On Sep. 18, an attorney in Edmond, Okla., robbed the local Barrett Drug Center wielding a .22-caliber semiautomatic handgun.
The former customer demanded oxycodone and Demerol (meperidine HCl, sanofi-aventis), then forced the owner, assistant, and
a customer into a backroom, before leaving.
On Sept. 4, two masked men robbed a CVS pharmacy in Pompano Beach, Fla., told the workers to get down on the floor, walked
the manager through the store at gunpoint to empty the registers, then fled.
On Nov. 20, 2006, a woman fatally shot a pharmacist in the head at the Shands Jacksonville, Fla., hospital pharmacy, reportedly
because the woman had been told to go to the back of the line.
Pharmacists from independent, chain, or outpatient pharmacy—in urban and rural areas—are increasingly at risk for their safety.
Violators may be addicted patients, professional criminals, or frustrated customers.
The scope of the problem
RxPATROL, a collaborative effort between Purdue Pharma and law enforcement that tracks thefts from pharmacies, has had 760
pharmacy robberies reported since its inception in 2003. The only national data available specifically for pharmacy robberies,
those voluntary reports offer but a glimpse into the problem. A Google search for local newspaper accounts of pharmacy robberies
yielded 584 results just over the past year—from Stollings, W.V., to Portland, Ore. In June, the National Drug Intelligence
Center reported that pharmacy robberies and burglaries in the Denver metropolitan area increased 50% in each of the past two
years.
The robbery problem in New York is such that many pharmacists there carry concealed weapons, according to Craig Burridge,
executive director, Pharmacists Society of the State of New York (PSSNY). "Very few groups in New York can get a permit for
a pistol, and pharmacists make up one of those groups," he said.
But it isn't only the armed robber who incites violence in the pharmacy workplace. "Road rage" and "going postal" are giving
way to "patient rage," as customers struggle to deal with Medicare and insurance complexities along with life's other challenges.
Burridge related the story of one N.Y. R.Ph. who had to tell a patient he could not fill a prescription because all three
of his Medicaid cards, from three different states, had been declined. "The guy waited for the pharmacist to close and stabbed
him to death."
Why the surge in pharmacy violence?
Capt. Richard Conklin, Stamford, Conn., Police Department, who manages RxPATROL, sees three recent developments behind the
trend in pharmacy theft, which he's watched spiral upward over the past five years:
Robbery—top 10 states
1. Tightening of our borders and ports. While watching for terrorist activity, Homeland Security initiatives have seized a higher percentage of illicit incoming
drugs than ever before, he said. "Right now, there are reports of unprecedented shortages of cocaine in 16 major U.S. cities,
shortages we haven't seen in decades." Thus, he feels, some dealers are increasingly turning to pharmaceutical drugs to meet
their customers' demands. While more sophisticated dealers hit wholesaler warehouses and trucks, others are attacking the
more vulnerable drugstores.
And as for the comment: " why is there no reference to how the law protects the pharmacist, and what the pharmacst is allowed to do as allowed by his state law?? give us those guidelines." I'm a little confused. Do you mean guidelines on how the pharmacist is allowed to defend him/herself against a robbery or attack? If so - this is vital info to know, but I'm afraid that it would probably take MORE than an entire issue of Drug Topics to cover the subject - as the laws for each and every state vary at least a little bit. You're in Illinois - I would strongly urge you to check your laws! After all, you live in one of the only two states left that refuse to allow private citizens to carry a handgun for self-defense, for ANY reason. Unless you also happen to be an Alderman in the city of Chicago, that is, but that's a whole 'nother can of worms...
Posted Dec 03 2007 09:11PM
An article that was very, VERY badly needed. Apparently the "bean counters" at many stores are too cheap to invest money for things like cameras and panic alarms. The biggest flaw I saw with the article was that you at least said that cooperation during armed robberies works MOST of the time - but you left us in the dark about what to do when it DOES NOT work. IE, the robber wants to hurt or kill you despite getting the drugs or money. Most of us that work for the "big guys" have unjust and broad anti-weapon policies. But remember that the definition of a "weapon" is limited **only** by your imagination. Put some thought into it, and you'll see all sorts of opportunities to "improvise" if needed. I know I've given it some thought. Because while I choose to comply with the weapon policy - if anyone ever sets foot in my store intending to spill so much as one drop of blood from me or any other innocent person in there, I intend to make it as "un-rewarding" an experience as possible for them. I figure if I'm hopelessly outgunned against someone out to harm me anyway, what have I to lose by going down with a fight?
phrazzled pharmacist / thousand oaks, CA, UNITED STATES
Posted Nov 20 2007 02:08PM
one does not have to work in a high crime area to be the victim of "retail rage" Just yesterday we were terrorized by a customer who did not understand his doctor's directions. He yelled, used profanity, called us names and was very abusive. Our cashier was afraid to go to her car. Everyone in our department was traumatized by the event. It is a sad commentary on our society when this behavior is commonplace and even expected. There was a time when we worried only about getting the right meds to the right patient, etc. Perhaps, now, we should be wearing bullet proof vests.
granger, IN, UNITED STATES
Posted Nov 16 2007 11:33AM
why is there no reference to how the law protects the pharmacist, and what the pharmacst is allowed to do as allowed by his state law?? give us those guidelines.
RPh / Prescott Valley, AZ, UNITED STATES
Posted Nov 07 2007 12:25AM
It is critically important for accurate statistcial information to be made available regarding robberies and violent crime in pharmacy setting. I was the victim of 2 armed robberies at ny 24 hour store. I think that these incidents would be much easier to prevent if the data was available to accurately analyze and correct the features of the pharmacies that make them easy targets. I think it would also be helpful if media focused on the things that make pharmacies more difficult targets instead of constant iterations of the ease of the target. Fortunately, no one was hurt at our store, and the robbers were apprehended. We have, however had 2 technicians verbally assaulted by disgruntled customers in locations other than the workplace. We are easy to target. We have to become more difficult to target, both as individuals and as places of business. Without clear and accurate data, this is impossible to accomplish.
The Ole' Apothecary / Midland, TX, UNITED STATES
Posted Nov 06 2007 10:21PM
Direct-to-consumer advertising, drive-thru windows, the Internet, the gravitation of addicts to prescription drugs, increased pharmacy patient rage---I wonder if these items are to be listed in the current Bureau of Labor Statistics' description of the pharmacy profession. In any case, they should not be on the list of the contemporary prospective pharmacy graduate, who should eschew retail practice with all the ardor (s)he can bring to bear.
rxman / jacksonville, FL, UNITED STATES
Posted Nov 06 2007 02:25PM
Most of these attacks happen in areas of high crime and low income.(any suprise?) Pharmacist sworking in these areas should be entilied to hazard duty pay. Note to all Pharmacists give them want they want they are crazy babies who do not understand reason and bite!!
Posted Dec 03 2007 09:28PM
