After several years of investigation, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a civil lawsuit accusing Walgreens of illegally dispensing millions of prescriptions for opioid painkillers and failing to fulfill its role as a critical gatekeeper in the nation’s health care system.
The lawsuit is only the latest to blame one of the largest pharmacy chains in the U.S. for contributing to a long-running opioid crisis that has led to the death of hundreds of thousands of Americans. But the 300-page complaint contains one of the more detailed examinations of what some of its own pharmacists called a “toxic” workplace for over a decade, starting in 2012.
The chain allegedly pressured its pharmacists to “systematically” fill opioid prescriptions quickly without taking the time to confirm whether a prescription was valid, and those who attempted to do so were reprimanded. At the same time, an internal compliance department “rarely” conducted audits to determine whether its pharmacists adhered to prescribing policies.
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