One of the great challenges in health care is finding ways to limit the power and influence of money in the system.
What do we mean?
Profit is a great motivator. The desire for profit is also a great corrupter. In fact, where there are massive profits to be made – there is often corruption.
We have written recently about the influence of money on drug choices in America. The big drug companies spend more to influence members of Congress, state legislatures, and federal and state regulators than any other business lobby on earth… Even more than big oil. To make matters worse, all major news organizations are heavily reliant on drug ad dollars to turn a profit.
It’s an industry that falsifies research results to promote new drugs while paying physicians to promote and prescribe those drugs despite an absence of evidence of efficacy.
Certainly, there are safety watchdogs – right? Yes – and no…
The U.S. Justice Department has just announced they’ve settled a case with former “voice of patient safety”, Dr. Chuck Denham, for accepting kickbacks to promote a company’s antiseptic product while serving as co-chairman of a Nonprofit Quality Forum committee in 2009 and 2010. “The Nonprofit Quality Forum, based in Washington, D.C., reviews the evidence and makes recommendations on best practices that are considered the gold-standard by health care providers nationwide”.
Sounds like a group we can trust – right? Apparently not…even “consumer advocates” are for sale.
Denham had allegedly solicited and accepted monthly payments from CareFusion Corp., maker of the antiseptic ChloraPrep – a product the Quality Forum voted to recommend to the medical community. According to the Justice Department, the kickbacks to Denham resulted in the submission of false or fraudulent claims for ChloraPrep to the government’s health care programs.
Denham will pay $1 million in fines.
If you or a loved one is ever the victim of a medical error, a defective drug, the improper prescription of drug therapy, over-exposure to medical radiation, a hospital-acquired infection, a fall while in the hospital, a preventable blood clot, a misdiagnosis, or any form of medical malpractice, call a qualified Connecticut medical malpractice lawyer. A knowledgeable malpractice attorney can help to ensure that your rights are protected.
RisCassi & Davis has handled hundreds of defective drug and medical malpractice cases over our nearly 60 years serving the people of Connecticut.
What’s more, our Connecticut medical malpractice lawyers have received local and national recognition for our handling of these cases.
We have a great team of legal experts dedicated to medical malpractice in Connecticut. Please contact us if we can help you.
The consultation is free and there is no obligation of any kind.