A specialty pharmacy that fills prescriptions for Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. has altered doctors’ orders to wring more reimbursements out of insurers, according to former employees and an internal document.
Workers at the mail-order pharmacy, Philidor RX Services LLC, were given written instructions to change codes on prescriptions in some cases so it would appear that physicians required or patients desired Valeant’s brand-name drugs — not less expensive generic versions — be dispensed, the former employees said. Typically, pharmacists will sell a generic version if not precisely told to do otherwise by a “dispense as written” indication on a script. The more “dispense as written” orders, the more sales for the brand-name drugmaker.
An undated Philidor document obtained by Bloomberg provides a step-by-step guide on how to proceed when a prescription for Valeant dermatological creams and gels including Retin-A Micro and Vanos is rejected. Similar instructions for changing the DAW indication are supplied for patients who are paying in cash.
Ex-employees who worked at Philidor in the last two years, and who asked that their names not be used discussing their former employer, confirmed that prescriptions were altered as the document details. They said the intent was to fill more prescriptions with Valeant products instead of generics.
Valeant Cuts Ties
Valeant said Friday that it will cut ties with Philidor and that the pharmacy is shutting down, after Bloomberg first reported the news of Philidor’s practices Thursday.
“The newest allegations about activities at Philidor raise additional questions about the company’s business practices,” Michael Pearson, Valeant’s chief executive officer, said in a statement Friday. “We have lost confidence in Philidor’s ability to continue to operate in a manner that is acceptable to Valeant and the patients and doctors we serve.
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