On January 27, 2021, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey announced that a New Jersey physician was sentenced to 33 months in prison for his role in a telehealth scheme that served to prescribe expensive compounded medications to patients without medical necessity.
The physician admitted to signing pre-printed prescription forms without establishing a doctor-patient relationship, speaking to the patient, or conducting any medical evaluation of the patient. The physician then submitted those invalid prescriptions to various compounding pharmacies involved in the conspiracy. In exchange for his services, the physician was paid $20 to $30 for each prescription he signed.
In addition to a prison term, the physician was sentenced to three years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay restitution of $24.3 million and forfeiture of $75,000.
Any person or entity seeking to engage in a telehealth arrangement must scrutinize the overall permissibility of the telehealth model that they intend to build or participate in. Of particular concern, in many telehealth arrangements, the misconduct of one participant can result in liability and exposure for the other individuals or entities involved. Therefore, adequate due diligence of your telehealth business partners is warranted.
How Frier Levitt Can Help
Frier Levitt has extensive experience advising telehealth stakeholders, including practitioners, technology platforms, ancillary providers that accept telehealth prescriptions, and organizations involved in telehealth marketing. We have developed, restructured, and reviewed a wide array of these business models. Each arrangement presents its own challenges and must be structured to comply with various federal and state laws, each of which can trigger significant criminal and civil penalties.
If you or your company is considering engaging in telehealth, Frier Levitt can comprehensively vet and recommend modification to your proposed arrangement. Contact Frier Levitt to speak to one of our telehealth attorneys today
