McLaren Health and feds reach record $7.75 million settlement of drug allegations

Michigan-based health system McLaren Health Care Corp. will pay $7.75 million to settle a federal investigation into officials distributing opioids and other drugs without prescriptions. This is the largest fine in U.S. history involving allegations of drug diversion. The penalty settles a years-long DEA investigation into whether McLaren officials violated federal drug laws by illegally distributing powerful analgesics central to the nation’s opioid crisis. McLaren officials have entered a 3-year agreement to address the health system’s drug-handling responsibilities, perform mandated audits of controlled substances, and provide training on preventing drug diversion. McLaren fired one pharmacist accused of diverting opioids for his own use and launched a review of pharmacy protocols going back more than a decade, which uncovered bookkeeping irregularities. The review also discovered drugs were being distributed at community pharmacies under old protocols enacted before McLaren acquired those locations. McLaren noted in a statement on Tuesday that it exited its community pharmacy business in 2018, an unrelated move that involved pharmacies linked to the DEA investigation. Other aspects of the settlement include continuing and implementing several plans, including an oversight committee that developed a system-wide drug diversion policy, mandatory training for approximately 10,000 employees, and retaining an outside pharmacy management company to oversee inpatient pharmacies.