Two more Ohio CVS stores face scrutiny over pharmacy violations

In the midst of nationwide accusations of pharmacy understaffing, two Ohio CVS locations face scrutiny over mishandling of medications.   

The Ohio Board of Pharmacy is investigating two CVS locations and recently issued notices of possible violations, reports the Ohio Capital Journal. This comes after a dozen Ohio locations were issued citations over the past year.

Lawyers representing CVS told regulators that the violations were caused by understaffing and extra work connected to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Ohio Capital Journal. 

CVS pharmacists and pharmacy workers have been voicing increasing concerns around working conditions for months, even going as far as holding staged walkouts to get their point across.

The most recent probe involves stores located in the Ohio cities of Aurora and Xenia where investigators have issued citations for the improper handling of dangerous drugs, dirty conditions, and six-day backlogs in filling prescriptions.

Between February 2022 and March 2023 at the CVS store in Aurora, 819 doses of painkiller tramadol went missing, according to the Ohio Board of Pharmacy report. Additionally, significant errors were found with over 75% of the scripts checked having an issue, whether positive or negative.

Related:CVS, Walgreens pharmacists move to unionize

At the Xenia location, in April regulators were notified doses of lorazepam, an anxiety and seizure medication, were lost but workers could not determine the exact quantity. However, it told the board in May that the incident never took place.

A few days later the store said 435 tablets went missing, but then increased it to 616 tablets a month later.

The citation said the pharmacy did not identify any reason for the loss.

In an emailed statement to Supermarket News, CVS said it was working cooperatively with the Board of Pharmacy to resolve incidents it is calling isolated.

In July, the Ohio Board of Pharmacy reported concern over the staff conditions at eight CVS Ohio stores — including lack of controls over dangerous drugs and month-long wait times.