Florida ‘pill mill’ raid leads to doctor arrests (Morning Read)

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Narcs nab docs. A “pill mill” crackdown on 11 South Florida pain clinics that allegedly distributed narcotic painkillers illegally has led to the arrest of 23 Floridians, including four doctors. One of those doctors is the son of Broward County Medical Examiner Joshua Perper, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports. Authorities involved in “Operation Snake Oil” say the clinics offered patients prescriptions for oxycodone and other controlled substances without any legitimate medical purpose and were health care facilities in name only. U.S. Attorney Wifredo Ferrer says that the pain clinics took no insurance, just cash. The indictment says the clinic operators distributed 660,000 pills and made more than $22 million in profit. Meanwhile, Florida lawmakers are considering a prescription drug database as a tool for fighting prescription fraud.

Executive departure. An Eli Lilly neuroscience research executive resigns.

HIPPA violation costs Cignet millions:Cignet Health has to fork over $4.3 million to Uncle Sam for refusing to provide records to patients who requested them.

Hunting for health care jobs? Primary care physician job candidates wanted: Primary care docs looking for work are spoiled for choice, reports American Medical News.

Pfizer brews into new market. Pfizer’s insulin market expansion is rooted inbeer brewing skills.

Dealflow: Thermo Fisher Scientific sells Athena DX for $940 million;China-based CRO Pharmaron draws $40M in venture round.