DEA Alert: Electronic Prescription Fraud on the Rise

As technology continues to reshape modern medicine, medical providers have embraced electronic prescribing to improve patient care. Unfortunately, as the healthcare landscape evolves, so do the tactics of bad actors seeking to exploit it.  

Bad actors can use stolen login credentials from prescribers to gain access to electronic health record systems and initiate thousands of fraudulent e-prescriptions to pharmacies across the country within a very short period. For example, a 26-year-old Florida resident plead guilty in December 2024 and will serve two years and six months in federal prison for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

In response to this growing threat, the DEA is urging pharmacies to stay vigilant, as those that dispense fraudulent prescriptions may be held liable. For example, CVS agreed to pay $70,000 in 2023 to resolve allegations that the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) was violated at several of its locations.

According to an article published by Pharmacy Practice News, the DEA is on high alert. “Electronic prescription fraud is a real emerging trend that we’re seeing all across the country,” said Erin Hager, a DEA diversion investigator in the Phoenix-Tucson Tactical Division Squad. “What’s happening is … bad actors … who have been conducting prescription drug fraud are now utilizing the internet and electronic health record platforms to create electronic prescriptions that they can then send nationwide.”

What can pharmacies do to keep fraudulent prescriptions from being filled and dispensed? As mentioned in our February 2025 Newsline article, Electronic Prescription Fraud, we listed techniques to spot fraudulent e-prescriptions, like knowing the prescriber, the patient/caregiver, and reviewing the prescription for unusual items. The DEA has also released some helpful resources to help in preventing fraudulent prescriptions from being filled and dispensed, like the Pharmacists’ Guide to Prescription Fraud and the DEA Pharmacists’ Manual.

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  • The DEA has an informative video about fraudulent e-prescriptions that can be found here
  • When in doubt, call the prescriber to confirm a prescription’s validity
  • If a prescription is identified as fraudulent, make documentation of this assessment on the prescription or in your pharmacy management software
  • For new patients, consider asking for their insurance card, rather than using the insurance look-up tool in your billing software. This allows pharmacies to confirm payor information and serves as another validation point.

Heaven Bennett, CPhT
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