Crestview Hills, Ky.-based Kendall Hansen, MD, won a temporary restraining order against CVS Pharmacy, which stopped filling prescriptions for his patients earlier this year.
Dr. Hansen, an interventional pain physician who prescribes controlled substances as part of his treatment regimens for some patients, was granted a temporary restraining order against CVS Pharmacy Aug. 11. The company is now required to fill prescriptions written by Dr. Hansen.
In June, CVS contacted Dr. Hansen with questions about his prescribing practices but did not express concerns about whether Dr. Hansen's prescriptions were medically necessary. CVS then sent a letter to Dr. Hansen July 28 to say pharmacists in northern Kentucky would stop filling prescriptions for his patients.
Dr. Hansen sued CVS on Aug. 4, arguing the company's refusal to fill his prescriptions would cost him patients and imply the prescriptions he wrote in the past were illegitimate or improper. Dr. Hansen said he has more than 250 patients who fill prescriptions at CVS locations.
In issuing the restraining order, U.S. District Judge William Bartelsman wrote Dr. Hansen was likely to succeed in his lawsuit alleging CVS Pharmacy interfered with his patient relationships by not filling prescriptions without evidence that Dr. Hansen had broken the law.