US Health Company To Pay $145Mln Over Opioid Kickback Scheme - Justice Dept.

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th January, 2020) A US company specializing in information technology for health services will pay $145 million to resolve Federal probes into a scheme to boost the number of opioids prescriptions being requested, the Justice Department said in a press release.

"Practice Fusion, a San Francisco-based health information technology developer, will pay $145 million to resolve criminal and civil investigations relating to its electronic health records (EHR) software," the release said on Monday.

As part of the criminal resolution, Practice Fusion admits that it solicited and received kickbacks from a major opioid company in exchange for utilizing its EHR software to influence physicians prescribing opioid pain medications, the Justice Department said.

Practice agreed to pay over $26 million in criminal fines and forfeiture and another $118.6 million to resolve other allegations that it accepted kickbacks from the opioid company and other pharmaceutical companies, the release said.