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Doctor Pleads Guilty to HIPAA Violation, Wrongful Disclosure of PHI
A former physician pleaded guilty to a HIPAA violation and admitted to conspiring to wrongfully disclose patient PHI to a pharmaceutical sales representative.
Former physician Frank Alario, 65, admitted to a HIPAA violation in which he conspired to wrongfully disclose patients’ protected health information (PHI) to a pharmaceutical sales representative, Keith Ritson, the US Attorney’s Office of the District of New Jersey announced.
The HIPAA scheme allegedly allowed Ritson to receive commissions based on prescriptions for compound medications that Alario authorized. Alario now faces a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a $50,000 fine, to be determined at his sentencing hearing in February 2023.
“Compound medications are specialty medications mixed by a pharmacist to meet the specific medical needs of an individual patient,” the press release explained.
“Although compounded drugs are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), they are properly prescribed when a physician determines that an FDA-approved medication does not meet the health needs of a particular patient, such as if a patient is allergic to a dye or other ingredient.”
Ritson was not associated with Alario’s practice, meaning that he had no authorization to view patient records. However, Alario allowed Ritson access to his office and medical files, and even permitted Ritson to be present in the office during and outside normal business hours.
Alario allowed Ritson to have access to files and areas that were restricted even to staff. Ritson was able to look up patient information to determine whether specific patients had insurance that covered the compound medications.
“Ritson then would earmark files in advance so that Alario knew to whom to prescribe the medications,” the press release continued.
“Alario also brought Ritson into patient exam rooms during appointments and gave patients the impression that Ritson was employed by or affiliated with the medical practice, which facilitated and caused the disclosure of confidential health information to Ritson. Ritson would use patients’ confidential information to fill out prescription forms that Alario would authorize, and then Ritson received commissions on those prescriptions.”
Alario and Ritson were previously charged with conspiring to violate HIPAA and other offenses, but the charges remain pending against Ritson. Ritson is scheduled to go on trial in November, but is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
