Florida Pharmacy Sues Claiming HHS Wrongly Terminated it from Federal PrEP Program
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On March 25, 2024, a pharmacy in Celebration, Florida, alleged HHS abruptly terminated it from a federal program that provides free access to preexposure prophylaxis HIV-prevention (PrEP) medication. Turner Brothers Inc., which does business as Turner Drugs, filed […]
16 Tips For Health Professionals to Avoid Sexual Harassment Complaints & Allegations
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law Throughout my decades of representing health care professionals, I have seen cases where an economic competitor of a physician generated false sexual harassment complaints to eliminate competition. I have seen cases where an ex-employee invented false allegations of […]
Law in Florida Allows Limited Pharmacist Medical Practice with Practice Agreements
By Michael L. Smith, R.R.T., J.D., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law A new Florida law allows pharmacists to practice medicine to a certain extent underwritten collaborative practice agreements with physicians who are licensed to practice medicine or osteopathic medicine in Florida. The new law, signed by Governor DeSantis, took effect on […]
Two FL Pill Mill Owners Get Prison Time For Illegal Distribution Of Opioids
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On October 7, 2020, two owners of a medical practice in Tampa, Florida, were sentenced to federal prison time for their roles in the illegal distribution of opioids. U.S. District Judge Mary S. Scriven sentenced Ernest Gonzalez to […]
How an American Board of Internal Medicine Policy is Robbing America of Qualified Physicians
By Achal A. Aggarwal, M.B.A., J.D. In July 2012, the American Board of Internal Medicine (“ABIM”) implemented a policy change placing limits on how long a physician could be considered “board eligible.” This policy nearly ended the ability of many otherwise qualified physicians to become certified in internal medicine. In many cases, this also caused […]
Non-physician Pill Mill Owners in Tampa Sentenced To Prison Time For Illegal Distribution Of Opioids
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On October 7, 2020, two owners of a medical practice in Tampa, Florida, were sentenced to federal prison time for their roles in the illegal distribution of opioids. U.S. District Judge Mary S. Scriven sentenced Ernest Gonzalez to […]
CVS Fined for Prescription Errors and Poor Staffing at Oklahoma Pharmacies
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On July 16, 2020, the Oklahoma State Board of Pharmacy fined CVS, the nationwide pharmacy chain, $125,000, after auditors found safety issues and “chaotic” scenes at four of its pharmacies. State regulators in Oklahoma cited and fined the […]
New Florida Law Allows Limited Pharmacist Medical Practice with Practice Agreements
By Michael L. Smith, R.R.T., J.D., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law A new Florida law allows pharmacists to practice medicine to a certain extent underwritten collaborative practice agreements with physicians who are licensed to practice medicine or osteopathic medicine in Florida. The new law, signed by Governor DeSantis, took effect on […]
Emergency Order Allows Florida Pharmacists to Temporarily Order, Administer COVID-19 Tests
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On April 24, 2020, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced he would expand the opportunities for people to obtain COVID-19 tests by allowing licensed pharmacists to order and administer them. For purposes of preparing for, responding to, and mitigating […]
Emergency Order Allows Florida Pharmacists to Order and Administer COVID-19 Tests
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On April 24, 2020, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced he would expand the opportunities for people to obtain COVID-19 tests by allowing licensed pharmacists to order and administer them. For purposes of preparing for, responding to, and mitigating […]
Did You Lose Your ABIM Board Eligible Credentials?
We have been contacted by numerous physicians who had completed residency programs in internal medicine and only recently discovered that their time has now expired to become board certified. ABIM considers internal medicine and subspecialist physicians who had met the standards for Board Certification in general internal medicine or any subspecialties to be “Board Eligible” […]
Walgreens Agrees to Pay $7.5 Million To End Lawsuit Over Unlicensed Pharmacist
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On February 4, 2020, Walgreens agreed to pay $7.5 million to settle allegations that for more than a decade it let an unlicensed pharmacist handle hundreds of thousands of prescriptions. The pharmacy giant settled with authorities after an […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Alaska Board of Pharmacy Sends Letter to its Pharmacists Sending Mixed Signals Over Filling Opioid Prescriptions (Part 1 of a 2 part series)
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 […]
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 […]
Arizona Appeals Court Affirms Dentist’s Suspension Over Questionable Prescriptions
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On December 13, 2016, an Arizona appeals court affirmed the suspension of a dentist who allegedly had a history of opioid addiction and who also allegedly wrote dozens of questionable prescriptions. The Arizona appeals court held that the […]
Recommendations For Physicians Who Receive Notice of Investigation From the ABIM
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law In 2010, the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) sanctioned 139 physicians for seeking out and sharing board examination questions with a testing preparation company. For the physicians involved in that cheating scandal, disciplinary action taken by the […]
Doctors, Nurses and Health Care Professionals Take Heed: It is Always a Bad Idea to . . . .
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law In my 30 plus years of practice representing physicians, dentists, nurses and health care professionals, I have defended clients involved in many different situations. Several of these seem to be problem areas which we see repeatedly. The following […]