Endoscope Maker Olympus Agrees To $646 Million Settlement Over Kickbacks

[bananas]

Source: NPR

Medical device maker Olympus Corp., already under federal investigation for its role in superbug outbreaks, has agreed to pay $646 million to resolve criminal and civil probes into illegal kickbacks and bribes to doctors and hospitals.

Federal prosecutors said Tuesday that the company's settlement is the largest ever for violations of the U.S. Anti-Kickback Statute. A portion of the company's payout, $22.8 million, will resolve similar bribery allegations in Latin America.

U.S. investigators said the Tokyo-based company's "greed-fueled kickback scheme" from 2006 to 2011 used research grants, consulting deals, luxury trips, gifts of hot-air ballooning and spa treatments and free equipment to induce influential doctors to order more Olympus devices at prominent hospitals and help the company keep out competitors. The devices included gastrointestinal scopes, which have been tied to deadly outbreaks of drug-resistant bacteria.

In one case, according to the federal criminal complaint, senior Olympus executives agreed to pay for three doctors to spend a week in Japan "as a quid pro quo" for a prominent California institution to switch from a competitor's products to Olympus.

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Read more: http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/03/02/468875852/endoscope-maker-olympus-agrees-to-646-million-settlement-over-kickbacks

[bananas]

1. Whistleblower to Collect $50 Million in Olympus Medical Kickback Case

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/whistleblower-collect-50-million-olympus-medical-kickback-case-n529251

Whistleblower to Collect $50 Million in Olympus Medical Kickback Case

by Tracy Connor

A corporate whistleblower is set to collect $51 million — his share of a massive settlement with Olympus America to resolve charges it gave doctors and hospitals kickbacks to order its medical equipment.

John Slowik worked for the imaging giant for 20 years and served as its compliance officer before he was let go in 2010, according to court papers.

In a qui tam whistleblower suit, he alleged that the company ignored his efforts to stop it from giving financial rewards to hospitals and physicians for buying Olympus endoscopes, which are used to examine the digestive tract.

Doctors and hospital officials got lavish junkets, fancy meals, research grants and free equipment, prosecutors and Slowik alleged. In one case, three doctors got a trip to Japan after their hospital ditched another supplier and switched to Olympus, prosecutors said.

Slowik, who declined to be interviewed, claimed in court papers that when he took steps to stop the kickbacks, he was bounced from his compliance job and subjected to "systematic harassment" that made him physically ill.

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[bemildred]

2. That's it, rip them a new one. nt

[Angry Dragon]

3. let's see some jail time

[Divernan]

4. Put off those colonoscopies, folks. Not worth a lethal MRSA infection

The more important portion of this report is that this company has an 85% market share for these devices in the U.S.; that the design of these devices make them difficult to clean of bacteria, including MRSA bacteria, due to their intricate design; that there have been outbreaks of MRSA (drug-resistant) bacteria linked to these devices at 19 medical centers - 13 of which used this company's endoscopes; and that just this past January (2016) the company announced its intent to recall these devices nationwide.

Note that 6 of those 13 outbreaks were from other endoscope manufacturers - which indicates to me that the aptly named SUPER bug is resistant not only to most antibiotics, but also to standard sterilization techniques.

My doctor's been bugging me to have a colonoscopy - not that I have any symptoms of problems, but just on the bucket list of medical tests everyone is strongly encouraged to have. Coincidentally, I'm going in for my annual exam tomorrow and will be sharing this information with her.

The devices included gastrointestinal scopes, which have been tied to deadly outbreaks of drug-resistant bacteria.
Olympus is the leading manufacturer of gastrointestinal scopes worldwide, and it boasts an 85 percent share of the U.S. market.
Well before Tuesday's announcement, Olympus was under fire for failing to alert U.S. regulators and hospitals sooner about the risks of infection from its duodenoscopes, a gastrointestinal scope that has proven difficult to clean of dangerous bacteria because of its intricate design.

A Senate investigation released in January identified 19 scope-related outbreaks at U.S. medical centers from 2012 to 2015 that sickened nearly 200 patients with drug-resistant infections. Thirteen of those outbreaks were associated with Olympus scopes.

Olympus announced in January it would recall its duodenoscopes nationwide and make repairs to better protect patients. Last year, the company disclosed it had received a subpoena from federal prosecutors seeking "information relating to duodenoscopes."

http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/03/02/468875852/endoscope-maker-olympus-agrees-to-646-million-settlement-over-kickbacks

[Dustlawyer]

5. While I think people should have their colons checked timely, check out everything!

Even then there is a risk. If you had a colonoscopy in Las Vegas during a certain range of years not too long ago, chances are you went to at least one of the three clinics owned by the same group who were reusing the hoses. Several HIV and Hepatitis B and C patience would come in for their procedure, and the next 2-3 people after them would end up being diagnosed with the disease of the previous infected person. How much do those hoses cost?

[silvershadow]

6. When do we start jailing people again? nt