Pharmacy | The Health Law Firm Blog

Walgreens Files a Petition to Lift the Immediate Suspension Order

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

There’s a firefight brewing between Walgreens and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). On October 10, 2012, Walgreens filed a petition asking a federal judge to lift the Immediate Suspension Order (ISO) that bans its distribution center in Jupiter, Florida, from shipping controlled substances to its stores in Florida and on the East Coast.

Back on September 14, 2012, the DEA issued an ISO on the distribution center, calling it an “imminent danger” to the public. Click here to read a blog I previously wrote when the DEA […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:01:06-04:00May 15, 2018|Legal Defense for Pharmacists, Pain Management, Pharmacist, Pharmacy, Pharmacy Law|

Florida Department of Health (DOH) Shuts Down Boca Raton Compounding Pharmacy

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On October 26, 2012, the Florida Department of Health (DOH) issued an emergency suspension order (ESO) against a Boca Raton compounding pharmacy, according to a number of sources. The DOH in a press release called the conditions in the pharmacy so “deplorable” that nothing short of immediately shutting down the pharmacy would suffice.

Click here to read the press release from the DOH.

State Inspector Finds Feces, Bugs and Much More in Compounding Pharmacy.

On October 12, 2012, a state inspector arrived at the Boca Raton compounding pharmacy for an […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:01:07-04:00May 15, 2018|Compounding pharmacy, Department of Health, Florida Board of Pharmacy, Legal Defense for Pharmacists, Pharmacist, Pharmacy|

Sanford CVS Pharmacies in Hot Water for Ignoring Red Flags

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

In September 2012, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) revoked the controlled substance licenses from two CVS pharmacies in Sanford, Florida. Details into the investigation were made public on October 12, 2012, in a final order released by the DEA.

The order explains how the stores operated, whom they prescribed painkillers such as oxycodone to, and identified Central Florida’s top-prescribing doctors.

To read the final order from the DEA, click here.

I previously wrote about the two Sanford CVS stores losing their controlled substance licenses, […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:01:07-04:00May 15, 2018|Legal Defense for Pharmacists, Pain Management, Pharmacist, Pharmacy, Pharmacy Law|

Employee Steals More Than $14 Million in Cancer Drugs from University of Miami Pharmacy

By Michael L. Smith, J.D., R.R.T., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

For three years, hundreds of life-saving cancer drugs disappeared from the shelves of the University of Miami’s (UM) Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. A pharmacy technician at the center was arrested in connection to the thefts in May of 2011, and is accused of stealing more than $14 million in cancer drugs, according to the Miami Herald. The pharmacy tech faces four counts of grand theft, two counts of trafficking in contraband prescription drugs and one count of dealing in stolen property.

To read the entire article from the Miami Herald, click here.

Pharmacy Had No System to […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:01:07-04:00May 15, 2018|Legal Defense for Pharmacists, Pharmacist, Pharmacy, Pharmacy Law|

Phony Pharmacist Gets Prison Time for Working at Pharmacies in Central Florida

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On November 2, 2012, a former Altamonte Springs resident was sentenced to three and a half years in federal prison for fraudulently working as a Central Florida pharmacist from 2000 to 2009, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Click here to read the press release from the DOJ.

I previously blogged about this story when the fake pharmacist pleaded guilty. Click here to read that blog.

Man Allegedly Worked at a CVS and Walgreens in Central Florida.

According to an article in the Orlando Sentinel, the man worked at pharmacies […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:01:08-04:00May 15, 2018|Department of Health, Florida Board of Pharmacy, Legal Defense for Pharmacists, Pharmacist, Pharmacy, Pharmacy Law|

Sex, Drugs and Money Lands Avalon Park Pharmacist in Handcuffs

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

Sex, prescription drugs and money – sounds like the next big rock ‘n’ roll song, doesn’t it? According to a number of news sources, the owner of an Avalon Park-area pharmacist was allegedly knowingly filling phony prescriptions for painkillers. The pharmacist is also accused of exchanging sex for drugs with at least one woman, according to the Orlando Sentinel. This investigation was led by the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation (MBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Both agencies simultaneously raided the pharmacy on November 29, 2012.

Avalon Park is a […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:01:08-04:00May 15, 2018|Pharmacist, Pharmacy, Pharmacy Law, Trafficking Prescription Painkillers|

Pharmacists: Talk to a Lawyer Before You Talk to an Investigator

By Christopher E. Brown, J.D.

In Florida, You DO NOT Have to Speak to an Investigator!

Despite mailing out hundreds of thousands of postcards and letters to pharmacists, throughout Florida, we continue to receive calls from new clients and from potential clients, after they have already spoken to and made critical harmful admissions against their own interests to investigators. In Florida, you do not have any duty to cooperate with any investigator who is investigating you. This extends to Department of Health (DOH) investigators (who are sometimes titled “Medical Quality Assurance Investigators” or “Medical Malpractice Investigators”), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) special agents, police officers, sheriff’s deputies, or criminal investigators […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:01:05-04:00May 15, 2018|Legal Defense for Pharmacists, Pharmacist, Pharmacy, Pharmacy Law|

Specialty Pharmacy Settles Lawsuit Over Illegal Kickbacks

By Lance O. Leider, J.D., and George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on December 27, 2012, that a specialty pharmacy, based in San Diego, California, has agreed to pay a $11.4 million settlement. That payment is to resolve allegations that the company used kickbacks to persuade doctors to write prescription for its products. The allegations came from a whistleblower lawsuit filed by a former employee.

Click here to read the press release from the DOJ.

Expensive Kickbacks Used on Doctors.

An article in Modern Healthcare states […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:01:09-04:00May 15, 2018|Legal Defense for Pharmacists, Pharmacist, Pharmacy, Pharmacy Law, Whistleblower|

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Investigates Six Walgreens Pharmacies in Florida

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) served an Order to Show Cause (OSC) on a Fort Myers Walgreens pharmacy on February 21, 2013. According to the DEA, the OSC was served as a notice to provide Walgreens with an opportunity to show cause as to why their DEA registration should not be revoked. The Fort Myers pharmacy is one of six Walgreens pharmacies to be targeted for prescribing practices by the DEA.

Click here to read the press release from the DEA.

According to the DEA, these investigations are part of an effort to curb […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:01:11-04:00May 15, 2018|Legal Defense for Pharmacists, Pharmacist, Pharmacy, Pharmacy Law|

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Recalls Products from Two Different Compounding Pharmacies

By Carole C. Schriefer, R.N., J.D., The Health Law Firm and George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

Two different compounding pharmacies have recently recalled products due to concerns from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The New Jersey compounding pharmacy, Med Prep Consulting, and Clinical Specialties Compounding in Georgia, both recalled products between March 17, 2013 and March 20, 2013.

The recalls were issued as the FDA and state agencies step up regulation on compounding pharmacies across the country. These agencies are trying to prevent another widespread outbreak, like the fungal meningitis outbreak in the fall of 2012, which is responsible […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:01:11-04:00May 15, 2018|Compounding pharmacy, Department of Health, Pharmacist, Pharmacy, Pharmacy Law|