(CNN) – People taking medication for ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, may face disruptions in access to treatment after the arrest of two executives of a telehealth company that distributed such drugs to adults across the United States.
On Thursday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an official health advisory warning about “a potential disrupted access to care for individuals taking prescription stimulant medications and the potential risk of harm and overdose.”
Around the same time, the U.S. Department of Justice announced a federal health care fraud indictment against two executives from the digital health company Done Global, whose website describes it as “making quality management of chronic psychiatric care more accessible and affordable for patients”. €
According to the CDC’s advisory, the effect of the indictment on patients “is unknown at this time.”
“Patients who rely on prescription stimulant medications to treat their ADHD and have used this or other similar subscription-based telehealth platforms may experience a disruption in their treatment and disruption of access to care” , says the advisory. “An outage involving this large telehealth company could affect as many as 30,000 to 50,000 patients ages 18 and older in all 50 US states.”
Ruthia He, the founder and CEO of Done Global Inc., was arrested in Los Angeles on Thursday and charged with participating in a scheme to distribute Adderall online, conspiracy to commit health care fraud and obstruction of justice, according to Department of Justice. The announcement of €. The company’s clinical president, David Brody, was also arrested in San Rafael, California.
The Justice Department alleges that Ai and Brody generated more than $100 million in revenue by adjusting prescriptions for more than 40 million pills, targeting “drug seekers” and instructing prescribers to prescribe stimulants to patients even if they didn’t. were qualified.
“As alleged, these defendants took advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to develop and carry out a $100 million scheme to defraud taxpayers and provide easy access to Adderall and other stimulants without legitimate medical purposes,” it said in a news release. Attorney General Merrick Garland. release “Those who seek to profit from addiction by illegally distributing controlled substances online should know that they cannot hide their crimes and that the Department of Justice will hold them accountable.”
Naomi Chung, Brody’s lawyer, said he had pleaded not guilty to all charges. “Dr. Brody worked to promote access to medical treatment for those with ADHD in the face of widespread stigma and the unprecedented challenges of a global pandemic.
Efforts to reach Ai or the company were unsuccessful, and CNN has not been able to determine whether Ai has retained an attorney because the case file remains sealed.
The arrests mark the Justice Department’s first criminal prosecutions of telemedicine-related drug distribution through a digital health company, the agency said. If convicted, he and Brody face a maximum sentence of two decades in prison.
Last year, a CDC study found that prescriptions for stimulants often used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder increased during the pandemic, especially among adults. Between 2016 and 2020, the share of the population who received a prescription for a stimulant drug was relatively stable. But there was a big increase in 2021, with prescription refills jumping more than 10% in most age groups.
The new CDC advisory noted that there is an ongoing shortage of prescription drugs in the United States that includes some stimulant medications commonly prescribed to treat ADHD, a brain disorder that can make it difficult to focus or control of impulsive behavior. It is estimated that ADHD affects about 4% of adults and about 10% of children in the US. About one-third of children diagnosed with ADHD retain the diagnosis into adulthood.
“Patients whose care or access to prescription stimulant medications is interrupted, and who seek medication outside of the regulated health care system, may be at significantly increased risk of overdose due to the prevalence of counterfeit pills on the illicit drug market. drugs that may contain unexpected substances, including fentanyl, according to CDC advice.
“Given the national drug overdose crisis and the threats associated with the illicit drug market, individuals struggling to access prescription stimulant medications are urged to avoid using medications obtained by anyone other than a licensed clinician and the licensed pharmacy”, the advisory says. “Health officials and health care providers may need to assist affected patients seeking treatment for ADHD and should communicate the overdose risks associated with the current illicit drug market, as well as provide overdose prevention education and mental health support”.
The CDC advisory also warned that without treatment, ADHD is associated with social and emotional impairments and a higher risk of drug or alcohol use disorder, unintentional injuries such as motor vehicle crashes, and suicide.
“As more health care needs are met through telemedicine, we will not tolerate fraud schemes that aim to recklessly exploit digital technologies,” said Justice Department Christi Grimm, inspector general of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. USA. s notification. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to protect enrollees of federal health care programs by ensuring that the legal proper prescribing requirements for stimulants and other drugs are always met and that those who choose to violate them will be held responsible.â€
CNN’s Nadia Kounang contributed to this report.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. company. Discovery. All rights reserved.
#CDC #Warns #Access #ADHD #Medications #Cut #Health #Care #Startup #Executives #Arrested #Health #Watch
Image Source : www.wqow.com