PharMerica Corp. to Pay $9.25 Million for Depakote Kickback

According to the Department of Justice the nation’s second-largest nursing home pharmacy, PharMerica Corp., has agreed to pay $9.25 million to resolve allegations that it solicited and received kickbacks from pharmaceutical manufacturer Abbott Laboratories in exchange for promoting the prescription drug Depakote for nursing home patients.  PharMerica is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.

“Elderly nursing home residents suffering from dementia have little control over the medications they receive and depend on the unbiased judgment of healthcare professionals for their daily care,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.  “Kickbacks to entities making drug recommendations compromise their independence and undermine their role in protecting nursing home residents from the use of unnecessary drugs.”

Nursing homes rely on consultant pharmacists, such as those employed by PharMerica, to review their residents’ medical charts at least monthly and make recommendations to their physicians about what drugs should be prescribed for those residents.  The settlement announced today resolves allegations that in exchange for recommending that physicians prescribe Depakote, an anti-epileptic drug manufactured by Abbott, to nursing home residents, PharMerica solicited and received kickbacks from Abbott.  The government alleges that the kickbacks were disguised as rebates, educational grants and other financial support.

In May 2012, the United States, numerous individual states and Abbott entered into a $1.5 billion global civil and criminal resolution that, among other things, resolved Abbott’s liability under the False Claims Act for alleged kickbacks to nursing home pharmacies, including PharMerica.  The settlement announced today resolves PharMerica’s role in that alleged kickback scheme.

Approximately $6.75 million of the settlement will go to the United States, while $2.5 million has been allocated to cover Medicaid program claims by states that elect to participate in the settlement.  The Medicaid program is jointly funded by the federal and state governments.

“Nursing home pharmacies accepting kickbacks from drug makers in exchange for prescribing certain prescription drugs puts vulnerable residents at risk for receiving unnecessary medications, corrupts medical decision making, and inflates health care costs,” said Special Agent in Charge Nick DiGiulio of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG).  “Our agency will continue to root out such corrosive practices from our health care system.”

The settlement partially resolves allegations in two lawsuits filed in federal court in the Western District of Virginia by Richard Spetter and Meredith McCoyd, former Abbott employees.  The lawsuits were filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private individuals to sue on behalf of the government for false claims and to share in any recovery.  The act also allows the government to intervene and take over the action, as it did in part in this case.  As part of today’s resolution, Ms. McCoyd will receive $1 million from the federal share of the settlement amount.

Elderly Overmedicated--When Will This Abuse Stop



Elderly pay the price once again for someone's greed!

NPR (9/5, Jaffe, 519K) reported in its "Shots" blog that a Federal lawsuit against two California nursing homes accused of overmedicating patients may offer a new approach to dealing with the persistent problem of such facilities overmedicating their residents."

 The US Attorney for Northern California "claims that the two nursing homes provided 'grossly inadequate, materially substandard and/or worthless services,'" while they "received about $20 million from Medicare and Medicaid for those services."

 Kelly Bagby, a senior attorney with the AARP Foundation, said, "Under the False Claims Act, the government can ask for triple damages."

Use Of Antipsychotic Medications Soars In Nursing Homes

 

 

Nursing homes throughout the country are resorting to the use of powerful antipsychotic drugs in order to ensure that nursing home residents are ‘less difficult’ to deal with. This goes on despite the fact that there have been many different warnings that reveal that elderly patients with dementia may not survive this type of treatment.

An investigation revealed that many nursing homes, especially those struggling with staff shortages, would use these antipsychotic drugs to calm down and ‘restrain’ patients that are aggressive, agitated, or wandering. In fact, the investigation revealed that in 40 of the homes researched across the border, almost half of the residents were being given these medications.

About the drugs themselves

Perhaps even worse was the fact that these medications (such as quetiapine and olanzapine) are not approved for use on elderly patients who suffer from dementia. According to the warning on the medications themselves, elderly patients who have dementia and still take the medication face a 60 percent increase in risk of death when compared to similar patients not taking those drugs. Doctors, family members, and even a coroner believe that these medications may have contributed to the deaths of seniors who have dementia.

How is this happening?

Part of the issue here is the fact that ‘off-label use’ is legal for doctors. This means that the medications are used for an age group or a condition for which it has not been approved. These medications are not proven to work for seniors, they are extremely powerful, but yet these medications are being used routinely. In fact, in some seniors, the side effects may be the very symptoms that the drugs are trying to minimize – confusion and violence.

Part of the problem is the fact the overworked and underpaid staff is no longer able to identify specific issues within the patients, they are only able to manage specific crises. This is what happens when elder care becomes a business instead of a calling.

Not for everyone

The truth is that elder care is not always easy. There are days that the job might not seem as rewarding as it did before. This is why it is on the supervisory board to hire people that are capable of dealing with these occasional frustrations. It is never acceptable to use these powerful antipsychotic drugs on people who do not need them – especially if the side effects are as dangerous as they are in this instance.
There is no denying that a number of residents who side in long-term elder care facilities suffer from bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or other conditions that may need antipsychotics. However, the majority of elderly patients suffer from dementia – not a form of mental illness.

If you feel that someone close to you is being given these medications without a true need, it is vital that you speak up. If you do find out, make sure to contact www.vanderlindenlaw.com  to seek out any legal compensation that you may be due, but also to ensure that this type of treatment of the elderly patient stops as quickly as possible.