Lawmakers Hope to Close 'Loophole' on Doc-Dispensed Compounds

Pennsylvania lawmakers thought they had reined in physician dispensing with 2014 legislation, but stakeholders say doctors have found a loophole: buying ownership stakes in pharmacies and prescribing high-priced drugs, often pain creams, and pocketing the profits. Liberty Mutual Insurance on Sept. 14 sued 41 doctors, pharmacies and pharmacists for $4.7 million, alleging the prescribing of “fraudulent” pharmaceutical products, primarily compounded topical medications. The suit claims 18 physicians have sent workers’ compensation patients to pharmacies in which the doctors&nb...