Omnicare announced it would pay out $50 million to settle the allegations it incorrectly dispensed medications for patients in nursing homes without signed prescriptions by a doctor since 2007. Steven Dettelbach a U.S. Attorney told reporters at a news conference this was the second biggest monetary settlement in the nation since the onset of the Controlled Substance Act that regulates drugs.
Omnicare, based in Covington, Kentucky, sells drugs long-term to health care providers like nursing homes and hospitals. The company said no allegations were made that the drugs had been diverted illegally to someone without a prescription and no patients had been harmed.
The charges came because of an investigation that was announced previously by the DEA. The issue was the communication line between doctors who are the ones writing out prescriptions for medication and pharmacy managers.
At times even with a proper prescription, the order for the medication did not include the drug name, dosage, strength and number of pills. When Dettelbach was asked about a possible motive he said it was a civil matter, not a criminal one and there are large profits that take place with high volumes of dispensing of the medicines.
He said a message needed to be sent by the case that doctors must be involved in key health care decisions that pertain to the patients receiving controlled substances.
