Omnicare Faces With Additional Litigation

John Stone, Covington-based Omnicare's former internal auditor, has filed a whistleblower action accusing Omnicare of Medicare and Medicaid violations. Federal and state investigations and whistleblower claims have plagued Omnicare for years.

 

Stone alleges that Omnicare filed reimbursement claims for ancillary services that didn't conform with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regulations. Stone also states that reimbursement claims from newly acquired pharmacies violated CMS regulations and that storage and handling of "a particular drug" violated U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations.

 

Additionally, he claims that Omnicare "violated certain Medicaid billing regulations relating to usual and customary charges." Stone served as Vice President of Internal Audit from 2004 until early 2010, filed his lawsuit last year in federal court in Chicago. He's also asserting a "retaliatory discharge" claim related to his leaving the company.

California nursing home fined for alleged neglect in resident's fatal fall and brain bleed

Just because a doctor orders something for a resident in a nursing home, it does not mean it gets done - sometimes with lethal consequences.  A California state investigator found that Pilgrim Haven Health Facility in Los Altos failed to install an electronic fall monitor as ordered by the resident's doctor, and failed to make sure the resident’s walker was in reach.   As a result, the man fell twice, and died from head trauma.  The nursing home was fined $100,000 by the state.

 

You can read more on the story online here.

Six Employees Arrested for Elderly Abuse at California Nursing Home

While resident abuse is shocking and disgraceful, there are times where behavior is simply unbelievable. Six employees were recently arrested at a facility where residents with dementia were covered from head to toe in ointment cream to make them slippery for the next shift as a practical joke.

It should be noted that when the elderly are dropped they can suffer fractured hips.  A fractured hip leads to disability and severe pain, and has a high mortality rate. The mortality rate is especially high in the first months after a fractured hip, and remains high for the first year. 

You can read more on this story online here.