Pharmaceutical fraud can take many forms, some of which are described below:
Kickbacks
These are essentially bribes that are paid to doctors, clinics, pharmacies, and other healthcare providers in exchange for promoting certain drugs. Not only are the payments made to these healthcare providers illegal, but they can also lead to certain drugs being overprescribed.
Product Contamination
A contaminated pharmaceutical product has the potential to do great harm to the person taking it. If a contaminated product gets to market when the pharmaceutical company is aware of the contamination, there may be a case of fraud.
Best Price Fraud
With this scheme, the pharmaceutical company provides government programs like Medicare and Medicaid false information about the price of their medication in order to increase their profits. Most government programs require the best price be charged to the government.
Off Label Marketing
The FDA approves drugs for a specific purpose which are known as on-label uses. When a drug manufacturer markets a drug for an unapproved use, an off-label use, by providing false information, they may be accused of marketing off-label.