But emails sent to Southern California CVS pharmacists in May 2011 by Josh Wolsefer, a regional supervisor at the company's La Habra office, made clear that employees were instructed by management to refill prescriptions, or scripts, without patients' approval.
"Even if you don't necessarily get ahold of them on your calls," Wolsefer wrote, "you should be entering that they will indeed pick up their scripts."
This would improve the pharmacists' refill numbers, he pointed out, and help "get the weekly credit you deserve."
In another email several days later, Wolsefer observed that pharmacists were still coming up short in hitting their weekly refill targets.
"I am advocating … that if we don't reach a customer, that we go ahead and fill the past-due scripts," he wrote.
The emails obtained by The Times did not come from Cullum or Franklin.
Wolsefer, who has been promoted by CVS to a more senior position since the emails were written, declined to comment.
Franklin, the Whittier pharmacist, said supervisors were forthright about the company's expectations at meetings.
"They tell us that if you don't like what we're doing, you can leave," he said.
Cullum, the San Diego pharmacist, said he observed an employee in his store refilling prescriptions last year without patients' authorization.
"I asked her what was going on, and she said she'd been instructed by a supervisor to do it," Cullum recalled. "I told her to stop right away."
He said he reported the incident to CVS management by calling the company's ethics hotline.
"I never got a call back," Cullum said.
Last week, he said, the pharmacy manager from a CVS store in La Jolla showed up at his store and started entering refills into the computer without patients' consent.
"She told me our numbers were too low and she'd been told by a supervisor to make them look higher," Cullum said.
I related what I was hearing to CVS' DeAngelis. I also shared the contents of Wolsefer's emails.
DeAngelis responded with an official statement:
"As we have said previously, we are committed to ensuring that all of our business operations adhere to the highest ethical standards," he said.
"Any suggestions that our pharmacists or supervisors are violating company policies in relation to our pharmacy programs, including ReadyFill, are taken seriously and will be investigated and addressed."
David Lazarus' column runs Tuesdays and Fridays. He also can be seen daily on KTLA-TV Channel 5 and followed on Twitter @Davidlaz. Send tips or feedback to david.lazarus@latimes.com.
