More than 2,000 opioid lawsuits are pending nationwide. A large portion of these lawsuits target drug manufacturing companies for their contributions to the opioid epidemic that is plaguing the country.
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For example, in one case earlier this summer in Oklahoma, a judge ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $572 million for the company’s contribution to the opioid crisis. Furthermore, over the next few months, other courts will continue to handle cases as state governments work diligently to mitigate the impacts that the opioid epidemic has had within their jurisdictions. Although Big-Pharma companies are being targeted in litigation, however, retail pharmacies, large and small, are gatekeepers for opioid prescriptions. Given the role of pharmacies, they might be used effectively to combat the opioid epidemic. The role of retail pharmacies in the battle against opioid addiction is crucial, but not necessarily recognized by city governments. A new databank from the DEA tracks opioids at a local level, and makes it possible for pharmacies to band together in understanding unique trends within their own communities.
A sign of the times in the evolution of modern healthcare practice is the prevalence of the electronic health record (EHR). In the past fifty years, technological advances and payer incentives have resulted in a sea of change in healthcare documentation, causing healthcare providers to shift from the historic practice of using paper records to using electronic health records. Healthcare providers navigating the transition from paper to electronic records have encountered many challenges in learning and mastering the efficient and accurate use of EHRs. One challenge with significant and potentially life-or-death consequences to patient health is ensuring that EHRs contain accurate information.
Healthcare fraud attributable to nurses, hospitals, pharmacists, equipment providers and doctors, contributes to the high cost of medical care. For this and other reasons, fraud continues to be a hot topic in the healthcare industry. Recently, there have been numerous headlines regarding Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance company investigations of providers for improper billing practices. Accusations stem from both whistleblowers and audits, making it difficult for providers to hide behind fraudulent billing practices. With numerous investigations in the spotlight in recent months, providers should be alert and act to ensure that they are compliant with the law.
Consulting legal counsel to review a physician’s employment agreement before a dispute arises may increase a doctor’s negotiating power and help obtain better working conditions. Employment agreements contain many provisions, which may include: compensation arrangements, arbitration clauses, terms defining the scope of liability insurance, and non-compete agreements. As physicians in the workplace are tending to move away from working in solo practices, we are finding that hospital, health system and other corporate employment agreements containing non-compete clauses are becoming more prevalent.
As the opioid epidemic continues to cause death and create economic hardships within the nation, criminal prosecutors and law enforcement agents have increased their focus on prosecuting and pursuing severe penalties against doctors, pharmacists, nurses and other healthcare providers as a deterrent for providers who would prescribe opioids in excess. For example, earlier this month, a doctor in Kansas was sentenced to life in prison after distributing prescription drugs that caused the death of his patient. Steven Henson, a physician based in Wichita, was convicted of numerous criminal charges after prescribing opioids in amounts that could lead to addiction and economic hardship, after his patient died from overdose. According to the Department of Justice, Henson prescribed maximum-strength opioids in dangerous quantities. Evidence showed that he wrote prescriptions for patients without a medical need and without providing a medical exam. He also post-dated prescriptions and prescribed them in return for cash.
Legislation controlling self-referrals has created a complex road map that can leave doctors with questions regarding their ability to use business agreements to promote lab work and advanced imaging technology for their patients. For physicians, the rules and regulations of self-referrals for imaging can create headaches and lead to fines.