OHIO, USA — The Ohio Board of Pharmacy and CVS announced Thursday that they had settled claims of critical understaffing at 22 Ohio stores owned by CVS, the nation’s largest pharmacy retailer.

The settlement totaled $1.5 million in fines and fees and imposed other sanctions on the corporate giant. A spokesman for the pharmacy board said it was the largest penalty ever imposed by the regulatory agency.

Among the problems found by pharmacy board inspectors between 2020 and late last year were delays in filling prescriptions as long as a month; improperly filled prescriptions that in at least one instance resulted in patient harm; a lack of controls and the loss of opioids and other dangerous drugs; and adulterated or expired medications persisting on pharmacy shelves month after month.

Current and former CVS pharmacists and technicians told the Capital Journal that as they were run ragged, CVS district and regional management sometimes ignored their pleas for help even when it was available. They added that management was quick to impose ancillary, money-making duties even as pharmacy staff fell behind on their core responsibility — filling prescriptions.

Among the agreed-to penalties, CVS will pay a $1.25 million fine and another $250,000 to cover increased monitoring to ensure that its stores comply with other terms of the agreement. In addition, the licenses of stores No. 1756 in Reynoldsburg, 2528 in Dayton, 3321 in Wooster, 3455 in Coshocton, 6153 in Columbus, 6183 in Springfield, 8248 in Massillon and 10246 in Toledo are on probation for three years. 

The penalties come after the board earlier this month fined CVS store No. 2063 in Canton $250,000 and placed it on three years’ probation.

“By entering into this settlement agreement, the Board seeks immediate and systemic changes to protect patients and address critical understaffing,” Board of Pharmacy Executive Director Steven W. Schierholt said in a statement announcing Thursday’s settlement. “We believe that this agreement is an acknowledgement by CVS that considerable changes are warranted to ensure the safe practice of pharmacy at their retail stores.”

In a statement, a CVS spokeswoman again sought to play down the pharmacy board’s findings at its stores.