Savage Family Pharmacy, located in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, has agreed to pay the United States $180,480 in civil penalties for allegedly failing to comply with recordkeeping and other requirements of the Controlled Substances Act. These alleged violations enabled the diversion of opioids from the pharmacy over an extended period of time. According to the allegations, between 2015 and 2019, Savage Family Pharmacy did not adequately monitor the conduct of its employees, and failed to keep complete and accurate inventories and records regarding the receipt and dispensing of Schedule II controlled substances, including but not limited to oxycodone and hydrocodone. These alleged violations enabled the altering of incoming inventory counts, as well as the altering of dispensed counts of the controlled substances over an extended period of time. Inventories, when conducted, were not reconciled with the perpetual log. Additionally, pages of the perpetual log were removed, allegedly, by an employee diverting the controlled substances. As a result of Savage Family Pharmacy’s alleged actions, tens of thousands of doses of controlled substances went unaccounted for and were potentially diverted for illicit purposes. An act of employee theft of Controlled Substances at the pharmacy in May of 2019 led to the present civil investigation. Savage Family Pharmacy has since enhanced its recordkeeping and compliance program, including instituting a process of reconciling the inventories to the perpetual log, in response to concerns raised by the DEA in the course of this investigation. This settlement addresses the independent obligation of Savage Family Pharmacy to ensure it has systems in place adequate to prevent theft and fraudulent inventory and dispensing, as required by 21 U.S.C. §§ 827, 842, and associated regulations.
