“Stolen prescription drugs, like drugs obtained through fraudulent prescriptions, inevitably make their way into the hands of those seeking to abuse them,” Attorney General Chiesa said. “This list of security practices, developed in close coordination with stakeholders from both government and industry, represents the best steps pharmacists can take to protect their inventory from diversion and ensure that medication is dispensed only according to a valid prescription.”
The Best Practices for Pharmacy Security are now posted on the Board of Pharmacy website as recommendations for voluntary compliance by New Jersey’s pharmacies. They include specific recommended measures, above and beyond those currently required by New Jersey’s Pharmacy Regulations and Controlled Dangerous Substances Regulations.
“While every pharmacy may not be able to adopt all of these security recommendations, we are encouraging them to move toward implementation of these best practices,” Eric T. Kanefsky, Acting Director of the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, said. “Incidents of theft at New Jersey pharmacies are not common, but when they do occur they often involve significant diversion of Controlled Dangerous Substances which pose a grave risk of addiction, overdose, and death.”
The Best Practices recommendations are designed to help prevent the loss of Controlled Dangerous Substances and other drugs due to robbery, burglary, and employee theft, as well as to identify and curb doctor-shopping and the fraudulent use of forged, altered, or stolen prescriptions. The Division of Consumer Affairs and Board of Pharmacy developed the list as the result of a year-long process of in-depth research and dialogue.
The Division began by holding a Pharmacy Security Summit in January 2012, and a follow-up summit in September. The participants included representatives of chain and independent pharmacies, healthcare systems, drug manufacturers, academics, and law enforcement agencies such as the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the State Commission on Investigation. Board of Pharmacy members, and staff of the Division’s Enforcement Bureau, also participated. The Division drafted the best practices after considering the ideas and concerns of the Board of Pharmacy, the summit participants, and other pharmacy groups and trade organizations.
The process included an assessment of the various logistical and personnel concerns of large and small pharmacies, as well as the needs of pharmacies in New Jersey’s urban, suburban, and rural areas. It also included an assessment of today’s realities in the areas of crime and the illegal diversion of prescription drugs.
During 2012, New Jersey pharmacies reported to the Division of Consumer Affairs a total of nine armed robberies, seven incidents of break-ins or customer theft, and 24 incidents of theft by pharmacy employees. There are 2,128 pharmacies in New Jersey.
Examples of the Best Practices suggestions include:
Attorney General Chiesa noted the scope of America's prescription drug abuse problem is staggering:
Attorney General Chiesa and Acting Director Kanefsky thanked Executive Director Anthony Rubinaccio of the State Board of Pharmacy, Deputy Attorneys General Megan Cordoma and Jodi Krugman of the State Division of Law, and Investigator Michael Westenberger of the Division of Consumer Affairs Enforcement Bureau for their role in developing the Best Practices for Pharmacy Security.
For more information on the Division of Consumer Affairs’ comprehensive effort to fight the diversion and abuse of prescription drugs, view the Division’s websites for Project Medicine Drop and the New Jersey Prescription Monitoring Program (NJPMP).
Follow the Division of Consumer Affairs on Facebook, and check our online calendar of upcoming Consumer Outreach events.
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