Kickback arrangements--both subtle and blatant ones--that seek to influence physician choice re: the use of a specific care facility or a particular medical device compromise the integrity of physician judgments, which are to be made strictly on what is in the patient's best interests. If you want to see a truly egregious example of this scam, watch the Painkiller series on Netflix, which focuses on the Purdue Pharma/OxyContin horror story.
//Spinal device manufacturer Innovasis Inc. and senior executives Brent Felix and Garth Felix agreed to pay a total of $12 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by paying kickbacks to spine surgeons to induce their use of Innovasis’s spinal devices. Brent Felix is the founder, President and Chairman of the Board of Innovasis, which is headquartered in Utah. Garth Felix served in various leadership roles for Innovasis, including as the company’s Chief Financial Officer.
“Payments from medical device manufacturers intended to influence a physician’s judgment about which medical devices or supplies to select are illegal,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “When medical devices are used in surgical procedures, patients deserve to know that their device was selected based on quality of care considerations and not on improper payments from manufacturers.”//
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