MEDIA
Off Label – practice
“Off label” refers to the fraudulent and illegal practice of prescribing drugs for treatments other than those for which they have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. Off-label
STATE OF CONFUSION ON CHILD DRUGGING
Palm Beach Post Shoddy records stall drug probe at Florida Department of Juvenile Justice By Dara Kam and Michael LaForgia November 4, 2011 TALLAHASSEE — Shoddy record-keeping by the Department of Juvenile Justice is hampering the agency\'s own investigation into the dosing of jailed children with powerful antipsychotic drugs, the department\'s head told a top state lawmaker this week. In a letter to state Sen. Ronda Storms, Secretary Wansley Walters wrote that the in-house review was taking a \"frustratingly long time\" largely due to a \"lack of electronic medical records.\" With no centralized database, officials have no easy way of [...]
North Carolina Scrutinizing Psych Drug Use in Children
Are some foster kids over-medicated? NC now looking to scrutinize how Medicaid dispensed to children North Carolina now has a program that will allow it to monitor children on Medicaid who are prescribed antipsychotic and other mood-altering medications. A+Kids was implemented after doctors and those in the mental health field started questioning whether the medications were being over prescribed. Hickory Daily Record By: Sharon McBrayer January 22, 2012 In the grocery store, a child goes through the produce isle picking up items and biting into them. When mom tries to stop him, he takes a bite out of her. Meanwhile, [...]
Dosed in juvie jail: Investigators focus on antipsychotic doses for kids and possible fraud
Palm Beach Post Dosed in juvie jail: Investigators focus on antipsychotic doses for kids and possible fraud By Michael LaForgia On alert for signs of fraud, state Attorney General Pam Bondi\'s office said months ago it was looking into the Medicaid billing habits of doctors who worked in Florida\'s juvenile jails. But the inquiry largely consisted of just one step, according to records and interviews: sending an email to the Florida agency that oversees Medicaid. At issue was whether the government insurer pays pharmacy bills for kids in state custody, a question first raised in May by a Palm Beach [...]
Psychs Avoid Penalties in Suits Against Medical Firms
ProPublica Doctors Avoid Penalties in Suits Against Medical Firms by Tracy Weber and Charles Ornstein Evidence sealed at settlement For concerned outsiders, the whistle-blower suits are often troublingly vague. Many don\'t provide enough specifics about physicians\' roles to assess their veracity. Some offer only worrisome hints of doctors\' misconduct. But the case against Lilly and Florida psychiatrist George Jerusalem, unsealed in 2009, was rich with detailed allegations. While purportedly receiving money and gifts from Lilly from 2001 to 2003, Jerusalem favored its antipsychotic Zyprexa, according to a case filed in federal court in Pennsylvania by a former Lilly sales representative. [...]
Drug makers pad doctors’ income
The News-Press (Fort Myers, Florida) By FRANK GLUCK Pharmaceutical companies have paid doctors in Lee and Collier counties almost $1.5 million for consulting, speaking, research and other work since 2009, according to newly released data by investigative news organization ProPublica. Top payments include more than $100,000 to Fort Myers physician Richard J. Weiss, largely in speaking and educational fees; about $168,000 to Naples anesthesia expert Dr. Joseph Pergolizzi - again, mostly in speaking/consulting fees; and $88,000 to Fort Myers psychiatrist Dr. Fred Schaerf and his clinic, primarily related to medical research. ProPublica, a nonprofit Web-based news outlet, has been collecting [...]
Carlos Delos-Reyes, Psychiatrist, License Revoked, Misconduct, Accepted Kidney From Patient
The Ithaca Journal (New York) Elmira psychiatrist loses license June 17, 2011 By G. Jeffrey Aaron The New York State Health Department has revoked the license of an Elmira psychiatrist who has admitted charges of misconduct, including accepting a kidney from a patient. Dr. Carlos Delos-Reyes received his license to practice medicine in New York in March 1987. His license will be permanently restricted, effective June 21, and he will be prohibited from practicing in New York state. According to a statement of charges issued by the state Board for Professional Medical Conduct, Delos-Reyes provided psychiatric care to patients at [...]
Dosed in juvie jail: Drug firms pay state-hired doctors
Palm Beach Post By Michael LaForgia In Florida\'s juvenile jails, psychiatrists entrusted with diagnosing and prescribing drugs for wayward children have taken huge speaker fees from drug makers - companies that profit handsomely when doctors put kids on antipsychotic pills. The psychiatrists were hired by a state juvenile justice system that has plied kids with heavy doses of the powerful medications, and the physicians have prescribed antipsychotics even before they were approved by federal regulators as safe for children. One in three of the psychiatrists who have contracted with the state Department of Juvenile Justice in the past five years [...]
End juvenile injustices
Palm Beach Post By Rhonda Swan New Florida Department of Juvenile Justice Secretary Wansley Walters is right to examine the department\'s use of antipsychotic medications following a Palm Beach Post investigation showing that children in DJJ care are being plied with heavy doses of the powerful drugs. \"We will look at everything that surrounds this issue,\" Ms. Walters said in an interview. \"We\'re concerned that any child in our care be given the best medical assistance possible, appropriate to his medical needs.\" DJJ\'s inspector general will conduct the investigation. Ms. Walters said one of her first acts was to ensure [...]
Another suit filed against embattled jail psychiatrist
Hernando Today By TONY HOLT She was offended, violated and wasn't going to take it anymore, she said. The former Hernando County jail inmate reported the alleged sexual harassment by her psychiatrist to a female correctional officer. She consoled the shaken inmate. The two women talked. They cried. The officer promised to report it to her supervisors. Less than an hour later, the inmate was led to a dark, isolated cell with no windows. She remained in solitary confinement for another nine days, she said. She only received one visitor – an investigator from Corrections Corporation of America, the company [...]