WOONSOCKET, R.I., June 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- CVS Pharmacy
announced today that it has implemented the use of time delay safes
in more than 170 locations in the Cincinnati, Columbus and Dayton markets as well as nearby locations in
central and southern Ohio and
northern Kentucky. This step will
help prevent pharmacy robbery incidents and combat the ongoing
opioid epidemic by keeping controlled substance narcotic
medications from being misused or abused. Controlled substance
narcotic medications that are sought after by robbers, such as
oxycodone and hydrocodone, will now be stored in time delay safes
in every CVS Pharmacy location in these three markets.
Time delay safes help deter pharmacy robberies by electronically
delaying the time it takes for pharmacy employees to be able to
open the safe. Employees must enter a code to open the safe, which
automatically triggers a wait time before the safe is
electronically unlocked.
The time delay function cannot be overridden and is designed to
serve as a deterrent to would-be pharmacy robbers whose goal is to
enter and exit their robbery targets as quickly as possible. All
CVS Pharmacy locations with time delay safes are displaying
highly-visible signage to inform the public that time delay safes
are in use to prevent on-demand access to controlled substance
narcotics.
"Pharmacy robberies are a challenging issue for every pharmacy
and we are committed to doing all we can to reduce the number of
pharmacy robbery incidents in the Columbus, Cincinnati and Dayton markets," said Alisa Ulrey, Area Vice President of CVS Pharmacy
in Ohio. "We believe that time
delay safes, combined with other security policies and procedures
in place at our stores, will help drastically reduce these
incidents and ensure that our stores remain a safe environment for
shopping and filling prescriptions."
Montgomery County Sheriff
Phil Plummer said, "Drug Abuse
continues to be a substantial health and safety risk in Montgomery
County. With overdose deaths in Montgomery County being at an historical high,
I believe any efforts to control substance narcotic medications
that are sought after by robbers, such as oxycodone &
hydrocodone, is welcome. I applaud CVS Pharmacy for taking
this proactive step to combat the opioid epidemic in Montgomery County and across Ohio."
CVS Health's commitment to preventing and addressing
prescription drug abuse extends to community education, efforts to
encourage safe disposal of unused medication and increasing access
to the opioid overdose-reversal drug naloxone. The company's
Pharmacists Teach program brings CVS Pharmacists to schools across
the country to talk to students about the dangers of prescription
drug abuse. More than 250,000 students across the country,
including more than 10,000 in Ohio, have participated in the
program.
CVS Health has also joined with the Partnership for Drug-Free
Kids to create the Medication Disposal for Safer Communities
Program, which donates disposal units to local police departments,
providing a safe and environmentally friendly way to dispose of
unwanted medication. This program has collected more than 80 metric
tons, or 175,000 pounds of unused prescriptions, keeping them out
of medicine cabinets where they could be misused.
Additionally, CVS Health has worked with 41 states – including
Ohio and Kentucky – to increase access to the opioid
overdose-reversal drug naloxone, also known as Narcan.
Patients can obtain this life-saving medication, which is a safe
and effective antidote to opioid overdoses, without an individual
prescription in these states.
About CVS Pharmacy
CVS Pharmacy, the retail division of CVS Health (NYSE: CVS), is
America's leading retail pharmacy with over 9,700 locations. It is
the first national pharmacy to end the sale of tobacco and the
first pharmacy in the nation to receive the Community Pharmacy
accreditation from URAC, the leading health care accreditation
organization that establishes quality standards for the health care
industry. CVS Pharmacy is reinventing pharmacy to help people on
their path to better health by providing the most accessible and
personalized expertise, both in its stores and online at CVS.com.
General information about CVS Pharmacy is available
at http://www.cvshealth.com.
Media Contacts:
Erin Shields Britt
(401) 770-9237
Erin.Britt@CVSHealth.com
Amy Lanctot
(401) 770-2931
Amy.Lanctot@CVSHealth.com
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visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cvs-pharmacy-now-using-time-delay-safes-in-ohio-for-controlled-substances-to-combat-opioid-epidemic-reduce-robbery-incidents-300470367.html
SOURCE CVS Health