Medical Device Distributor Allegedly Violates Anti-Kickback Statutes

Case Overview

This anti fraud case involves a medical device distributor and a hospital in New Mexico which allegedly violated Medicare anti-kickback statutes, as well as industry ethical standards. The distributor in question employeed a woman working at a medical center that the medical device firm sold to, and gave her a commission for every device sold to the medical center. Allegedly, this employee was also involved in a romantic relationship with one of the hospital’s general surgeons, who frequently purchased equipment from the defendant firm. Representatives from other medical device firms made note of this conduct and reported the issue. It was alleged that the payments received by the hospital’s employee were unethical.

Questions to the Medical Device expert and their responses

Please briefly describe your work with the AdvaMed Code of Ethics and your work with anti-kickback statutes in the healthcare industry.

I have worked for two medical device companies that were founding members of AdvaMed and have completed annual training on AdvaMed and Medicare anti-kickback for the past 10 years. I understand the do's and don'ts with regards to these codes and laws.

About the expert

This medical device sales professional has been in the industry since 1999. He earned his B.A. in Economics from Emory University and eventually went to work for Boston Scientific as a Territory Sales Manager in Men's and Women's Health. After 10 years with Boston Scientific, the expert joined St. Jude Medical's Neuromodulation device team as a Territory Manager in the Gulf Coast region. He was involved in 800+ implants and worked on device servicing for an additional 200+ patients. The expert left St. Jude at the end of 2015 and is now a Business Development and Sales Manger for a different device company in a separate product category.