In April, CVS Pharmacy, the retail division of CVS Health, announced completion of the rollout of time delay safes in all of its 169 CVS Pharmacy locations in Tennessee. The safes will help prevent pharmacy robberies and combat the ongoing opioid epidemic in the state by helping to prevent diversion of controlled substance narcotic medications by keeping them out of the hands of unauthorized individuals. In addition, the safes will help CVS Pharmacy ensure the safety and well-being of its customers and employees.
Time delay safes help deter pharmacy robberies by electronically delaying the time it takes for pharmacy employees to be able to open the safe. CVS Pharmacy first implemented time delay safes in Indianapolis, a city experiencing a high volume of pharmacy robberies, in 2015. The company saw a 70 percent decline in pharmacy robberies among the Indianapolis stores where the time delay safes had been installed.
The time delay function cannot be overridden and is designed to serve as a deterrent to would-be pharmacy robbers whose goal is to enter and exit their robbery targets as quickly as possible. All CVS Pharmacy locations with time delay safes display highly-visible signage to inform the public that time delay safes are in use to prevent on-demand access to controlled substance narcotics.
"Abuse of prescription painkillers and other medication is a significant factor in Nashville's crime. From time to time, pharmacies are targeted," said Deputy Chief William "Todd" Henry, Metro Nashville Police Department and representing the Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police. "The use of smart technology, like that being displayed today, to help prevent thefts, burglaries and robberies enhances the safety of us all."
The implementation of time delay safes across all CVS Pharmacy locations in Tennessee is the latest in a series of measures put in place by CVS Health to help combat prescription drug abuse in the state. CVS Health's commitment to preventing and addressing prescription drug abuse extends to community education, efforts to encourage 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. More than 456,000 students across the country, including 5,390 in Tennessee, have participated in the program.
CVS Health has also completed installation of 19 safe medication disposal units in CVS Pharmacy stores in Tennessee, in addition to the five units it has donated to Tennessee law enforcement agencies. Nationwide, nearly 1,000 safe medication disposal units have been installed in CVS Pharmacy locations, adding to the more than 900 units the company has donated to law enforcement agencies. In total, the company has facilitated nearly 1,900 units nationwide, which have collected more than 719,000 pounds, or 326 metric tons of unwanted medication, including more than 5,700 pounds, or more than 2.5 metric tons in Tennessee alone. Increasing community access to safe medication disposal helps rid homes of unused medications that could otherwise be diverted, abused or contaminate the water supply if disposed of improperly.
