Dead Patient Sues America’s Frontline Doctors Over HCQ; Pair Accused of Bilking Doc

A Nevada patient who died after taking hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is suing America’s Frontline Doctors and the physician who prescribed him the medication. The estate of Jeremy Parker accused the organization and the doctor, Medina Culver, DO, of negligence, alleging Parker’s death may have been prevented if Culver had performed a more thorough examination of his heart function before prescribing the drug, and if the group hadn’t improperly promoted the drug. (ThisIsReno)

Two people who befriended a California ophthalmologist with worsening mental illness were charged this week in an alleged scheme to take his money. Actress Anna Rene Moore and hair stylist Anton David allegedly befriended the victim at an ice cream shop and moved into his Malibu beach house, eventually gaining access to his banking and investment accounts, according to the indictment. (USA Today)

An anesthesiologist in Mexico was arrested after being accused of distributing medications believed to have led to an outbreak of meningitis in the northern part of the country. A total of 35 women have died (most had undergone obstetric procedures), and an additional 79 people have been hospitalized in the outbreak. (Reuters)

Physician Jonathan Philippe, MD, was convicted of sexually abusing a 13-year-old girl in Missouri. After a five-day trial, Philippe was found guilty of two counts of statutory sodomy in the first degree, one count of attempted enticement of a child, and one count of child molestation in the third degree. (KTVZ)

Yet another physician has been sentenced in the ongoing kickback and off-label marketing saga involving pseudobulbar affect (PBA) drug dextromethorphan/quinidine (Nuedexta). Neurologist Deepak Raheja, MD, of Hudson, Ohio, was sentenced to 30 months in prison after pleading guilty to kickback conspiracy charges, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

A jury in Maine awarded $6.5 million to the parents of a 25-year-old man who died after his Lyme carditis was misdiagnosed at Mercy Hospital in Portland. (Insider)

Online women’s pharmacy The Pill Club will pay $18.3 million to settle claims that it defrauded California Medicaid by prescribing birth control pills without appropriate clinical assessment and sending tens of thousands of female condoms to people who didn’t order them. (Kaiser Health News)

Banner Health in Phoenix will pay $1.25 million to settle claims around a data breach that disclosed the protected health information of 2.81 million people, according to the HHS Office for Civil Rights. The system was hacked in 2016, and Banner said it will take steps to resolve cybersecurity issues.

The Federal Trade Commission has ordered ZyCal Bioceuticals to stop deceptively marketing its Ostinol products, which the company claimed could grow bone and cartilage and relieve joint pain without any evidence from randomized controlled trials.

The DOJ brought in more than $2.2 billion in settlements under the False Claims Act in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2022, far lower than the $5.7 billion in settlements for the year prior. Once again, healthcare accounted for the majority of the settlements, bringing in more than $1.7 billion of the total.