Elder Law

Johnson & Johnson Receives Kickbacks for Nursing Home Prescriptions

By Levin & Perconti

A recently filed Justice Department lawsuit alleges that Johnson & Johnson paid tens of million of dollars in kickbacks to boost sales of its drugs in nursing homes. One of these drugs included an antipsychotic that can be used as a chemical restraint. The payments were disguised as grants or educational funding. They were funneled through Omnicare, which is a pharmacy company that dispenses drugs in nursing homes. They used their influence with doctors to have prescriptions switched to name Johnson & Johnson. This puts profits ahead of medical care and can distort the judgment of health care professionals. This is just another case in a series of nursing home lawsuits that allege companies have used illegal inducements to skew medical decisions and promote their products. The biggest problem is that Johnson & Johnson allegedly caused false or fraudulent claims to be filed with Medicaid. The patients at issue include those suffering from Alzheimer?s and other forms of dementia. This recent case greatly effects how pharmaceuticals are dispensed in nursing homes. To learn more about the nursing home kickbacks, please check out the link.

Full post as published by Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog on January 17, 2010 (boomark / email).