Abbott pays $5.5m to settle US kickback allegations
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
The US Department of Justice’s efforts to clamp down on fraudulent behavior by healthcare companies continue, with Abbott the latest to be caught out – the company has just agreed to pay $5.475m to resolve allegations that it had paid kickbacks to doctors. The DoJ alleged that the firm paid prominent physicians for teaching assignments, speaking engagements and conferences “with the expectation that these physicians would arrange for the hospitals with which they were affiliated to purchase Abbott’s carotid, biliary and peripheral vascular products.” The claims were originally made by ex-Abbott employees Steven Peters and Douglas Gray, who will receive over $1m as part of the latest agreement.
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