Staff Reports
All CVS Pharmacy locations across Indiana have completed a rollout of time-delay safes to help prevent pharmacy robberies and combat the opioid epidemic.
The rollout was announced Tuesday and affects all 338 CVS Pharmacy locations in the state, including those in Columbus.
Controlled substance narcotic medications are sought after by thieves, who are trying to obtain oxycodone and hydrocodone, company officials said. By storing the narcotics in time-delay safes, the safes will deter robberies by electronically delaying the time it takes for pharmacy employees to be able to open the safe and retrieve them.
CVS first implemented time-delay safes in Indianapolis, a city that experienced a high volume of pharmacy robberies in 2015, company officials said. The company saw a 70-percent decline in pharmacy robberies in Indianapolis after the time-delay safes were installed.
The installation of the new technology also helps ensure that the CVS pharmacies remain a safe environment for patients and employees, said Everett Moore, division vice president of CVS Pharmacy in Indiana.
The time-delay function cannot be overridden and is designed as a deterrent, because in most robberies the thieves want to enter and exit the building as quickly as possible.
Each CVS location will display a highly-visible sign to inform the public that time-delay safes are in use to prevent on-demand access to controlled substance narcotics.
In addition to the new technology, CVS is also working on community education efforts about opioids and narcotics, encouraging safe disposal of unused medication and increasing access to the opioid overdose-reversal drug naloxone.
The company’s Pharmacists Teach program brings CVS pharmacists to schools across the country to talk to students and parents about the dangers of prescription drug abuse, company officials said. Nearly 6,800 Indiana students have participated in the program so far.
CVS has installed 49 safe medication disposal units in CVS Pharmacy stores in Indiana, in addition to 13 units donated to Indiana law enforcement agencies.
CVS is also working in 48 states, including Indiana, to increase access to naloxone. Patients may obtain this life-saving medication, which is a safe and effective antidote to overdoses, without an individual prescription in those states, company officials said.
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For more information about CVS and its time-delay safes, visit cvshealth.com.
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