Suburban Pharmacy LTC Inc.
Outcome
Suburban Pharmacy LTC Inc. paid $150,000 to settle federal allegations of a 22,000-dose controlled substance discrepancy stemming from inadequate anti-diversion controls and incomplete inventory records.
Details
Suburban Pharmacy LTC Inc. — Alprazolam Diversion and Inadequate Controls (2020)
Outcome: Suburban Pharmacy LTC Inc. paid $150,000 to settle federal allegations of a 22,000-dose controlled substance discrepancy stemming from inadequate anti-diversion controls and incomplete inventory records.
Suburban Pharmacy LTC Inc., located at 342 North Main Street in West Hartford, Connecticut, is a long-term care pharmacy. In October 2018, the pharmacy reported to the DEA a loss of more than 6,000 dosage units of alprazolam 2mg, a Schedule IV controlled substance. The pharmacy's own internal investigation indicated that employee theft likely contributed to the loss.
The DEA subsequently conducted a full audit of Suburban Pharmacy's controlled substance inventory. The audit revealed a total discrepancy far exceeding the initial reported loss — more than 22,000 doses of controlled substances across multiple drug categories were unaccounted for. The government alleged this discrepancy resulted from both lax anti-diversion controls and the pharmacy's failure to maintain complete and accurate inventories of the controlled substances it received, sold, dispensed, or otherwise disposed of, as required by the Controlled Substances Act.
The government alleged that Suburban Pharmacy failed to maintain effective controls against the diversion of controlled substances as required by 21 U.S.C. § 823(b)(1), and that it failed to keep complete and accurate records as required by 21 U.S.C. § 827 and 21 C.F.R. Part 1304.
The civil settlement was announced in June 2020 by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut. Suburban Pharmacy paid $150,000 to resolve all civil allegations. The pharmacy did not admit liability as part of the settlement.
Primary Source: West Hartford Pharmacy to Pay $150K to Settle Controlled Substances Act Allegations — DOJ Connecticut
How Crucible Prevents This
Crucible's controlled substance inventory reconciliation controls would have flagged the initial discrepancy of 6,000 doses of alprazolam at the time of the loss, well before the DEA audit discovered the full 22,000-dose discrepancy. Automated security controls and access-log monitoring would have detected the employee theft pattern. Periodic internal audit checkpoints enforced by Crucible protocols would have triggered corrective action before federal investigation.
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