Insys exec allegedly gave lap dance to doctor while pushing deadly opioid
A former regional sales director for Insys Therapeutics allegedly gave a lap dance to a doctor as the company was pushing him to prescribe its deadly opioid painkiller to patients. That's according to multiple reports of testimony given Tuesday from a former Insys colleague in a federal court in Boston.
The testimony is part of a federal racketeering trial getting underway this week against Insys founder John Kapoor and four former executives, including the sales director, Sunrise Lee. Federal prosecutors allege that the Insys executives used bribes and kickbacks to get doctors to prescribe the company's powerful and addictive fentanyl spray, called Subsys—which was intended only for cancer patients experiencing pain that's not alleviated by other medications (aka "breakthrough pain"). The former executives are also accused of misleading and defrauding health insurance companies that ended up covering the drug for patients who did not need it. A congressional investigation in 2017 concluded that Insys sales representatives bluntly lied and tricked insurers to do that—and the investigators released the tapes to prove it.
Previously: Opioid Crisis Official; Insys Therapeutics Billionaire Founder Charged; Walgreens Stocks Narcan
The More Opioids Doctors Prescribe, the More Money They Make
(Score: 5, Informative) by takyon on Thursday January 31 2019, @08:28PM (2 children)
How Medical Care is Being Corrupted in the US [soylentnews.org]
What's the Real Extent of Industry Payments to Doctors? [soylentnews.org]
Physicians Often Fail to Disclose Financial Conflicts in Research Papers [soylentnews.org]
Dollars for Docs [propublica.org]
Dollars for Docs: Who’s On Pharma’s Top-Paid List? [propublica.org]
Docs on Pharma Payroll Have Blemished Records, Limited Credentials [propublica.org]
Drug Companies Reduce Payments to Doctors as Scrutiny Mounts [propublica.org]
GlaxoSmithKline fined $3bn after bribing doctors to increase drugs sales [theguardian.com]
Pay to Prescribe? Two Dozen Doctors Named in Novartis Kickback Case [propublica.org]
Many Antidepressant Studies Found Tainted by Pharma Company Influence [scientificamerican.com]
Now There’s Proof: Docs Who Get Company Cash Tend to Prescribe More Brand-Name Meds [propublica.org]
Five Manhattan Doctors Indicted For Accepting Bribes And Kickbacks From A Pharmaceutical Company In Exchange For Prescribing Powerful Fentanyl Narcotic [justice.gov]
Opioid Makers, Blamed for Overdose Epidemic, Cut Back on Marketing Payments to Doctors [propublica.org]
Top Sloan Kettering Cancer Doctor Resigns After Failing to Disclose Industry Ties [nytimes.com]
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 3, Informative) by Freeman on Thursday January 31 2019, @09:50PM (1 child)
Here's a few books on the topic as well:
https://www.amazon.com/Truth-About-Drug-Companies-Deceive/dp/0375508465 [amazon.com] Hardcover published in 2004.
https://www.amazon.com/Bad-Pharma-Companies-Mislead-Patients/dp/0865478066 [amazon.com] Hardcover published in 2013.
https://www.amazon.com/How-We-Do-Harm-America/dp/1250015766 [amazon.com] Hardcover published in 2012.
https://www.amazon.com/Overdiagnosed-Making-People-Pursuit-Health/dp/0807021997 [amazon.com] Hardcover published in 2011.
https://www.amazon.com/Overdosed-America-Promise-American-Medicine/dp/0061344761 [amazon.com] Hardcover published in 2008.
https://www.amazon.com/Drug-Dealer-MD-Doctors-Patients/dp/1421421402 [amazon.com] Paperback published in 2016.
This isn't a new problem for us, it's just a lot easier to notice when people are dying from drug overdoses.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 3, Insightful) by bob_super on Thursday January 31 2019, @10:17PM
All that awareness justifies the many bills now running through congress to fix the problem.