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Electronic Medical Records – Still Waiting for the Big Returns

Posted  02/13/13
By Gordon Schnell The Obama administration is spending billions of dollars to push hospitals and doctors to go digital with their medical and billing records.  It is supposed to revolutionize the industry, improving efficiency and patient safety and drastically reducing the cost of healthcare in this country.  Unfortunately, the move to electronic health records (EHRs) has fallen far short of these hoped-for...

Scooter Store Caught Cheating the Government Out of Millions

Posted  01/24/13
By Marlene Koury It seems like such a wholesome company.  They have those nice commercials where elderly folks are scooting to and fro on their power-mobility devices.  It would seem that only an honest and trustworthy company would dedicate itself to caring for the needs of the elderly in this way.  But, according to an independent auditor, The Scooter Store – the purveyor of these fine commercials and the...

Stiff Amgen Fine Shows No Slowing Down in Government Prosecution of Off-Label Marketing

Posted  12/20/12
By Gordon Schnell It was only two weeks ago that the Second Circuit Court of Appeals came down with its groundbreaking decision in U.S. v. Caronia.  In a 2-to-1 ruling by a three-judge panel, the appeals court overturned the conviction of a drug company sales representative for promoting a prescription drug for uses not approved by the FDA.  The majority reasoned that banning such off-label marketing violated the...

More Trouble for Orthofix

Posted  12/20/12
By Marlene Koury Medical device maker Orthofix, Inc. this week obtained court approval for its June 2012 settlement proposal to resolve civil and criminal allegations that it defrauded Medicare through kickback schemes and overbilling for its bone-growth stimulators.  Click here for the original government press release.  The company will pay approximately $43 million for its misdeeds.  This payment follows on...

Big Pharma Does Good -- Providing Access to the Poor

Posted  12/6/12
By Gordon Schnell There has been a lot of negative press on the fraudulent misadventures of Big Pharma.  Particularly lately.  Whether it be for falsifying studies, selling bad or ineffective drugs, concealing risky side effects, or ignoring FDA restrictions, it seems like every major drugmaker has been sued recently for putting profits before public health and safety.  You name the industry player, chances are...

Another Bad Report Card for the Beleaguered FDA

Posted  11/29/12
By Gordon Schnell The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) admittedly has a lot on its plate.  Tasked with regulating the country’s food and medicine supply, not to mention the ever-evolving array of medical devices and procedures, the FDA is the federal agency perhaps most responsible for ensuring our health and well-being.  If the agency does not perform up to task, a lot of people are affected.  So it is no...

Blackstone Medical Caught “Entertaining” Physicians in Exchange for Business

Posted  11/13/12
By Marlene Koury Orthofix International NV has agreed to pay $30 million to settle allegations that its subsidiary, Blackstone Medical Inc., ran a seven year long kickback scheme ranging from sham consulting agreements to providing physicians with adult “entertainment” to induce them into ordering their products.  Click here to see Department of Justice press release and here for the complaint. Blackstone...

Fudging the Studies -- Senate Report Links Medtronic to Latest Case of Ghostwriting Medical Journal Articles

Posted  11/9/12
By Gordon Schnell  In a scathing report it recently released, the Senate Finance Committee charged medical device manufacturer Medtronic, Inc. with engaging in some fairly dastardly deeds to promote its once top-selling bone growth product called InFuse.  The alleged misconduct centers around the company paying off doctors to author medical journal pieces that downplayed or downright ignored serious risks and...

Fixing a Broken System -- The Institute of Medicine's Groundbreaking Report on Runaway Waste in American Healthcare

Posted  10/25/12
By Gordon Schnell There is a lot of chatter these days about trillion dollar deficits and multi-point plans to get the economy back in shape.  President Obama and Governor Romney stick to their respective talking points about their opponent's critical failings and how they will do things better.  The divisions that separate these candidates and their followers, and the country as a whole, have not been this...

CVS Sub Caught Duping Consumers in Prescription Drug Purchases

Posted  10/22/12
By Marlene Koury In one of the first False Claims Act settlements involving Medicare's "Part D" prescription drug program, CVS Caremark subsidiary, RxAmerica, agreed to pony up $5.25 million to resolve charges that it submitted false pricing information to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).  This is the government body that oversees the Medicare and Medicaid programs.  It also makes available the...
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