Crossing the Line: Kickbacks Come Under Increased Government Scrutiny

During the past several years, government enforcement authorities have focused an increasing amount of attention on the marketing activities of medical device companies.  This increased scrutiny has taken the form of investigations through subpoenas and intervention in qui tam lawsuits (lawsuits initiated by a third party on behalf of the government).  Often, these actions are brought by whistleblowers under the Federal False Claims Act (FCA).

Michelle L. Butler and Jeffrey N. Wasserstein recently published an article in Medical Device & Diagnostic Industry addressing kickback issues in the medical device industry.