WOONSOCKET, R.I., Nov. 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- As part
of an ongoing commitment to helping build healthier and safer
communities, CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) today announced the completed
installation of time delay safe technology in all 851 CVS Pharmacy
locations, including those in Target stores, across Texas. The company implemented the new safes
initially in September at all 223 CVS Pharmacy locations in
Houston.
The safes are anticipated to help prevent pharmacy robberies and
the potential for associated diversion of controlled substance
medications—including opioid medications such as oxycodone and
hydrocodone—by electronically delaying the time it takes for
pharmacy employees to open the safe. In addition, the safes are
anticipated to benefit the safety and well-being of CVS Pharmacy
customers and employees.
CVS Health first implemented time delay safe technology in 2015
in CVS Pharmacy locations across Indianapolis, a city experiencing a high
volume of pharmacy robberies at the time. The company saw a 70%
decline in pharmacy robberies among the Indianapolis stores where time delay safes had
been installed.
Since then, the company has introduced time delay safes across
19 states and the District of
Columbia, resulting in a 50% decline in robberies at CVS
pharmacies in those local communities.
"While our company continues to focus on moving the country one
step closer to a post-pandemic world by increasing access to
COVID-19 vaccines, testing and other measures to help create
healthy communities, the misuse of prescription drugs also remains
a focus," said Tom Moriarty, Chief
Policy Officer and General Counsel, CVS Health. "Time delay safes
can help reduce the theft and diversion of opioid medications and
bring added security to our stores which creates a safe environment
for our patients and colleagues."
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 across Texas with time delay safes display visible
signage warning that time delay safes are in use to prevent
on-demand access to controlled substance narcotics.
CVS Health's time delay safe program is one of many company
initiatives to help address and prevent prescription opioid misuse
and diversion. Through its Safe Medication Disposal Program in
Texas, for example, the company
has installed 252 drug disposal units in select CVS Pharmacy
locations and donated 69 units to local police departments in the
state. To date, approximately 250,000 pounds of unwanted and
expired medication have been collected in Texas.
Presently, the company supports over 4,000 safe medication
disposal units in CVS Pharmacy locations and through local law
enforcement organizations nationwide. Together, these existing
medication disposal units have collected more than 3 million pounds
of unwanted medications that might otherwise have been diverted,
misused or ended up in the water supply.
Additionally, CVS Pharmacy locations that do not offer a safe
medication disposal kiosk offer DisposeRx® packets at no cost to
patients filling an opioid prescription for the first time.
According to the manufacturer, when warm water and the DisposeRx
powder are added to a container, the combination breaks down
medications—including powders, pills, capsules, tablets, liquids or
patches—to a non-divertible biodegradable gel, allowing for safe
disposal in the trash at home.
CVS Health's commitment to helping prevent and address drug
misuse and diversion also extends to community education and
increasing access to the opioid overdose-reversal drug
naloxone.
Our Pharmacists Teach Program connects volunteer CVS pharmacists
with local students to encourage conversation and teach youth about
the dangers of prescription drug misuse.
Since 2015, our pharmacists have volunteered their time and
delivered curriculum to more than 600,000 teens and parents across
the country. We've partnered with Discovery Education to expand the
reach of Pharmacists Teach into more classrooms with a no-cost
digital prevention program called Dose of Knowledge. This program
provides standards-aligned resources to educators and pharmacists
across the U.S., and strives to empower educators and pharmacists
to address substance misuse and educate students to make good
decisions for the health and well-being of themselves and their
community. The Pharmacists Teach Program together with Dose of
Knowledge have impacted more than 1.2 million lives.
Finally, CVS Pharmacy patients can now access the opioid
overdose-reversal drug naloxone without an individual prescription
at every CVS Pharmacy location nationwide, including all 50 states,
Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. CVS Health has also worked with
Google to help people locate naloxone at CVS Pharmacy and other
locations in their community using Google's locator tool.
With its national reach and local presence, CVS Health has been
working hard to help address opioid misuse and diversion with an
enterprise-wide approach. To learn more about CVS Health's efforts,
visit the company's Opioid Response website.
For downloadable time delay safe photos, please visit the Media
Resource Center.
About CVS Health
CVS Health is the leading health
solutions company, delivering care like no one else can. We reach
more people and improve the health of communities across America
through our local presence, digital channels and over 300,000
dedicated colleagues – including more than 40,000 physicians,
pharmacists, nurses, and nurse practitioners. Wherever and whenever
people need us, we help them with their health – whether that's
managing chronic diseases, staying compliant with their
medications, or accessing affordable health and wellness services
in the most convenient ways. We help people navigate the health
care system – and their personal health care – by improving access,
lowering costs and being a trusted partner for every meaningful
moment of health. And we do it all with heart, each and every day.
Learn more at www.cvshealth.com.
Media contact
Monica
Prinzing
831-241-8294
PrinzingM@cvshealth.com
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SOURCE CVS Health