Doctor Pleads Guilty to HIPAA Criminal Charges!

HealthInfoSecurity.com reported that a “…former physician pleaded guilty to criminal HIPAA violations in a case involving a compound pharmaceutical salesman and a conspiracy alleged to have racked up $2.5 million in healthcare fraud.”  The October 12, 2022 article entitled “Former Doctor Pleads Guilty to HIPAA Charges in Fraud Case” (https://tinyurl.com/yenhj3r2) included these comments about Former internist Frank Alario and pharmaceutical salesmen Keith Ritson:

The conspiracy was active from around August 2014 through February 2016. Ritson, the founder of Life Sciences Medical, allegedly received commissions from Central Rexall for each compound prescription he arranged. Compound medications are medications mixed by a pharmacist rather than an offsite manufacturing facility. Central Rexall CEO Hayley Taff pleaded guilty in 2020 to defrauding New Jersey health benefits programs and other insurers out of more than $50 million through a compounding pill scheme. 

Alario's HIPAA violations occurred in the service of the scheme: The doctor would let the salesman into exam rooms during consultations, giving patients the impression that Ritson was affiliated with the medical practice. Alario would instruct patients to see Ritson in another part of the practice so Ritson could fill out compound medication prescriptions ultimately authorized by Alario. 

Pretty disturbing report about a Doctor!