In recent years, telemedicine has emerged, given the increased access to care and the efficiency it provides practitioners, especially during a public health emergency. However, the arrangements that practitioners, particularly physicians, make with telemedicine entities vary in design and operation and may implicate federal laws, such as the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS).
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Inspector General (OIG) has investigated numerous fraud schemes involving companies that claimed to provide telehealth, telemedicine, or telemarketing services. These “telemedicine companies” allegedly engaged in kickback and substandard medical practices to generate orders and/or prescriptions for medically unnecessary durable medical equipment, genetic testing, wound care items, or prescription medications…
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