CVS Pharmacy refuses narcotics prescriptions from some Florida doctors

ORLANDO, Fla.,None — CVS Pharmacy has started banning certain Florida doctors from filling prescriptions for potent pain medications.

CVS will fill fewer prescriptions for Schedule II narcotics such as oxycodone. The letter making rounds in the medical community reads, "CVS/Pharmacy stores will not be able to fill prescriptions that you write for Schedule II Controlled Substances."

Dr. George Ralls is the director of Orange County's Health Services Department. He's also a member of the Orange County Prescription Drug Task Force.

"This is a huge issue for this state, and it's resulted in a huge response from CVS," Ralls said.

The letter talks about escalating reports of prescription drug abuse in Florida. But, the letter doesn't indicate that any of the physicians who received it have done anything wrong.

The Florida Society of Pain Management said Florida doctors really have no idea what criteria was used to determine who received a letter.

"I will tell you something about the information they had in their databases led them to make this decision," Ralls said. "CVS is a great company. It does great things for patients and physicians."

Lois Adams is an independent pharmacist at the Freedom Pharmacy and Wellness Center. She said her pharmacy has its own policy for preventing prescription drug misuse, but it doesn't involve penalizing health care providers.

"That's really a law enforcement problem," Adams said.

CVS told WFTV that while it regretted any inconvenience to customers, the company is unwavering in its compliance and measures to prevent drug abuse.

According to federal estimates, Florida doctors prescribe 10 times more oxycodone that all the other states combined.

The Florida attorney general's office said the state is the primary source of illegal prescription drugs for the eastern United States.

WFTV