In an effort to reduce the deaths, both accidental and intentional caused by opioid addiction, CVS has announced major changes to its filling of prescriptions for those pharmaceuticals. The drug store chain has announced that it will limit prescriptions to a seven-day supply. There are 
obvious restrictions. The “limit” applies to patients who are new to pain management therapy and not to those with chronic conditions. The type of opioid prescription covered by this rule will apparently change as well to immediate release rather than long-term (time release) opioids.
The president and CEO of CVS Health recently stated:
“With a presence in nearly 10,000 communities across the country, we see firsthand the impact of the alarming and rapidly growing epidemic of opioid addiction and misuse.”
CVS owns something like 9,600 pharmacies plus another 1,100 walk-in type locations such as in medical buildings. CVS, as with every other pharmacy chain has seen a tremendous rise in prescribed opioids over the past 15 years. Interestingly, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has seen a four-fold rise in opioid prescriptions, yet they report that “pain complaints” by Americans have not changed in the same time period! CVS pharmacists will also step up their efforts to counsel patients prescribed opioids. As part of their overall efforts, the CVS “Medication Disposal for Safer Communities Program” will double its kiosks from 800 to 1,550 kiosks.
To CVS it’s more than public relations
Physicians who are leading the fight against irresponsible opioid prescription writing feel that CVS’ efforts are more than merely a public relations stunt. Given the numbers of patients who come to the thousands of pharmacy locations, they feel it will have a modest impact. This is especially true in the area of safe prescription disposal. More information here.
Dr. Caleb Alexander the co-director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Drug Safety and Effectiveness stated:
“There are millions of prescription bottles sitting in our bathroom cabinets and on our bedroom nightstands right now, including far too many prescription opioids that ultimately are used non-medically.” The object here is to eliminate the temptation of opioids from “falling into,” and being used by family members and friends who have no need to take these drugs.
CVS has been critiqued by some physicians for its new policy but CVS feels it is flexible enough to allow those physicians to seek exceptions. It is an interesting discussion point, for who should determine treatment, the physician or the pharmacy? Yet, the staggering numbers of opioid deaths cannot be denied. About 142 Americans die every day from a drug overdose, with the overwhelming majority of those deaths being linked to opioids. In fact, in 2015 alone there were 30,000 fatal overdoses from opioid drugs.
This starts to set up some important ethical discussions. Suppose there was a mechanical flaw in 2018 automobiles that killed or injured 30,000 people. Wouldn’t there be an immediate investigation followed by an all-out effort to correct the problem? Of course, there would be such an effort. Why then, isn’t the same, all-out mobilization being applied to opioids?
Where is the innovation?
There are hints of numerous new pharmaceuticals under development that are non-addictive, non-opioid medications. OK, where are they? The medical and pharmaceutical communities appear to have gone silent.
While there are opioid commissions wringing their collective hands at the tragic loss of life and the crime syndicates making fortunes from the production of cheap opioid/fentanyl “pharmaceuticals,” and thousands of people dying from unintended overdoses, where is the innovation? If the “pain complaints” have remained steady but the opioid prescriptions have quadrupled, the business, rather than medical questions seem to dictate that there’s lot of money to be legitimately made by prescribing this medication with abandon.
The ethical question needs to be raised: is there not more innovation into this area because pharmaceutical companies find that opioid production is cheap and highly profitable? Does a chain such as CVS by taking an ethical high-ground, in curbing its doling out of opioids secretly offend the medical community?
How many lives have been lost because of placing profit over new product development?
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