TY - JOUR
T1 - Caveat medicus
T2 - Consequences of federal investigations of marketing activities of pharmaceutical suppliers of prostate cancer drugs
AU - McKoy, June M.
AU - Lyons, E. Allison
AU - Obadina, Eniola
AU - Carson, Kenneth
AU - Pickard, A. Simon
AU - Schellhammer, Paul
AU - McLeod, David
AU - Boyd, Cynthia E.
AU - McWilliams, Norene
AU - Sartor, Oliver
AU - Schumock, Glen T.
AU - McCaffery, Kathryn
AU - Bennett, Charles L.
PY - 2005
Y1 - 2005
N2 - In the course of recent health care fraud investigations against TAP Pharmaceuticals (Lake Forest, IL) and AstraZeneca International (London, United Kingdom), each pled guilty to one violation of the Prescription Drug Marketing Act, settled claims related to alleged violations of the False Claims Act without admitting guilt, and paid fines, settlements for liabilities, and reimbursements of $850 million and $355 million, respectively. In a unique aspect of these cases, federal investigators brought criminal charges against 14 TAP employees and investigated the billing practices of several urologists. These investigations resulted in guilty pleas from both urologists and industry employees relative to the Prescription Drug Marketing Act or the False Claims Act and probationary sentences with payments of fines and restitution to the government for urologists who cooperated with federal investigations. One uncooperative urologist was found guilty of violating the Federal False Claims Act and sentenced to 6 months of home arrest, excluded from Medicare for 5 years, required to provide 600 hours of free medical care to indigent patients and patients covered by Medicare or Medicaid, and paid fines and restitution to the government. The cases against TAP and AstraZeneca have been followed by federal and state investigations of allegedly illegal marketing practices of other pharmaceutical firms and have resulted in negotiated settlements of $3.8 billion and $71.5 million, respectively. Believing that an Average Wholesale Price-based reimbursement system was an important driving factor for these marketing activities, Medicare has shifted to an Average Sales Price-based reimbursement system. This is expected to greatly impact the practice of outpatient oncology nationwide.
AB - In the course of recent health care fraud investigations against TAP Pharmaceuticals (Lake Forest, IL) and AstraZeneca International (London, United Kingdom), each pled guilty to one violation of the Prescription Drug Marketing Act, settled claims related to alleged violations of the False Claims Act without admitting guilt, and paid fines, settlements for liabilities, and reimbursements of $850 million and $355 million, respectively. In a unique aspect of these cases, federal investigators brought criminal charges against 14 TAP employees and investigated the billing practices of several urologists. These investigations resulted in guilty pleas from both urologists and industry employees relative to the Prescription Drug Marketing Act or the False Claims Act and probationary sentences with payments of fines and restitution to the government for urologists who cooperated with federal investigations. One uncooperative urologist was found guilty of violating the Federal False Claims Act and sentenced to 6 months of home arrest, excluded from Medicare for 5 years, required to provide 600 hours of free medical care to indigent patients and patients covered by Medicare or Medicaid, and paid fines and restitution to the government. The cases against TAP and AstraZeneca have been followed by federal and state investigations of allegedly illegal marketing practices of other pharmaceutical firms and have resulted in negotiated settlements of $3.8 billion and $71.5 million, respectively. Believing that an Average Wholesale Price-based reimbursement system was an important driving factor for these marketing activities, Medicare has shifted to an Average Sales Price-based reimbursement system. This is expected to greatly impact the practice of outpatient oncology nationwide.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=33644846387&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1200/JCO.2005.01.4605
DO - 10.1200/JCO.2005.01.4605
M3 - Review article
C2 - 16314650
AN - SCOPUS:33644846387
SN - 0732-183X
VL - 23
SP - 8894
EP - 8905
JO - Journal of Clinical Oncology
JF - Journal of Clinical Oncology
IS - 34
ER -