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Physician Gets 40 Years For Illegally Prescribing More Than Half a Million Opioid Doses

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law
On October 2, 2019, a Virginia doctor received a 40-year prison sentence for illegally prescribing more than half a million opioid pills over 19 months. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia handed down the sentence to Joel Smithers, who was reported to have operated a “pill mill” out of Virginia, according to authorities. In addition to prison time, he was given an $86,000 fine and will serve three years of supervised release upon the completion of his prison time, according to court documents.

The sentence is lighter than it could have […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:00:06-04:00December 26, 2019|Health Facilities Law Blog|

Florida’s New E-Prescribing Law: How It May Affect You and Your Career

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law
In 2019, Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 831 (2019), Electronic Prescribing, into law. The new bill provides important requirements for prescribers to generate and transmit all prescriptions electronically upon their license renewal or by July 1, 2021, whichever is earlier. The bill will go into effect on January 1, 2020.

Summary of New Law, HB 831.

The new law applies to any health care practitioner who is licensed by law to prescribe a medicinal drug. The law, HB 831 sets forth the following general rule for prescribing:

If you are licensed […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:00:07-04:00December 9, 2019|Health Facilities Law Blog|

Florida Compounding Pharmacy Reaches $21 Million Settlement to End FCA Kickback Suit

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law
On September 19, 2019, a Florida compounding pharmacy reached a $21.4 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in the Southern District of Florida to resolve claims they orchestrated a $70 million kickback scheme. Diabetic Care Rx LLC, which does business as Patient Care America, and private equity firm Riordan Lewis & Haden Inc. agreed to pay to bring the False Claims Act (FCA) lawsuit to a close.

According to the DOJ, the Florida pharmacy, two executives and the private equity firm schemed to recruit beneficiaries of Tricare for medically unnecessary prescriptions such as […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:00:07-04:00December 5, 2019|Nursing Law Blog|

Physician Sentenced to 40 Years in Prison For Illegally Prescribing Opioid Pills

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On October 2, 2019, a Virginia doctor received a 40-year prison sentence for illegally prescribing more than half a million opioid pills over 19 months. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia handed down the sentence to Joel Smithers, who was reported to have operated a “pill mill” out of Virginia, according to authorities. In addition to prison time, he was given an $86,000 fine and will serve three years of supervised release upon the completion of his prison time, according to court documents.

The sentence is […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:00:09-04:00November 6, 2019|Pharmacy Law Blog|

Compounding Pharmacy Agrees to Pay $21 Million to End FCA Kickback Suit

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On September 19, 2019, a Florida compounding pharmacy reached a $21.4 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in the Southern District of Florida to resolve claims they orchestrated a $70 million kickback scheme. Diabetic Care Rx LLC, which does business as Patient Care America, and private equity firm Riordan Lewis & Haden Inc. agreed to pay to bring the False Claims Act (FCA) lawsuit to a close.

According to the DOJ, the Florida pharmacy, two executives and the private equity firm schemed to recruit beneficiaries of Tricare for medically unnecessary […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:00:10-04:00September 25, 2019|Pharmacy Law Blog|

Alaska Board Sends Contradictory Letter to Pharmacists Over Filling Opioid Prescriptions (Part 1)

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

The “Opioid Crisis” in the U.S.

We all know that there is an “opioid crisis” in the U.S. It is probably prevalent in every state. In Florida we have been suffering under it for the past ten to fifteen years. So it is nothing new to Florida. Government regulators including, but not limited to the Florida Department of Health (DOH), Florida Attorney General (AG), different State’s Attorneys’ (prosecutors) offices, multi-jurisdictional task forces, local law enforcement agencies, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ), along with federal prosecutors, have […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:00:14-04:00May 21, 2019|Pharmacy Law Blog|

Virginia Doc Lands 40 Years in Prison For Running Multi-state Pill Mill

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law
On October 2, 2019, a Virginia doctor received a 40-year prison sentence for illegally prescribing more than half a million opioid pills over 19 months. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia handed down the sentence to Joel Smithers, who was reported to have operated a “pill mill” out of Virginia, according to authorities. In addition to prison time, he was given an $86,000 fine and will serve three years of supervised release upon the completion of his prison time, according to court documents.

The sentence is lighter than it could have […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:00:19-04:00January 16, 2019|Mental Health Law Blog|

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Agents May Surprise You at Florida Board of Pharmacy Meeting

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M. Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

At several recent Florida Board meetings, after hearings at which disciplinary cases were considered by the Board, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents approached the health professional. Even in instances where the pharmacist was represented by an attorney and the attorney was there, the DEA agents confronted the professional involved.

What Were the DEA Agents Trying to Do?

In the cases where The Health Law Firm’s attorneys were there representing clients, the professional received some type of discipline on his or her license. Some of these were Settlement Agreements. The DEA Agent approached the professional and urged […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:01:42-04:00May 15, 2018|Pharmacy Law Blog|

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Agents May Surprise You at Florida Board of Nursing Meeting

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M. Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

At several recent Florida Board meetings, after hearings at which disciplinary cases were considered by the Board, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents approached the health professional. Even in instances where the nurse was represented by an attorney and the attorney was there, the DEA agents confronted the professional involved.

What Were the DEA Agents Trying to Do?

In the cases where The Health Law Firm’s attorneys were there representing clients, the professional received some type of discipline on his or her license. Some of these were Settlement Agreements. The DEA Agent approached the professional and urged […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:02:01-04:00May 15, 2018|Nursing Law Blog|