Pharmacy Musical Chairs?/Detective Demoted?

We reported yesterday on FBI raids of three local compounding pharmacies. The FBI has remained mum on further details regarding their investigation; however, locals have had plenty to say. An employee of one of the pharmacies has gone on record as saying the investigation stems from Medicare and Medicaid billing of these compounded specialty drugs. Such drugs don't fall under the standard categories of billing limits for "x" number of pills per month, etc. It's relatively unknown territory in many geographic areas, and reportedly authorities are using these three pharmacies as a test case.

Why a raid? The three pharmacies are said to be cooperating with all government entities, so we've been asked why the necessity of a high profile raid? We can only surmise this may have been to ascertain if there were two sets of books at each business. We would doubt this was the case here, but it has been known to occur in some larger businesses.

Compounding is now a big business. The art was lost in many areas after the advent of big drug companies and standard dosing for almost all meds. The 1990s saw a resurgence in this area, and our sources say Franklin County is one of the leaders in this area with at least one pharmacy making the majority of its sales through a compounded topical pain cream. This has also led to new pharmacies being established and name changes.

Health-Mart is a national chain, much like the old Rexall Company. Online sources list Carrie DeArman as the owner of the Franklin Health-Mart Pharmacy. Ms. DeArman has contacted us stating that she is in no way connected with this company. If you own any local company, we would suggest you research which online sources list your business and if the info is correct. There are approximately a dozen such sites now active listing ownership and posting business reviews, with Manta being one of the largest.

Another reader asked how Rodney Logan could own Sheffield Pharmacy, established in 1949, when he wasn't even born at that time. Many pharmacies change owners over the years, but retain the name in order to benefit from the reputation of the previous owner. Milner Drugs is a prime example of this, having been established in the late 1800s, but still active under the name Milner-Rushing.

As we blogged yesterday, Russellville and Sheffield Pharmacies are listed online as having the same owner. The TimesDaily reported this morning that Franklin Health-Mart Pharmacy is also connected via ownership. Unless these businesses are incorporated in some manner, their owner/s are not listed on official state sites.

We understand Pen-N-Sword is preparing an article on drug compounding, and we'll link it as soon as it's available. We'll also post any updates here as soon as we receive them.

Update: The initial FBI news release listed Franklin County Pharmacy as one of those raided. There is no Franklin County Pharmacy. There is a Franklin Health-Mart Pharmacy that the TimesDaily states is connected to the other two raided. According to sources close to the DeArman family, the couple are now divorced, Carrie DeArman owns only Hometown Health-Mart Pharmacy. We're happy to note this and have requested that she report any additional info to us.

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We've been contacted by an individual familiar with the Jerry Ivy murder investigation who has stated the detective who performed the initial on site investigation of Mr. Ivy's death has now been demoted. We have had no official confirmation of that; however, Florence Chief Tyler has promised to make a statement as soon as the investigation is complete.



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