At least eight CVS pharmacies in Ohio have been accused of understaffing issues resulting in dangerous conditions for patrons, according to reporting from local publication the Ohio Capital Journal.
The Ohio Board of Pharmacy has released a series of reports indicating that CVS staff at the stores are facing desperate issues which include lack of controls over dangerous drugs and month-long wait times, reports the Ohio Capital Journal.
Some of the incidents date as far back as 2020 and some of the inspections were the result of patient complaints. The reports do not name specific stores, but the locations of the stores were given and include stores in Toledo, Canton, Dayton, and Massillon, among others.
The reports reveal specific situations where quality was lost:
- Pharmacy workers at one location told the Ohio Board of Pharmacy they were pushing upper management to close in order for the staff to catch up on filling and processing orders, but the repeated requests were ignored
- During one inspection, Board of Pharmacy staff were suspicious of workers stealing controlled substances
- Another inspection revealed a confusing situation where Board of Pharmacy staff could not tell if CVS was improperly billing insurers for scripts it did not fill
- Inspectors also found expired drugs and labels which gave patients the wrong instructions
At one CVS, corners were allegedly cut to dispense prescriptions and supervisors and district managers did not respond to staff calls for help, the Ohio Board of Pharmacy report stated
Wait times have been lengthy, and at a CVS in Wooster, Ohio, one pharmacist was “actively triaging prescriptions to ensure lifesaving, live-sustaining medications are filled in a timely manner,” the reports stated.
Employee turnover also appeared to be worse than average at the eight Ohio locations.. At a store in Canton, inspectors observed a staff so low on manpower that it took workers 20 minutes to acknowledge that the inspectors were present, and conditions in the store were warm due to a broken air conditioner.
At that same store, the alarm on a drug cooler also failed, putting medication at risk. When inspectors returned about a month later, they found that the staff that had been there during the first inspection now no longer worked at the store. The report also indicated the pharmacy was over a month behind in filling prescriptions.
“Pharmacy staff and an assistant store manager stated they have asked district leaders to close the store down temporarily to get caught up filling prescriptions as well as clean and organize the pharmacy, but this request was denied,” the report said.
Staffing has been an industry-wide problem, for several years now, starting with the disruption brought upon by the COVID-19 pandemic.. According to the 2023 Supermarket News Fresh Food Trends Survey, 32% of those surveyed noted that attracting and retaining qualified employees continues to be a challenge.
The report also notes an issue with controlled substances. Some deliveries of drugs were left at the front of the store for several hours, with workers claiming they had no time to bring them back to the pharmacy for processing. Additionally, in some cases, too much or too little of a certain drug ended up being filled in orders. Expired medications were also found on shelves, with workers again citing that they did not have enough time to remove them from shelves.
CVS provided the following emailed statement to Supermarket News:
“We’re working with the Ohio Board of Pharmacy to resolve allegations of isolated incidents, most of which date back a year or more. The health and well-being of our patients is our No. 1 priority. Decisions about staffing, labor hours, workflow process, technology enhancements, and other operational factors are made to ensure we have appropriate levels of staffing and resources in place at our pharmacies. We have comprehensive policies and procedures in place to support prescription safety and we continue to make important strides, including using technology to support our pharmacy teams.”
