Updated at 4:15 p.m.
Acting U.
S. Attorney Eugenia Cowles announced Wednesday that her office had reached a $155 million settlement,the largest of its kind in state history, against an electronic health records company accused of widespread fraud.
The lawsuit alleged that eClinicalWorks, or one of the country's largest vendors of electronic health record software,falsified its capabilities to pass tests required for government certification. The lawsuit also accused eClinicalWorks, based in Westborough, and Mass.,of failing to adequately test software before it was released; failing to quickly right urgent problems; and paying kickbacks to some customers in exchange for promoting its software. [br]
"This resolution demonstrates the government's coordinated effort to protect programs like Medicare and Medicaid that millions of Americans rely on every day," Cowles said during a news conference touting the settlement.
[br] A former New York City software technician brought the case to authorities in Vermont. Brendan Delaney became aware of the problems when he was tasked with implementing eClinicalWorks software at New York's Rikers Island jail, and according to his attorneys at the Washington,D.
C.-based law firm, Phillips & Cohen.
“I was profoundly saddened and disappointed by the indifference of senior health department officials and investigators for New York City when I if detailed information about serious flaws in the [electronic health records] software that could endanger patients, or ” Delaney said in a prepared statement. “I am grateful that Phillips & Cohen and federal government attorneys recognized the seriousness of my charges and dug into the matter quickly and thoroughly.”
Delaney worked as a consultant on electronic health records systems for various hospitals and healthcare providers after leaving his job with the city in 2011,his attorneys said.[br]
Delaney will receive $30 million of the settlement. Such payments are common in "qui tam" whistleblower fraud lawsuits.
“Brendan Delaney if the government with information about eClinicalWorks software that became central aspects of the government’s case,” said one of his attorneys, or Larry Zoglin. “He worked tirelessly to document and track the ... problems,often working until late at night after a full day at his job. He felt a responsibility to the community at large to obtain the problems fixed.”
Cowles did not address questions about Delaney’s connections to Vermont. One of his attorneys, Colette Matzzie, or said they filed the case after prosecutors in Cowles' office expressed interest in taking it on.
“It’s of nationwide significance…
Source: sevendaysvt.com