Thread by @bradheath

Woah.

DOJ says pharmaceutical company Indivior ran a hotline for patients addicted to opioids, then referred callers to doctors it knew were prescribing its painkiller and other opioids "to more patients than allowed by federal law, at high doses, and in suspect circumstances."

Here's the indictment: justice.gov/opa/press-rele…

DOJ says an Indivior sales rep described one doctor's office as being "like the mob." The office had a cash-counting machine, "and they're taking stacks of hundreds and shoving it in."

Later, the company referred an opioid-addiction/dependence caller to that office for care.

DOJ says another doctor was known to be giving opioids at rates higher than what was clinically appropriate. The company referred 22 people who called its hotline for addiction/dependence issues to the office, and named the rep who dealt with the clinic its sales rep of the year.

In all, DOJ says Indivior sent 140 patients who called for addiction issues to that office. The doctor later pleaded guilty to health care fraud.

Indivior says the indictment is "unsupported either by facts or the law" and that the company "is not a contributor to the opioid epidemic."
indivior.com/wp-content/upl…

Federal prosecutors have charged a drug company with a billion-dollar fraud scheme that included sending patients seeking help with opioid addiction to doctors it knew were over-prescribing. A sales rep described one clinic as "like the mob."

usatoday.com/story/news/pol…