A pharmacy with locations in Cary and Durham, North Carolina, agreed to pay the United States $100,000 to resolve allegations that it violated the Controlled Substances Act during 2017 and 2018. The allegations centered on prescriptions written by a physician who held a faculty limited license issued by the state medical board in connection with university work. That type of license only permits practice to the extent authorized by the sponsoring university.
The government alleged that the physician prescribed controlled substances outside the scope the university permitted, and that both pharmacy locations filled those prescriptions. According to the allegations, the pharmacy did not confirm whether the prescriber's license was valid for the prescriptions presented, and therefore did not meet its corresponding responsibility under federal law.
The case was developed by DEA diversion investigators, who identified the prescriptions filled for a prescriber operating beyond a limited license. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of North Carolina resolved the matter civilly, emphasizing that pharmacies must verify prescriber authority rather than assume compliance.
The settlement resolves allegations only. There was no admission of liability and no judicial finding against the pharmacy.