30 Connecticut Pharmacies Fined By State So Far In 2023

CONNECTICUT — Since the start of 2023, the state has cited 30 pharmacies for violations that range from unscheduled closures to misplacing controlled substances.

According to published minutes of meetings of the Pharmacy Commission, a division of the state Department of Consumer Protection, the most common violations involved unscheduled closures and hours of operation shorter than publicly posted. The state takes an interest in pharmacies' availability as access to certain medications, such as insulin, can be a matter of life and death.

Walgreens spokesperson Kris Lathan told Patch "There are times when we must adjust or reduce pharmacy operating hours, or temporarily close a store, as we work to balance staffing and resources in the market to best meet customer demand.

"When this occurs, we make every effort to minimize disruption for patients and customers by selecting days with the lowest prescription demand to ensure that there is a nearby pharmacy to meet immediate prescription needs. We also provide patients as much advanced notice as possible through signage, automated phone calls, updates to our online scheduler, and adjustments in refills."

Rite Aid spokesperson Catherine Carter said the company has "procedures that we enact in the event of an emergency when a pharmacy or store is unable to open. These include notifying customers through a number of channels and ensuring minimal interruption in meeting customers’ health and wellness needs."

An examination of the Pharmacy Commission’s published minutes for this year, through Aug. 23, showed the following violations and settlements reached:

Bridgeport: Walgreens at 4083 Main Street | The pharmacy was investigated for unscheduled closings and failure to comply with unscheduled pharmacy closing requirements. The pharmacy made a voluntary payment of $2,000.

Bridgeport: Walgreens at 300 Fairfield Avenue | The pharmacy was routinely inspected, during which the following alleged violations were investigated: unscheduled closings and related reporting; controlled substance record keeping; failure to report diabetic/diabetic ketoacidosis devices to the Prescription Monitoring Database Program. The pharmacy made a voluntary payment of $6,000.

Bridgeport: Walgreens at 960 North Avenue | The pharmacy was investigated for unscheduled closings and failure to comply with unscheduled pharmacy closing requirements. The pharmacy made a voluntary payment of $5,000.

East Haven: Walgreens at 157 Main Street | The pharmacy was investigated following a report of unscheduled closures. It was determined that there were several partial or complete closures. For some of the closures, the Commission of Pharmacy was not timely notified. Additionally, due to some early closures, the pharmacy operated below 35 hours of operation at times. The pharmacy made a voluntary payment of $2,500.

Fairfield: Walgreens at 414 Kings Highway East | The pharmacy was investigated for unscheduled closings and failure to comply with unscheduled pharmacy closing requirements. The pharmacy made a voluntary payment of $3,000

Granby: CVS at 20 Bank Street | The pharmacy was investigated for failure to be managed by a pharmacy manager on a full-time basis, failure to notify the Commission of Pharmacy of a change of pharmacy manager, and failure to appropriately enroll a new pharmacy manager with the required information. The pharmacy made a voluntary payment of $2,000.

Hamden: Walgreens at 1697 Whitney Avenue | The pharmacy was investigated for unscheduled closings and related reporting failures, and failure to enroll approved pharmacy manager with the Commission of Pharmacy. The pharmacy made a voluntary payment of $2,500.

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Litchfield: Walgreens at 331 West Street | The pharmacy was investigated for unscheduled closings and failure to comply with unscheduled pharmacy closing requirements. The pharmacy made a voluntary payment of $2,000.

Meriden: Walgreens at 825 East Main Street | The pharmacy was investigated for failure to remain open at least 35 hours per week and failure to comply with unscheduled pharmacy closing requirements. The pharmacy made a voluntary payment of $3,500.

Monroe: Walgreens at 275 Monroe Turnpike | The pharmacy was investigated for unscheduled closings and failure to comply with unscheduled pharmacy closing requirements. The pharmacy made a voluntary payment of $4,000.

New Haven: Walgreens at 1471 Whalley Avenue | The pharmacy was investigated following a report of unscheduled closures. It was determined that there were several partial or complete closures. For some of the closures, the Commission of Pharmacy was not timely notified. Due to some early closures, the pharmacy operated below 35 hours of operation. Additionally, there was a period with no active pharmacy manager and a related failure to timely notify the Commission of Pharmacy. The pharmacy made a voluntary payment of $3,000.

New Haven: Walgreens at 436 Whalley Avenue | The pharmacy was investigated for failure to remain open at least 35 hours per week, failure to comply with unscheduled pharmacy closing requirements, failure to be managed by a pharmacy manager on a full-time basis, failure to notify the Commission of Pharmacy of a change of pharmacy manager, failure to notify the Commission of the absence of a pharmacy manager for more than 16 consecutive days, failure to notify the Commission of the absence of a pharmacy manager for more than 42 consecutive days, and failure to appropriately enroll a new pharmacy manager with the required information. The pharmacy made a voluntary payment of $12,500.

Newington: CVS at 1181 Main Street | The pharmacy was investigated for failure to be managed by a pharmacy manager on a full-time basis, failure to notify the Commission of Pharmacy of a change of pharmacy manager, and failure to appropriately enroll a new pharmacy manager with the required information. The pharmacy made a voluntary payment of $2,000.

Norwalk: Walgreens at 54 West Avenue | The pharmacy was investigated for unscheduled closings and failure to comply with unscheduled pharmacy closing requirements. The pharmacy made a voluntary payment of $2,000.

Norwalk: Costco Pharmacy at 779 Connecticut Avenue | The pharmacy was investigated following a notification of multiple controlled substance losses. During investigation, violations were discovered including incomplete recordkeeping in a suitable file; misbranded drugs in pharmaceutical stock; failure to adequately controlled substances except for the actual time required to remove or replace needed items, and failure to timely report loss of controlled substances. This investigation also resulted in disciplinary actions against a pharmacist manager and staff pharmacist. As a result of Drug Control and internal investigation, the pharmacy replaced the staff of this pharmacy. The pharmacy made a voluntary payment of $15,000.

Plainfield: CVS at 10 Lathrop Road | The pharmacy was investigated following a prescription dispensing error involving a failure to keep confidential information concerning the nature of pharmaceutical services rendered to a patient. The pharmacy made a voluntary payment of $4,000.

Ridgefield: Walgreens at 46A Danbury Road | The pharmacy was investigated for unscheduled closings and failure to comply with unscheduled pharmacy closing requirements. The pharmacy made a voluntary payment of $6,000.

Shelton: Walgreens at 700 Bridgeport Avenue | The pharmacy was investigated for unscheduled closings, failure to notify the Commission of Pharmacy of a change of pharmacy manager, failure to notify the Commission of the absence of a pharmacy manager for more than 16 consecutive days and failure to appropriately enroll a new pharmacy manager with the required information. The pharmacy made a voluntary payment of $2,000.

Simsbury: Walgreens at 540 Bushy Hill Road | The pharmacy was investigated following a report of loss/theft. During the course of that inquiry, investigators determined that there was a period in which the pharmacy operated without a full-time pharmacy manager. The pharmacy made a voluntary monetary payment of $1,000.

Stamford: Walgreens at 1203 High Ridge Road | The pharmacy was investigated for unscheduled closings and failure to comply with unscheduled pharmacy closing requirements. The pharmacy made a voluntary payment of $10,000.

Stratford: Rite Aid at 3680 Main Street | The pharmacy was investigated following a complaint that the retail pharmacy was closed on several occasions during business hours. It was determined that there were four unscheduled closings in a short period. The unscheduled closings were resolved when the location was able to address a staffing shortage. The location failed to timely report the closures to the Commission of Pharmacy within 72 hours as required. The pharmacy made a voluntary payment of $1,000.

Stratford: Walgreens at 1606 Barnum Avenue | The pharmacy was investigated for unscheduled closings and failure to comply with unscheduled pharmacy closing requirements. The pharmacy made a voluntary payment of $1,000.

Terryville: Walgreens at 8 South Main Street Ste A | The pharmacy was investigated for unscheduled closings and failure to comply with unscheduled pharmacy closing requirements. The pharmacy made a voluntary payment of $1,000.

Torrington: Walgreens at 28 East Elm Street | The pharmacy was investigated for unscheduled closings and failure to comply with unscheduled pharmacy closing requirements. The pharmacy made a voluntary payment of $4,000.

Wallingford: Optum Infusion Pharmacy and Infusion Suite at 33 N. Plains Industrial Road | The pharmacy was determined to have failed to notify the Department of Consumer Protection in writing no later than ten days prior to installing a new primary engineering Control in the pharmacy’s clean room. Following contact from Drug Control Division, management indicated failure to notify was an error and immediately altered standard operating procedures to ensure such oversight would not reoccur. Environmental monitoring tested appropriately during this time, and the pharmacy was at all times cooperative and responsive. The pharmacy made a voluntary payment of $1,000.

Wallingford Center: Rite Aid at 605 North Colony Road | The pharmacy was investigated following complaints of closures. This was the pharmacy's first investigation for unscheduled closings, or failure to give notice to the Commission of such closings. The pharmacy made a voluntary payment of $1,500.

Waterbury: Walgreens at 11 Meriden Road | The pharmacy was investigated for unscheduled closings and failure to comply with unscheduled pharmacy closing requirements. The pharmacy made a voluntary payment of $2,000.

West Haven: Rite Aid at 70 Elm Street | The pharmacy was investigated for failure to notify the Commission of Pharmacy of a change of pharmacy manager and failure to appropriately enroll a new pharmacy manager with the required information. The pharmacy made a voluntary payment of $1,500.

Windsor: CVS at 219 Broad Street | The pharmacy was investigated for failure to be managed by a pharmacy manager who has appeared before the Commission of Pharmacy for approval. The pharmacy made a voluntary payment of $2,000.

Wolcott: Rite Aid at 744 Wolcott Road | The pharmacy was investigated for failure to notify the Commission of Pharmacy of a change of pharmacy manager, failure to immediately notify a manager absence for more than 16 days and replace after 42 days, and failure to appropriately enroll a new pharmacy manager with the required information. The pharmacy made a voluntary payment of $1,500.