Monday, April 30, 2018

Big pharmacy playas

dvm360-21 hours ago
In the world of online veterinary pharmacies, there are two kinds of companies out there—the interlopers up in your business (you know, like 1-800-PetMeds and the corner-store pharmacy chain that now sells vet drugs, WTH?) and then the two big players in your corner: Vetsource and Vets First Choice. So if your veterinary ...

Should jurors hear devastating details in meningitis outbreak case?

The Boston Globe-16 minutes ago
Dozens of people died and hundreds of others fell ill during the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak that began in a Framingham compounding pharmacy. But should jurors in the latest trial against former pharmacy employees hear the devastating details of what is considered one of the largest public health crises ever caused .

Remaining defendants in meningitis outbreak case that killed dozens ...

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/04/30/remaining...case.../story.html
15 mins ago - Dozens of people died and hundreds of others fell ill during the 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak that began in a Framingham compounding pharmacy. But should jurors in the latest trial against former pharmacy employees hear the devastating details of what is considered one of the largest public health crises ever caused ...

DOJ Takes Rare Step Intervening in Qui Tam to Add PE Firm and Individuals


 | April 30, 2018 at 02:47 PM
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Chemist had 'pharmacy in his car'

Chemist had 'pharmacy in his car'

Australian Journal of Pharmacy (blog)-5 hours ago
According to Mr Slater's barrister, the former pharmacist had “lost everything” including his livelihood, as the Pharmacy Board had barred him from working in the profession. While several charges against Mr Slater had been dropped, he pleaded guilty to two counts of supplying a prohibited drug and one count of failing to .

Compounding Law Five Years Later | P&T Community

https://www.ptcommunity.com/journal/article/full/.../compounding-law-five-years-late...
13 hours ago - These traditional compounding pharmacies sell directly to physicians, dentists, and veterinarians, who pass along the drugs to patients. Sometimes patients buy the drugs from the pharmacy and bring them to the physicians for infusion or injection.

Thursday, April 26, 2018

Ark. lawmaker introduces bill to crack down on opioid trafficking

THV11.com KTHV-12 hours ago
WASHINGTON – Representative French Hill (R-AR) introduced the Ending the Fentanyl Crisis Act. The bill is designed to fight the opioid epidemic by strengthening penalties for fentanyl distribution and trafficking and providing additiona

Senate Opioid Bill Brings Regs in Line with HIPAA Privacy Rule

HealthITSecurity.com-10 hours ago
The provision, known as Jessie's Law, would make it easier for healthcare providers to get information about a patient's history of opioid and other substance abuse to improve treatment of addicts. ... Several healthcare associations lobbied the Senate panel to include Jessie's Law in the comprehensive opioid treatment bill.

Charlevoix County joins opioid lawsuit

Petoskey News-Review-8 hours ago
Then as a natural defense the pharmaceutical companies are going to name, or attempt to name, the doctors as co-defendants in this, and at some point in time we are going to end up with doctors in Charlevoix County that are now part of this ... an unintended consequence of us seeking some reparations (for the opioid .

Prosecutor on Justice's opioid crackdown favors tough tact

Alabama Today-15 hours ago
“We need to use tough prosecutions if we are going to get our way out of this epidemic,” said Daly, a longtime federal drug prosecutor recently tapped to oversee the Justice Department's ambitious efforts to attack America's opioid abuse crisis. “We don't ignore the need for prevention and treatment efforts, but the notion that ..

City to sue over opioid crisis

St. Augustine Record-17 hours ago
Dealing with opioid abuse has cost St. Augustine's fire and police departments thousands of dollars in less than a year, Police Chief Barry Fox said this week. When combined with the cost last year of training first responders and purchasing nasal spray that blocks the effects of opioids, the cost to city fire and police ...

Dozens of Opioid Bills Advance in House

MedPage Today-6 hours ago
WASHINGTON -- After a marathon mark-up session that stretched into late evening Wednesday, a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee advanced dozens of bills related to the opioid crisis, which now go to the full committee. "Taken together, the bills before us today will improve access to care for individuals ...

Vet opioid epidemic still a problem, Hale says

Weatherford Democrat-7 hours ago
Hale's statement comes in the wake of The National Safety Council's 'Prescribed to Death' OpioidMemorial visited by VA Acting Secretary Robert Wilkie last week. The memorial is a part of President Donald Trump's Stop Opioid Abuse and Reduce Drug Supply and Demand, an initiative Trump has said is vital in fighting the ...

Ponca Tribe, Knox County sue drug companies over opioid epidemic

Lincoln Journal Star-2 hours ago
Two months ago, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the Justice Department would file a statement of interest in the multidistrict action regarding hundreds of lawsuits like the Nebraska cases seeking to recover the costs associated with providing treatment and public safety measures to combat the opioid epidemic.

Counterfeit Pill Problem 'Getting Worse by the Day'

Pain News Network-13 hours ago
By Pat Anson, Editor. Counterfeit painkillers and fake medications made with illicit fentanyl have killed Americans in at least 22 states, according to a new report by the Partnership for Safe Medicines (PSM) a coalition of pharmacy and healthcare organizations. Counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl have now been found from

Commerce Commission alleges price-fixing by Prices Pharmacy in ...

Stuff.co.nz-Apr 25, 2018
Warning letters have been issued to nine other pharmacy owners in the region, including Bay Pharmacy, Motueka; Greenwood Street Pharmacy, Motueka; Unichem 162 High Street Pharmacy, Motueka; Queen Street Pharmacy, Richmond; Wakefield Pharmacy; Unichem Richmond Mall Pharmacy; Life Pharmacy, Nelson ...
Nelson pharmacy accused of price fixing
International-Radio New Zealand-19 hours ago

Tennessee pharmacy owner and a licensed pharmacist, have agreed to pay the United States $100,000 in civil penalties to settle allegations that P&S Pharmacy and Grizzle violated the Controlled Substances Act

Kingsport pharmacist agrees to pay $100K in civil penalties to settle ...

Winchester Herald Chronicle-8 hours ago
P&S Pharmacy, a retail pharmacy in Kingsport, Tennessee, and Lowell Grizzle, the pharmacy owner and a licensed pharmacist, have agreed to pay the United States $100,000 in civil penalties to settle allegations that P&S Pharmacy and Grizzle violated the Controlled Substances Act. To prevent the diversion or misuse

Former Kansas pharmacist admits to fraud

KNSS-3 hours ago
A state board has suspended the license of a former Kansas pharmacy manager after she admitted to creating fraudulent prescriptions. Kirsty Hartley, 27, had her license to practice suspended last fall under an emergency order. The Board of Pharmacy hasn't scheduled a hearing to take final action. The emergency order .

Hoosiers could save money with new prescription drug law

WANE-4 hours ago
INDIANAPOLIS - A state law could soon help you save money when it comes to prescription drugs. "This is a win for our patients, our clients and we're just very happy about that." said Hamid Abbaspour, owner of the Dr. Aziz Pharmacy, which opened in 1988. "I've seen patients refuse to take medications because it wasn't ...

In Case Alleging Nationwide Pharmacy Fraud, Kmart Scores Narrow ...

JD Supra (press release)-7 hours ago
Rather than cabining the complaint to the state and pharmacy site with which the relator was personally familiar, the relator further pleaded that twenty-six other states' pharmacy regulations and false claims acts were probably violated by Kmart's pharmacy practices, including that each state named as a plaintiff suffered ..

Pharmacy Owner ordered to pay $54.5 million in restitution for his role in a $100 million compounding pharmacy scheme

Pharmacy Owner Gets 15 Years For Role In $100M Scheme

Law360-5 hours ago
Law360 (April 26, 2018, 5:59 PM EDT) -- The owner of a group of Florida pharmacies was sentenced on Thursday to 15 years in prison and ordered to give up $54.5 million in restitution after he pled guilty to his role in a $100 million scheme involving bogus insurance reimbursements for prescription drugs. U.S. District ...

Protecting your family from prescription errors

10News-8 hours ago
"In California pharmacies, every time you get a new medication the pharmacist is required to come talk to you," Herold said. "They are not required to have someone ask do you have questions for the pharmacist, or would you like to talk to the pharmacist, the pharmacist is required to come down and initiate a conversation .

How many pharmacies can one city support?

The Ellsworth American-11 hours ago
ELLSWORTH — The closing next month of the Ellsworth Rite Aid will bring to four the number pharmacies clustered in Ellsworth. The local Rite Aid was one of 1,932 Rite Aids nationally that were bought by Walgreens, which operates a store two blocks down the street. “To provide the best experience for our customers and .

Could Amazon rewrite its script with pharmacies?

The Boston Globe-6 hours ago
The headlines, spurred by Amazon's entry into the pharmacy business, were as entertaining as they were exuberant. One hailed the company's 1999 investment in Drugstore.com as “a likely gold mine.” In Canada, the Globe and Mail predicted a sea change in shopping habits, titling its story: “Farewell, Preparation H aisle.”.

Former Pharmacist Admits to Fraudulently Obtaining Narcotics

U.S. News & World Report-11 hours ago
Former Pharmacist Admits to Fraudulently Obtaining Narcotics. A state board has suspended the license of a former Kansas pharmacy manager after she admitted to creating fraudulent prescriptions for narcotics and sedatives. April 26, 2018, at 12:16 p.m.. Former Pharmacist Admits to Fraudulently Obtaining Narcotics.

Owner of Florida Pharmacy Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for $100 ...

Florida Trend-7 hours ago
The president and owner of a Florida pharmacy that was at the center of a massive compounding pharmacy fraud scheme, which impacted private insurance companies, Medicare and TRICARE, was sentenced today to 180 months in prison and ordered to pay $54 million in restitution for his role in the scheme. Six other ...

Wolf cracks down on costly pain creams and workers' comp pharmacies


Wolf cracks down on costly pain creams and workers' comp pharmacies

Philly.com-7 hours ago
Wolf's biggest PAC donor includes money from secretive compounding pharmacies. Mar 9 · More from William Bender. Gov. Wolf announced on Thursday that he would take executive action to further combat the opioid crisis and crackdown on compounding pharmacies that are charging thousands of dollars for tubes of ..

Breaking News!! Owner of Florida Pharmacy Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for $100 Million Compounding Pharmacy Fraud Scheme Six Others Previously Sentenced

Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, April 26, 2018

Owner of Florida Pharmacy Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for $100 Million Compounding Pharmacy Fraud Scheme

Six Others Previously Sentenced

The president and owner of a Florida pharmacy that was at the center of a massive compounding pharmacy fraud scheme, which impacted private insurance companies, Medicare and TRICARE, was sentenced today to 180 months in prison and ordered to pay $54 million in restitution for his role in the scheme.  Six other individuals have previously been sentenced in connection to the scheme, and another is scheduled to be sentenced on Monday, April 30.  Various real properties, cars and a 50-foot boat were forfeited as part of the sentencings. 

Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez of the Middle District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Eric W. Sporre of the FBI’s Tampa Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Robert F. Lasky of the FBI’s Miami Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Shimon Richmond of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Miami Regional Office and Special Agent in Charge John F. Khin of the U.S. Defense Criminal Investigative Service’s (DCIS) Southeast Field Office made the announcement.

Nicholas A. Borgesano Jr., 45, of New Port Richey, Florida, the president and owner of A to Z Pharmacy of New Port Richey, pleaded guilty on Nov. 6, 2017, in the Middle District of Florida to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to engage in monetary transactions involving criminally derived property.  His sentencing was before Senior U.S. District Judge James S. Moody Jr of the Middle District of Florida.  

According to admissions made as part of his plea agreement, Borgesano owned and operated numerous pharmacies and shell companies that he and his co-conspirators used to execute a fraud scheme involving prescription compounded medications.  The scheme generated over $100 million in fraud proceeds, he admitted.  Borgesano acquired and controlled A to Z Pharmacy in New Port Richey, Havana Pharmacy, Medplus/New Life Pharmacy and Metropolitan Pharmacy, all of Miami; and Jaimy Pharmacy and Prestige Pharmacy, both of Hialeah, Florida.  He admitted using these pharmacies to cause the submission of false and fraudulent reimbursement claims for prescription compounded medications, chiefly pain creams and scar creams, to private insurance companies, Medicare and TRICARE.  Borgesano admitted that he and his co-conspirators manipulated billing codes in the reimbursement claims and submitted reimbursement claims for pharmaceutical ingredients they did not have.  Borgesano and his co-conspirators also paid kickbacks and bribes in exchange for prescriptions and patient identifying information used to further the scheme, including to a physician in exchange for the physician signing prescriptions for patients he never saw.  Borgesano admitted using A to Z Pharmacy as the hub of his operation on behalf of all his pharmacies.  He disbursed proceeds of the fraud scheme through a variety of methods, including by check and wire transfer to co-conspirators’ shell companies and through the purchase of assets, he admitted. 

In addition to Borgesano, the following defendants have previously been sentenced for their roles in the scheme:

  • Scott P. Piccininni, 49, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, sentenced to 51 months in prison;
  • Bradley Sirkin, 55, of Boca Raton, Florida, sentenced to 46 months in prison;
  • Peter B. Williams, 57, of New Port Richey, sentenced to 26 months in prison, to be served consecutively to a 60-month sentence of imprisonment he is serving as a result of his guilty plea to a separate indictment returned in the Southern District of Florida;
  • Joseph Degregorio, 71, of New Port Richey, sentenced to one year and one day in prison;
  • Matthew N. Sterner, 48, of New Port Richey, sentenced to 36 months in prison; and
  • Edwin Patrick Young, 49, of New Port Richey, sentenced to 66 months in prison.

Wayne M. Kreisberg, 40, of Parkland, Florida, is scheduled to be sentenced on April 30.

Among the items forfeited were several cars, including a 1936 Ford Deluxe, a 1964 Chevrolet Corvette convertible, a 1967 Chevrolet Camaro, a 1970 Chevrolet Monte Carlo and a 2008 Lamborghini convertible.  Several boats were forfeited, including a 2009 50’7” Cigarette racing boat.   The combined equity in the real properties, cars and boat that were forfeited is over $7.6 million.  The real properties, cars and boat had been purchased with proceeds from the fraud scheme. 

This case was investigated by the FBI with support from HHS-OIG and DCIS and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Timothy P. Loper of the Fraud Section.  The case was previously handled by Senior Trial Attorney Christopher Hunter, previously of the Fraud Section.

The Fraud Section leads the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which is part of a joint initiative between the Department of Justice and HHS to focus their efforts to prevent and deter fraud and enforce current anti-fraud laws around the country.  The Medicare Fraud Strike Force operates in nine locations nationwide.  Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force has charged over 3,500 defendants who collectively have falsely billed the Medicare program for over $12.5 billion.
Topic(s): 
Health Care Fraud
Press Release Number: 
18-536

Feds get guilty plea in Canadian counterfeit internet drug sales case Wednesday, April 25, 2018

Feds get guilty plea in Canadian counterfeit internet drug sales case

In a case dating back to 2010, U.S. prosecutors said defendant Kris Thorkelson of Manitoba, Canada, admitted to illegal sales of misbranded and counterfeit prescription drugs in the U.S.

Wednesday, April 25, 2018

04/23/2018Various: Pain Out, Nirvanio, Cali  various kratom dietary supplements  potential for contamination with SalmonellaNutriZone, LLC

$1.1 M fund to battle addiction named for Asheboro pharmacist

Asheboro Courier Tribune-4 hours ago
CHAPEL HILL — The North Carolina Board of Pharmacy (NCBOP) has established a $1.1 million fund — named in honor of Asheboro pharmacist Stan Haywood — that will award grants to pharmacists and pharmacy personnel who might otherwise not be able to afford substance use assessments and/or treatment.

Unemployed Pharmacist: Preparing for Job Loss

Pharmacy Times-14 hours ago
We've all heard it: pharmacy is a small world. That statement has rung true to me on more than 1 occasion, and my search for a new job was no exception. I had served on state, local, and academic boards, and committees. Being professionally involved helped me to establish a great network in pharmacy, and having this ...

Senate Health panel approves opioid bill BY RACHEL ROUBEIN - 04/24/18 11:58 AM EDT

Tuesday, April 24, 2018

Monday, April 23, 2018


Prince family sues Illinois hospital, Walgreens pharmacy chain

Minneapolis Star Tribune-9 hours ago
Pharmacy chain Walgreens also is named in the lawsuit, because it dispensed opioid medications to Prince in somebody else's name. A week before Prince's death, his plane made an emergency landing in Moline after he overdosed on opioids while returning from performing a concert in Atlanta. Paramedics scrambled to ...

Amazon Pharmacy Competition Is Overblown, Larry Robbins Says at ...

Bloomberg-6 hours ago
Fears that Amazon.com Inc. will enter the pharmacy-benefits business are dramatically overblown, said Larry Robbins of Glenview Capital Management. Robbins used the Sohn Conference in New York to reiterate his pitches on McKesson Corp., CVS Health Corp. and Express Scripts Holding Co., saying that competition ...

Henry Schein, Vets First Choice to form new company

VIN News Service-3 hours ago
In 2017, Vets First Choice's parent company, Direct Vet Marketing, bought two players in the compounding-pharmacy realm: Roadrunner Pharmacy and Atlas Pharmaceuticals. Although consolidation of veterinary-related businesses is not new, the pace appears to be quickening and the stakes, rising. Last year, Mars Inc., ...

Investigation Identifies Compounding Pharmacies as Source of ...

My MMA News.com-8 hours ago
USADA announced today that it has confirmed two compounding pharmacies in Brazil produced and sold contaminated supplements that led to the positive tests of three athletes subject to the UFC® Anti-Doping Policy. Unlike retail pharmacies and drugstores, which receive their drug inventories from commercial ...