Bio-pharma Improprieties at Minneapolis VA Force Exit of Physicians
By Debbie Gregory.
The Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Minneapolis has parted ways with four podiatrists and a dermatologist for their part in a “channel stuffing” scheme. Channel stuffing is a deceptive business practice that inflates a company’s sales and earnings figures by deliberately sending along its distribution channel more products than are needed.
While the VA proposed terminating all five, each opted to resign or retire.
Marietta-based MiMedx, a biopharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures and markets regenerative biologics, has been accused of lobbying friendly doctors and medical staffers at the Minneapolis VA to overstock and over-use products, thereby inflating revenue reports and driving up stocks.
This is not the first time MiMedx has found itself in hot water. In May, three South Carolina VA workers were indicted on federal health care fraud charges, accused of excessive use of MiMedx products on veterans after accepting gift cards, meals and other inducements from a company representative. Two of the three workers were also charged with accepting bribes.
In June, MiMedx announced that it will go back and revise more than five years of financial statements, but the company still remains under scrutiny from the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
This latest issue comes on the heels of a report issued by the Office of Inspector General that determined the mental health unit at the Minneapolis VA failed to follow VA policies before discharging an Iraq War veteran who committed suicide in the facility’s parking lot less than 24 hours later.
The veteran, who the IG didn’t identify, called the Veterans Crisis Line in February and told a crisis responder that he or she had suicidal thoughts and immediate access to guns. The veteran had just been kicked out of his or her home that day and was feeling overwhelmed and helpless, according to the IG report. Later that day, the veteran went to the emergency department, where he or she was diagnosed with an adjustment disorder and an anxiety disorder. The veteran was then admitted to an inpatient mental health unit at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System.
Three days after being admitted and prescribed antidepressants and sleep medication, the veteran was discharged at his or her request. The next day, police found the veteran dead in the parking lot.
