On October 18, ASAM sent a letter to Walmart’s Chief Medical and Analytics Officer, Dr. Thomas Van Gilder, requesting information regarding its algorithm and decision-making process for determining when Walmart pharmacies will no longer fill a clinician’s controlled substances prescriptions. The letter was sent due to various clinicians receiving notifications from Walmart indicating that Walmart pharmacies would no longer fill their prescriptions. The clinicians expressed concern that Walmart’s decision might be in part due to their prescribing of buprenorphine to treat opioid use disorder (OUD).

ASAM met with Walmart’s Health and Wellness Compliance Practice on November 8, 2017, to address similar concerns. During that meeting, representatives from ASAM educated Walmart policymakers on the treatment of addiction, as well as prescribing patterns that might appear suspicious, but are in fact medically appropriate for the treatment of OUD. Since that meeting, ASAM has continued to be made aware of Walmart refusing to fill the prescriptions of various clinicians who prescribe buprenorphine to treat OUD. 

Read ASAM’s letter to Walmart here.