the counties, said during trial that the pharmacies were attempting to blame everyone but themselves.
The opioid crisis has overwhelmed courts, social services agencies and law enforcement in Ohio’s blue-collar corner east of Cleveland, leaving behind heartbroken families and babies born to addicted mothers, Lanier told jurors.
Roughly 80 million prescription painkillers were dispensed in Trumbull County alone between 2012 and 2016 — equivalent to 400 for every resident. In Lake County, some 61 million pills were distributed during that period.
The rise in physicians prescribing pain medications such as oxycodone and hydrocodone came as medical groups began recognizing that patients have the right to be treated for pain, Kaspar Stoffelmayr, an attorney for Walgreens, said at the opening of the trial.
The problem, he said, was “pharmaceutical manufacturers tricked doctors into writing way too many pills.”
The counties said pharmacies should be the last line of defense to prevent the pills from getting into the wrong hands.
The trial before Polster was part of a broader constellation of about 3,000 federal opioid lawsuits consolidated under the his supervision. Other cases are moving ahead in state courts.
Kevin Roy, chief public policy officer at Shatterproof, an organization that advocates for solutions to addiction, said in November the verdict could lead pharmacies to follow the path of major distribution companies and some drugmakers that have reached nationwide settlements of opioid cases worth billions. So far, no pharmacy has reached a nationwide settlement.
Also on Wednesday, attorneys general from numerous states announced they had reached an agreement with Endo International plc to pay as much as $450 million over 10 years to settle allegations the company used deceptive marketing practices “that downplayed the risk of addiction and overstated the benefits” of opioids it produced.
Based in Ireland, Endo’s U.S. headquarters are in Malvern, Pennsylvania. The company did not respond Wednesday to telephone and email requests for comment.
The agreement calls for the $450 million to be divided between participating states and communities. It also calls for Endo to put opioid-related documents online for public viewing and pay $2.75 million in expenses to publicly archive those documents.
Endo can never again market opioids, according to the agreement.
The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Tuesday night.
Endo produces generic opioids and name brands such as Percocet and Endocet. The company’s Opana ER opioid was withdrawn from the market in 2017. The attorneys general say Endo “falsely promoted the benefits” of Opana ER’s “so-called abuse deterrent formulation.” The attorneys general said the formulation did not deter abuse of the drug and led to deadly outbreaks of hepatitis and HIV resulting from people injecting the drug.
___
This story has been corrected to show that Trumbull County was awarded $344 million, not $444 million.
I don't get how the pharmacies get nailed for this? The doctors write the scripts, that is where it starts. It's like suing the car dealership for selling the car that the company made. They are a middle man...
I see a lot more counties and states doing this. I don't get how it broke any laws or was negligent without hindsight?
Roughly 80 million prescription painkillers were dispensed in Trumbull County alone between 2012 and 2016 — equivalent to 400 for every resident. In Lake County, some 61 million pills were distributed during that period.
I read that and again the pharmacy does the filling for what a doctor prescribes. Why the doctor gets off and the pharmacy gets sued is really going after money.
Going after the maker of the drug I totally agree with. The y pushed and hushed the problems.
Nothing I have read so far makes the pharmacy liable. The counties state that the pharmacies are the last line of defense. How? They are just filling bottles. You think the doctor whom sees the patient would get that it's a bad idea to keep writing the damn things.
Judge: Pharmacies owe 2 Ohio counties $650M in opioids suit
By MARK GILLISPIE
11 mins ago
CLEVELAND (AP) — A federal judge in Cleveland awarded $650 million in damages Wednesday to two Ohio counties that won a landmark lawsuit against national pharmacy chains CVS, Walgreens and Walmart, claiming the way they distributed opioids to customers caused severe harm to communities and created a public nuisance.
U.S. District Judge Dan Polster said in the ruling that the money will be used to abate a continuing opioid crisis in Lake and Trumbull counties, outside Cleveland. Attorneys for the counties put the total price tag at $3 billion for the damage done to the counties.
Lake County is to receive $306 million over 15 years. Trumbull County is to receive $344 million over the same period. Polster ordered the companies to immediately pay nearly $87 million to cover the first two years of the abatement plan.
In his ruling, Polster admonished the three companies, saying they “squandered the opportunity to present a meaningful plan to abate the nuisance" after a trial that considered what damages they might owe.
CVS, Walmart and Walgreens said they will appeal the ruling.
Trumbull County Commissioner Frank Fuda praised the award in a statement, saying “the harms caused by this devastating epidemic" can now be addressed.
Lake County Commissioner John Hamercheck said in a statement “Today marks the start of a new day in our fight to end the opioid epidemic.”
A jury returned a verdict in November in favor of the counties after a six-week trial. It was then left to Polster to decide how much the counties should receive from the three pharmacy companies. He heard testimony in May to determine damages.
The counties convinced the jury that the pharmacies played an outsized role in creating a public nuisance in the way they dispensed pain medication into their communities.
It was the first time pharmacy companies completed a trial to defend themselves in a drug crisis that has killed a half-million Americans since 1999.
Attorneys for the pharmacy chains maintained they had policies to stem the flow of pills when their pharmacists had concerns and would notify authorities about suspicious orders from doctors. They also said it was doctors who controlled how many pills were prescribed for legitimate medical needs not their pharmacies.
Walmart issued a statement Wednesday saying the counties’ attorneys “sued Walmart in search of deep pockets, and this judgment follows a trial that was engineered to favor the plaintiffs’ attorneys and was riddled with remarkable legal and factual mistakes.”
Walgreens spokesperson Fraser Engerman said "The facts and the law did not support the jury verdict last fall, and they do not support the court’s decision now.
“The court committed significant legal errors in allowing the case to go before a jury on a flawed legal theory that is inconsistent with Ohio law and compounded those errors in reaching its ruling regarding damages.”
CVS spokesperson Michael DeAngelis said “We strongly disagree with the Court’s decision regarding the counties’ abatement plan, as well as last fall’s underlying verdict.”
CVS is based in Rhode Island, Walgreens in Illinois and Walmart in Arkansas.
Two chains — Rite Aid and Giant Eagle — settled lawsuits with the counties before trial. The amounts they paid have not been disclosed publicly.
Mark Lanier, an attorney for the counties, said during trial that the pharmacies were attempting to blame everyone but themselves.
The opioid crisis has overwhelmed courts, social services agencies and law enforcement in Ohio’s blue-collar corner east of Cleveland, leaving behind heartbroken families and babies born to addicted mothers, Lanier told jurors.
Roughly 80 million prescription painkillers were dispensed in Trumbull County alone between 2012 and 2016 — equivalent to 400 for every resident. In Lake County, some 61 million pills were distributed during that period.
The rise in physicians prescribing pain medications such as oxycodone and hydrocodone came as medical groups began recognizing that patients have the right to be treated for pain, Kaspar Stoffelmayr, an attorney for Walgreens, said at the opening of the trial.
The problem, he said, was “pharmaceutical manufacturers tricked doctors into writing way too many pills.”
The counties said pharmacies should be the last line of defense to prevent the pills from getting into the wrong hands.
The trial before Polster was part of a broader constellation of about 3,000 federal opioid lawsuits consolidated under the his supervision. Other cases are moving ahead in state courts.
Kevin Roy, chief public policy officer at Shatterproof, an organization that advocates for solutions to addiction, said in November the verdict could lead pharmacies to follow the path of major distribution companies and some drugmakers that have reached nationwide settlements of opioid cases worth billions. So far, no pharmacy has reached a nationwide settlement.
Also on Wednesday, attorneys general from numerous states announced they had reached an agreement with Endo International plc to pay as much as $450 million over 10 years to settle allegations the company used deceptive marketing practices “that downplayed the risk of addiction and overstated the benefits” of opioids it produced.
Based in Ireland, Endo’s U.S. headquarters are in Malvern, Pennsylvania. The company did not respond Wednesday to telephone and email requests for comment.
The agreement calls for the $450 million to be divided between participating states and communities. It also calls for Endo to put opioid-related documents online for public viewing and pay $2.75 million in expenses to publicly archive those documents.
Endo can never again market opioids, according to the agreement.
The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Tuesday night.
Endo produces generic opioids and name brands such as Percocet and Endocet. The company’s Opana ER opioid was withdrawn from the market in 2017. The attorneys general say Endo “falsely promoted the benefits” of Opana ER’s “so-called abuse deterrent formulation.” The attorneys general said the formulation did not deter abuse of the drug and led to deadly outbreaks of hepatitis and HIV resulting from people injecting the drug.
___
This story has been corrected to show that Trumbull County was awarded $344 million, not $444 million.
I don't get how the pharmacies get nailed for this? The doctors write the scripts, that is where it starts. It's like suing the car dealership for selling the car that the company made. They are a middle man...
I see a lot more counties and states doing this. I don't get how it broke any laws or was negligent without hindsight?
Roughly 80 million prescription painkillers were dispensed in Trumbull County alone between 2012 and 2016 — equivalent to 400 for every resident. In Lake County, some 61 million pills were distributed during that period.
I read that and again the pharmacy does the filling for what a doctor prescribes. Why the doctor gets off and the pharmacy gets sued is really going after money.
Going after the maker of the drug I totally agree with. The y pushed and hushed the problems.
Nothing I have read so far makes the pharmacy liable. The counties state that the pharmacies are the last line of defense. How? They are just filling bottles. You think the doctor whom sees the patient would get that it's a bad idea to keep writing the damn things.
ohio went after and prosecuted the pill mills. multiple now former doctors are in jail. got em shut down then instituted 3rd party physician review to assess need and patient compliance.
pharmacist is the last stop in patient advocacy. chain pharmacies should have the same alert proticols the distributors were supposed to have but ignored.
doc shopping and pharmacy shopping is how it happened. now its all interconnected.
still the individual stores should have noticed the volume of those drugs increasing....
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Judge: Pharmacies owe 2 Ohio counties $650M in opioids suit
By MARK GILLISPIE
11 mins ago
CLEVELAND (AP) — A federal judge in Cleveland awarded $650 million in damages Wednesday to two Ohio counties that won a landmark lawsuit against national pharmacy chains CVS, Walgreens and Walmart, claiming the way they distributed opioids to customers caused severe harm to communities and created a public nuisance.
U.S. District Judge Dan Polster said in the ruling that the money will be used to abate a continuing opioid crisis in Lake and Trumbull counties, outside Cleveland. Attorneys for the counties put the total price tag at $3 billion for the damage done to the counties.
Lake County is to receive $306 million over 15 years. Trumbull County is to receive $344 million over the same period. Polster ordered the companies to immediately pay nearly $87 million to cover the first two years of the abatement plan.
In his ruling, Polster admonished the three companies, saying they “squandered the opportunity to present a meaningful plan to abate the nuisance" after a trial that considered what damages they might owe.
CVS, Walmart and Walgreens said they will appeal the ruling.
Trumbull County Commissioner Frank Fuda praised the award in a statement, saying “the harms caused by this devastating epidemic" can now be addressed.
Lake County Commissioner John Hamercheck said in a statement “Today marks the start of a new day in our fight to end the opioid epidemic.”
A jury returned a verdict in November in favor of the counties after a six-week trial. It was then left to Polster to decide how much the counties should receive from the three pharmacy companies. He heard testimony in May to determine damages.
The counties convinced the jury that the pharmacies played an outsized role in creating a public nuisance in the way they dispensed pain medication into their communities.
It was the first time pharmacy companies completed a trial to defend themselves in a drug crisis that has killed a half-million Americans since 1999.
Attorneys for the pharmacy chains maintained they had policies to stem the flow of pills when their pharmacists had concerns and would notify authorities about suspicious orders from doctors. They also said it was doctors who controlled how many pills were prescribed for legitimate medical needs not their pharmacies.
Walmart issued a statement Wednesday saying the counties’ attorneys “sued Walmart in search of deep pockets, and this judgment follows a trial that was engineered to favor the plaintiffs’ attorneys and was riddled with remarkable legal and factual mistakes.”
Walgreens spokesperson Fraser Engerman said "The facts and the law did not support the jury verdict last fall, and they do not support the court’s decision now.
“The court committed significant legal errors in allowing the case to go before a jury on a flawed legal theory that is inconsistent with Ohio law and compounded those errors in reaching its ruling regarding damages.”
CVS spokesperson Michael DeAngelis said “We strongly disagree with the Court’s decision regarding the counties’ abatement plan, as well as last fall’s underlying verdict.”
CVS is based in Rhode Island, Walgreens in Illinois and Walmart in Arkansas.
Two chains — Rite Aid and Giant Eagle — settled lawsuits with the counties before trial. The amounts they paid have not been disclosed publicly.
Mark Lanier, an attorney for the counties, said during trial that the pharmacies were attempting to blame everyone but themselves.
The opioid crisis has overwhelmed courts, social services agencies and law enforcement in Ohio’s blue-collar corner east of Cleveland, leaving behind heartbroken families and babies born to addicted mothers, Lanier told jurors.
Roughly 80 million prescription painkillers were dispensed in Trumbull County alone between 2012 and 2016 — equivalent to 400 for every resident. In Lake County, some 61 million pills were distributed during that period.
The rise in physicians prescribing pain medications such as oxycodone and hydrocodone came as medical groups began recognizing that patients have the right to be treated for pain, Kaspar Stoffelmayr, an attorney for Walgreens, said at the opening of the trial.
The problem, he said, was “pharmaceutical manufacturers tricked doctors into writing way too many pills.”
The counties said pharmacies should be the last line of defense to prevent the pills from getting into the wrong hands.
The trial before Polster was part of a broader constellation of about 3,000 federal opioid lawsuits consolidated under the his supervision. Other cases are moving ahead in state courts.
Kevin Roy, chief public policy officer at Shatterproof, an organization that advocates for solutions to addiction, said in November the verdict could lead pharmacies to follow the path of major distribution companies and some drugmakers that have reached nationwide settlements of opioid cases worth billions. So far, no pharmacy has reached a nationwide settlement.
Also on Wednesday, attorneys general from numerous states announced they had reached an agreement with Endo International plc to pay as much as $450 million over 10 years to settle allegations the company used deceptive marketing practices “that downplayed the risk of addiction and overstated the benefits” of opioids it produced.
Based in Ireland, Endo’s U.S. headquarters are in Malvern, Pennsylvania. The company did not respond Wednesday to telephone and email requests for comment.
The agreement calls for the $450 million to be divided between participating states and communities. It also calls for Endo to put opioid-related documents online for public viewing and pay $2.75 million in expenses to publicly archive those documents.
Endo can never again market opioids, according to the agreement.
The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Tuesday night.
Endo produces generic opioids and name brands such as Percocet and Endocet. The company’s Opana ER opioid was withdrawn from the market in 2017. The attorneys general say Endo “falsely promoted the benefits” of Opana ER’s “so-called abuse deterrent formulation.” The attorneys general said the formulation did not deter abuse of the drug and led to deadly outbreaks of hepatitis and HIV resulting from people injecting the drug.
___
This story has been corrected to show that Trumbull County was awarded $344 million, not $444 million.
I don't get how the pharmacies get nailed for this? The doctors write the scripts, that is where it starts. It's like suing the car dealership for selling the car that the company made. They are a middle man...
I see a lot more counties and states doing this. I don't get how it broke any laws or was negligent without hindsight?
Roughly 80 million prescription painkillers were dispensed in Trumbull County alone between 2012 and 2016 — equivalent to 400 for every resident. In Lake County, some 61 million pills were distributed during that period.
I read that and again the pharmacy does the filling for what a doctor prescribes. Why the doctor gets off and the pharmacy gets sued is really going after money.
Going after the maker of the drug I totally agree with. The y pushed and hushed the problems.
Nothing I have read so far makes the pharmacy liable. The counties state that the pharmacies are the last line of defense. How? They are just filling bottles. You think the doctor whom sees the patient would get that it's a bad idea to keep writing the damn things.
ohio went after and prosecuted the pill mills. multiple now former doctors are in jail. got em shut down then instituted 3rd party physician review to assess need and patient compliance.
pharmacist is the last stop in patient advocacy. chain pharmacies should have the same alert proticols the distributors were supposed to have but ignored.
doc shopping and pharmacy shopping is how it happened. now its all interconnected.
still the individual stores should have noticed the volume of those drugs increasing....
There weren't enough doctors that got nailed for this either. The ones that did were doing egregious illegal stuff so of course they were caught.
Again, this is all in hindsight now. The FDA still let this slide for 16 years... 16. I knew this stuff was a problem in 1999.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
I’m starting fentanyl next week again. I have trepidations but now I get it. Chronic, intense pain can be debilitating mentally (eventually physically too). At least the last time went well.
I’m starting fentanyl next week again. I have trepidations but now I get it. Chronic, intense pain can be debilitating mentally (eventually physically too). At least the last time went well.
I have been thinking about you. I am sorry you are going this and experiencing such pain. Painkillers can be a blessing in some cases. I hope it goes well this time also.
My travels showed me things that the rest of the world hadn't seen yet I guess?
there remains, to this day , a misconception about addicts and addiction. especially among politicians who to some degree reflect the whims of their respective bases. couple that with industry lobbying efforts.
it wasnt until that shit hit white suburban america that anyone gave a shit.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
My travels showed me things that the rest of the world hadn't seen yet I guess?
there remains, to this day , a misconception about addicts and addiction. especially among politicians who to some degree reflect the whims of their respective bases. couple that with industry lobbying efforts.
it wasnt until that shit hit white suburban america that anyone gave a shit.
True, Appalachia and Hillbilly Heroin weren't on anyone's radar as of yet but it wasn't long after that it was in everyones back yard. I forget what year but it was early in the 2000's when they changed the pills so they couldn't be snorted and the coating had to be wiped off and then the Govt made them a felony to sell so they definitely knew something was going on.
20 MILLION PILLS PER YEAR FOR COUNTY POPULATION OF 200K.
The amount of pills prescribed is unbelievable...
and the pharmacies dispensed them......
That’s a slippery slope.
a pharmacist shouldn’t not fill a lawful prescription period. They aren’t doctors they are chemists
this goes back to birth control, morning after pills etc too. It shouldn’t be their business.
Unless it’s a situation of filling multiple prescriptions from different doctors or something but I think that should be handled on the doctors end before writing it via a database. There probably is one I just think the doctors need to manage that
20 MILLION PILLS PER YEAR FOR COUNTY POPULATION OF 200K.
The amount of pills prescribed is unbelievable...
and the pharmacies dispensed them......
That’s a slippery slope.
a pharmacist shouldn’t not fill a lawful prescription period. They aren’t doctors they are chemists
this goes back to birth control, morning after pills etc too. It shouldn’t be their business.
scroll up. 80 million pills in a 4 year period in one county of 207k people. surely someone in the corporate chain, down to the dispensing pharmacist, should have flagged something, no?
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
I’m starting fentanyl next week again. I have trepidations but now I get it. Chronic, intense pain can be debilitating mentally (eventually physically too). At least the last time went well.
Fwiw fentanyl in a controlled environment in a hospital is not the same as what's on the street. My wife was given it as an epidural when giving birth. Best of luck to you.
I’m starting fentanyl next week again. I have trepidations but now I get it. Chronic, intense pain can be debilitating mentally (eventually physically too). At least the last time went well.
Fwiw fentanyl in a controlled environment in a hospital is not the same as what's on the street. My wife was given it as an epidural when giving birth. Best of luck to you.
20 MILLION PILLS PER YEAR FOR COUNTY POPULATION OF 200K.
The amount of pills prescribed is unbelievable...
and the pharmacies dispensed them......
That’s a slippery slope.
a pharmacist shouldn’t not fill a lawful prescription period. They aren’t doctors they are chemists
They are, in fact, doctors.
So is a school principal. A doctor of education not a medical doctor
in any case they aren’t diagnosing or treating the person who walks up with a prescription. Allowing them to circumvent someone who has done so and who is unquestionably more qualified is a bad practice.
That is a problem with how meds are tracked and doctors are regulated I suppose. Shouldn’t have anything to do with a pharmacist
i also don’t think nurse practitioners should be writing prescriptions generally either. Certainly not controlled substances
I’m starting fentanyl next week again. I have trepidations but now I get it. Chronic, intense pain can be debilitating mentally (eventually physically too). At least the last time went well.
Fwiw fentanyl in a controlled environment in a hospital is not the same as what's on the street. My wife was given it as an epidural when giving birth. Best of luck to you.
I’m starting fentanyl next week again. I have trepidations but now I get it. Chronic, intense pain can be debilitating mentally (eventually physically too). At least the last time went well.
Fwiw fentanyl in a controlled environment in a hospital is not the same as what's on the street. My wife was given it as an epidural when giving birth. Best of luck to you.
20 MILLION PILLS PER YEAR FOR COUNTY POPULATION OF 200K.
The amount of pills prescribed is unbelievable...
and the pharmacies dispensed them......
That’s a slippery slope.
a pharmacist shouldn’t not fill a lawful prescription period. They aren’t doctors they are chemists
They are, in fact, doctors.
So is a school principal. A doctor of education not a medical doctor
in any case they aren’t diagnosing or treating the person who walks up with a prescription. Allowing them to circumvent someone who has done so and who is unquestionably more qualified is a bad practice.
That is a problem with how meds are tracked and doctors are regulated I suppose. Shouldn’t have anything to do with a pharmacist
i also don’t think nurse practitioners should be writing prescriptions generally either. Certainly not controlled substances
A lot of the time they do walk away with MDs as well. And regardless, the point is they're not just mixing potions - they know what dosages are excessive, what they're used for, etc etc. It is also why pharmacists were a positive in identifying pill mills. They could see where the abuses were/are, and the sources of said abuse (not to absolve pharmacists in specific cases).
I’m starting fentanyl next week again. I have trepidations but now I get it. Chronic, intense pain can be debilitating mentally (eventually physically too). At least the last time went well.
Fwiw fentanyl in a controlled environment in a hospital is not the same as what's on the street. My wife was given it as an epidural when giving birth. Best of luck to you.
20 MILLION PILLS PER YEAR FOR COUNTY POPULATION OF 200K.
The amount of pills prescribed is unbelievable...
and the pharmacies dispensed them......
That’s a slippery slope.
a pharmacist shouldn’t not fill a lawful prescription period. They aren’t doctors they are chemists
They are, in fact, doctors.
So is a school principal. A doctor of education not a medical doctor
in any case they aren’t diagnosing or treating the person who walks up with a prescription. Allowing them to circumvent someone who has done so and who is unquestionably more qualified is a bad practice.
That is a problem with how meds are tracked and doctors are regulated I suppose. Shouldn’t have anything to do with a pharmacist
i also don’t think nurse practitioners should be writing prescriptions generally either. Certainly not controlled substances
A lot of the time they do walk away with MDs as well. And regardless, the point is they're not just mixing potions - they know what dosages are excessive, what they're used for, etc etc. It is also why pharmacists were a positive in identifying pill mills. They could see where the abuses were/are, and the sources of said abuse (not to absolve pharmacists in specific cases).
If they are MD’s great. They still aren’t treating person who walks up. That requires things like exams.
generally a pharmacist is less school than both a nurse practitioner and a MD.
im really not trying to dismiss the importance of the profession I just want them in their lane. My mom isn’t particularly well and she goes round and around with one of the local pharmacists. So much so that she drives across town to get her meds now.
I don’t know the whole story just that the pharmacist knows better than the doctor and it’s almost a confrontation when she needs medicine. My mom has addressed it with her doctor and then the doctor explains why he is right. No idea how common that is or not.
Then you have pharmacists refusing to fill drugs in other cases for religious reasons.
I just want to know who decides if I get my medicine if I need it. Is it my doctor or my pharmacist. It gets really murky.
Should a pharmacist have veto power? my perception is there is a power struggle sometimes and the patient is in the middle. There has to be a hierarchy otherwise it’s unclear or chaotic when who’s in charge is questioned
You're right - not to belabor the issue, but becoming a pharmacists can take ~6-8 years.
I mean I have to think pharmacists refusing drugs for religious reasons is some kind of violation of the hippocratic oath. Only argument I can see in support is if this person runs their own business or is at a corp where they can then be replaced.
And I mean not to be disrespectful, but personal anecdotes shouldn't be the explanation of whether a pharmacist does or does not have some extent of say in what they're doling out. It's unfortunate, but it's not for no reason that Sudafed is now locked up on shelves.
If anything to me it speaks to how healthcare is extremely complex when you're talking treatments, finances, payments, supply chain, etc etc, everything.
I would also say a pharmacist's "lane" should be more than some rote position of 1) receive script 2) fill script 3) repeat.
My only point no matter if it’s opioids or any drug requiring a prescription doctors and pharmacists don’t always agree.
that’s a fact. Anecdotes aside, it happens for any number of reasons.
Someone’s authority has to be the final word in the event of a disagreement. Because the pharmacist is in possession of the drugs they seem to get to decide based on being in possession not qualifications . I don’t agree with that. No matter if it’s real world or hypothetically
a suggestion a pharmacist shouldn’t fill a script for oxy is alarming to me. That also doesn’t mean I don’t think something needs to be done to prevent them from even being in that position to begin with
I'm finally watching Dope sick. I'm not surprised. Unfortunately they won't want help until they hit rock bottom and no one on the show seems to be there yet.
Depends on your age. No one under 35 didn't know how addictive oxy's or heroin was when they took them. I feel bad for the people who were prescribed them for legitimate reasons a couple decades ago and got addicted. They weren't bombarded with how addictive and destructive they are like we are now.
It's like people who smoke, get addicted and contract cancer. If your under the age of 50, there isn't any excuse for not knowing. I do feel bad for people over the age of 60 or so. They didn't have the same amount of information or warnings.
I do feel compassion for anyone dealing with any sort of serious addictions.
Comments
Roughly 80 million prescription painkillers were dispensed in Trumbull County alone between 2012 and 2016 — equivalent to 400 for every resident. In Lake County, some 61 million pills were distributed during that period.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Going after the maker of the drug I totally agree with. The y pushed and hushed the problems.
Nothing I have read so far makes the pharmacy liable. The counties state that the pharmacies are the last line of defense. How? They are just filling bottles. You think the doctor whom sees the patient would get that it's a bad idea to keep writing the damn things.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Again, this is all in hindsight now. The FDA still let this slide for 16 years... 16. I knew this stuff was a problem in 1999.
and the pharmacies dispensed them......
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
With the doctors though, I am only finding a few that were nailed and that was for other things that led them to getting caught.
I'm guessing that all those pills were prescribed by hundreds of doctors, not just a few.
It still blows my mind that something I knew was a problem in 1999 wasn't red flagged until 2016?!?
being in one of the epicenters ohio clued in much earlier than that.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
That guy that wrote the book, I would love to sit and chat with him about what he found on his research during those early years.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
went well.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
a pharmacist shouldn’t not fill a lawful prescription period. They aren’t doctors they are chemists
this goes back to birth control, morning after pills etc too. It shouldn’t be their business.
scroll up. 80 million pills in a 4 year period in one county of 207k people. surely someone in the corporate chain, down to the dispensing pharmacist, should have flagged something, no?
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
They are, in fact, doctors.
not a medical doctor
in any case they aren’t diagnosing or treating the person who walks up with a prescription. Allowing them to circumvent someone who has done so and who is unquestionably more qualified is a bad practice.
i also don’t think nurse practitioners should be writing prescriptions generally either. Certainly not controlled substances
generally a pharmacist is less school than both a nurse practitioner and a MD.
im really not trying to dismiss the importance of the profession I just want them in their lane. My mom isn’t particularly well and she goes round and around with one of the local pharmacists. So much so that she drives across town to get her meds now.
I just want to know who decides if I get my medicine if I need it. Is it my doctor or my pharmacist. It gets really murky.
my perception is there is a power struggle sometimes and the patient is in the middle. There has to be a hierarchy otherwise it’s unclear or chaotic when who’s in charge is questioned
I mean I have to think pharmacists refusing drugs for religious reasons is some kind of violation of the hippocratic oath. Only argument I can see in support is if this person runs their own business or is at a corp where they can then be replaced.
And I mean not to be disrespectful, but personal anecdotes shouldn't be the explanation of whether a pharmacist does or does not have some extent of say in what they're doling out. It's unfortunate, but it's not for no reason that Sudafed is now locked up on shelves.
If anything to me it speaks to how healthcare is extremely complex when you're talking treatments, finances, payments, supply chain, etc etc, everything.
I would also say a pharmacist's "lane" should be more than some rote position of 1) receive script 2) fill script 3) repeat.
that’s a fact. Anecdotes aside, it happens for any number of reasons.
Someone’s authority has to be the final word in the event of a disagreement. Because the pharmacist is in possession of the drugs they seem to get to decide based on being in possession not qualifications . I don’t agree with that. No matter if it’s real world or hypothetically
a suggestion a pharmacist shouldn’t fill a script for oxy is alarming to me. That also doesn’t mean I don’t think something needs to be done to prevent them from even being in that position to begin with
It's like people who smoke, get addicted and contract cancer. If your under the age of 50, there isn't any excuse for not knowing. I do feel bad for people over the age of 60 or so. They didn't have the same amount of information or warnings.
I do feel compassion for anyone dealing with any sort of serious addictions.