Purdue Pharma L.P. and the National Community Pharmacists Association Join Forces to Help Prevent Internal Pharmacy Theft and Prescription Fraud

STAMFORD, Conn., Nov. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Purdue Pharma L.P. and the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) debut the fourth annual "RxPATROL^® Pharmacy Safety and Security" video on www.RxPATROL.org. Purdue Pharma and NCPA created this free tool to help educate pharmacists and pharmacy staff about preventing pharmacy crime as part of NCPA's Protect Your Pharmacy Now! initiative, begun in 2008.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100921/NY67262 )

Community pharmacist and NCPA member Toni Sumpter and Retired Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Virginia State Police Landon Gibbs, discuss preventing and dealing with internal theft and prescription fraud. They tour Sumpter's store, Medicap Pharmacy in Adel, Iowa, evaluating security measures and discussing additional steps that can be taken to prevent internal theft and how to identify fraudulent prescriptions. The goal is to help pharmacists make their stores a harder target for crime and educate them on how they can assist law enforcement in the event of an internal theft incident or prescription fraud.

"Pharmacy crime affects our customers, our staff, and our businesses," said NCPA President Donnie Calhoun, R.Ph. "As communities across the country experience internal theft and prescription fraud, NCPA is pleased to continue our Protect Your Pharmacy Now! partnership with Purdue's RxPATROL program to help our members prevent pharmacy crime."  

Created in May 2003, RxPATROL is the only program specifically tracking pharmacy crime. Using visual and other evidence gathered by RxPATROL, the web-based program issues alerts to pharmacies and law enforcement are alerted to crimes that have occurred in their area and trends in criminal activity. More than 3,500 drug diversion investigators receive daily RxPATROL pharmacy crime alerts and more than 4,200 law enforcement officers have utilized the database.  Pharmacy staff, law enforcement officials and loss prevention personnel can follow updates about pharmacy robberies, burglaries and potential threats in their area and nationwide on RxPATROL's Twitter page, www.twitter.com/rxpatrol.

"Purdue encourages pharmacists and pharmacy staff to register with RxPATROL," said Gibbs. "The more pharmacists and law enforcement use the RxPATROL system the more effective the system will be in helping combat pharmacy crime."

RxPATROL partners with Crime Stoppers and other community anti-crime programs to offer rewards for information leading to arrests for pharmacy crime. Tips can be made anonymously and have led to more than 100 arrests since the program's inception. More information about the program can be found at www.RxPATROL.org.

In addition to RxPATROL, Purdue provides law enforcement and healthcare providers with training and educational materials to help them combat prescription drug abuse and pharmacy crime. The LELE team is comprised of seasoned former law enforcement professionals who are knowledgeable about prescription drug-related crime and healthcare fraud issues. Visit www.RxSafetyMatters.org to learn more about Purdue's efforts to combat prescription medicine abuse.

Purdue Pharma L.P. and its associated U.S. companies are privately-held pharmaceutical companies known for pioneering research on pain. Headquartered in Stamford, CT, Purdue is engaged in the research, development, production, and distribution of both prescription and over-the-counter medicines and hospital products. Additional information about Purdue can be found at www.purduepharma.com.

The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA^®) represents the interests of America's community pharmacists, including the owners of more than 23,000 independent community pharmacies, pharmacy franchises, and chains. Together they represent a $93 billion health-care marketplace, have more than 315,000 employees including 62,400 pharmacists, and dispense over 41% of all retail prescriptions. To learn more go to www.ncpanet.org or read NCPA's blog, The Dose, at http://ncpanet.wordpress.com.

SOURCE Purdue Pharma, LP