Pharmacy Fraud Essay

Words: 555
Pages: 3

Pharmacy robbery has become a growing concern for our nation according to the U. S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) robberies of pharmacies in the United States increased 82 percent from 2006 to 2011 the motive behind the robberies are opioids which has become a national epidemic in our country (La Vigre, & Wartell, 2015). Many individuals will pay astronomical fees for these drugs. Many pharmacy workers fear to have a gun stuck in their face, they are fearful for their lives due to these robberies. Pharmacy robbery relates to the unlawful use of a controlled substance, pharmacy workers and healthcare workers have access to prescriptions some will misuse their power to steal, sale, and use these drugs for themselves and make a profit off others that have become addicted to prescription drugs. Many individuals steal from homes, doctor’s office, and pharmacies to get these drugs. Medicaid fraud is being committed by workers that will substitute generic drugs for name-brand drugs, filling prescriptions without any refills and overbilling Medicaid (La Vigre, & Wartell, 2015). With the misuse of prescription drugs starts the process of addiction. Those that have experienced serious surgeries or suffer from chronic pain misuse their prescription which them leads to heroin use. The SARA: scanning, analyzing, responding, and …show more content…
The SARA does help with this process, but pharmacy workers must be educated on the trends and patterns of these robberies. Increasing staff during the high-risk days and times and modify the handling for high-risk drugs, prevention guidance must be provided for those working in pharmacies (Yap,