CVS Pharmacy Inc. is being sued by the U.S. Department of Justice for allegedly filling illegal prescriptions and seeking reimbursement from federal health care programs for unlawful medications.
CVS, the largest pharmacy chain in the U.S. with 9,000 pharmacies across the country, is accused of knowingly filling "prescriptions for controlled substances that lacked a legitimate medical purpose, were not valid, and/or were not issued in the usual course of professional practice," according to a Justice Department news release.
The complaint unsealed Wednesday in the District of Rhode Island says among the large number of illegal prescriptions that CVS allegedly filled were prescriptions for "dangerous and excessive quantities of opioids, early fills of opioids and 'trinity' prescriptions." Trinity prescriptions are a "dangerous and abused" cocktail of drugs made up of an opioid, a benzodiazepine (a depressant drug) and a muscle relaxant.
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