Justice Department steps into EHR vendor lawsuit
The U.S. Department of Justice has become involved in a lawsuit against electronic health record (EHR) vendor Modernizing Medicine.
The class action lawsuit stems from allegations that Modernizing Medicine, which goes under the brand name ModMen, provided physician kickbacks and falsely attested it met certification requirements.
The lawsuit was filed in 2017 by law firm Phillips & Cohen LLP on behalf of Amanda Long, who was formerly vice president of product management at Modernizing Medicine. The DOJ announced it was stepping into the whistleblower case, with plans to file its own complaint in the next 90 days.
Whistleblower claims typically follow this pattern. Whistleblowers can file lawsuits that are sealed under the False Claims Act to sue entities that are defrauding the U.S government. The government then investigates the claims and decides to join the case before it becomes public.
The allegations against Modernizing Medicine state the company was more concerned with add-ons and new revenue streams instead of needed safety and stability improvements. The company had a goal of exiting at a valuation at $1 billion or more, Long alleged in her complaint.
“MMI’s quest for a higher valuation came at an unreasonable cost by crossing the line on prohibitions against kickbacks and upcoding federal health programs and ignoring known patient safety through short cuts in software programming,” the lawsuit stated.
The suit also accuses the EHR company of quietly selling patient de-identified data to pharmaceutical companies and charging current patients fees to access basic reports. In addition, the suit alleged the company falsely attested to compliance with certification requirements.
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Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."