Compliance News Roundup: Don’t Fail to Perform an Enterprise-Wide HIPAA Security Risk Analysis

1. United States Files False Claims Act Complaint Against Compounding Pharmacy, Private Equity Firm, and Two Pharmacy Executives Alleging Payment of Kickbacks – “The United States has filed a complaint in intervention against Diabetic Care Rx LLC d/b/a Patient Care America (PCA), a compounding pharmacy located in Pompano Beach, Florida, alleging that the pharmacy paid illegal kickbacks to induce prescriptions for compounded drugs reimbursed by TRICARE, the Department of Justice announced today. The government has also brought claims against Patrick Smith and Matthew Smith, two pharmacy executives, and Riordan, Lewis & Haden Inc. (RLH), a private equity firm based in Los Angeles, California, which manages both the pharmacy and the private equity fund that owns the pharmacy, for their involvement in the alleged kickback scheme.” Get the full scoop >>

2. Biloxi Physician Convicted for Role in $3 Million Compounding Pharmacy Fraud Scheme – “A federal jury found a Biloxi, Mississippi physician guilty Friday for his role in an approximately $3 million compounding pharmacy fraud scheme. Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney D. Michael Hurst Jr. of the Southern District of Mississippi; Special Agent in Charge Christopher Freeze of the FBI’s Jackson, Mississippi, Field Division and Acting Special Agent in Charge Ted Magee of Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI) New Orleans Field Office made the announcement.” Get the full scoop >>

3. Don’t Fail to Perform an Enterprise-Wide HIPAA Security Risk Analysis – Last month the OCR announced a $3.5 million settlement with Fresenius Medical Care North America (FMCNA). Why? The OCR cited that Fresenius “failed to heed HIPAA’s risk analysis and risk management rules.” This is a big deal and we can learn a lot from it. Let’s chat about what we can take away from this and how we can use it to improve our own compliance efforts. Get the full scoop >>