The Department of Justice on Thursday announced an $18.25 million settlement with electronic health records (EHR) technology vendor athenahealth (Athena) for allegedly paying unlawful kickbacks to generate sales of its EHR product.
The details: In the Department of Justice’s complaint, filed Jan. 25 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts in conjunction with the settlement, the United States alleged Athena violated the False Claims Act and the Anti-Kickback Statute through the following three marketing schemes: providing prospective and existing customers free tickets to, and amenities at, sporting, entertainment, and recreational events; paying kickbacks to existing customers under a program designed to identify and refer new prospective clients to Athena; and entering into deals with competing vendors that were discontinuing their EHR technology offerings to refer their clients to Athena.
