Practice Fusion involved in an opioid accusation

[whopper]

Since we talked about Practice Fusion as an EHR I thought it interesting they are in a legal situation where they were allegedly paid some kickbacks to get out opioids.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/01/28/opioid-kickback-software/

Now I use Practice Fusion and I'm quite happy with it. It'd be difficult as heck to move out of it now that I'm already in it but the above does have me being skeptical.

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[birchswing]

Now I use Practice Fusion and I'm quite happy with it. It'd be difficult as heck to move out of it now that I'm already in it but the above does have me being skeptical.

The irony is that's exactly what people who use opioids would say about opioids.

 

[TexasPhysician]

Since we talked about Practice Fusion as an EHR I thought it interesting they are in a legal situation where they were allegedly paid some kickbacks to get out opioids.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/01/28/opioid-kickback-software/

Now I use Practice Fusion and I'm quite happy with it. It'd be difficult as heck to move out of it now that I'm already in it but the above does have me being skeptical.

Practice Fusion was acquired by Allscripts for what I believed was a steal at the time. They took a very low valuation compared to previous offers. Now it seems more clear. The DOJ requested documents well prior to the sale. The executives probably saw the writing on the wall and got out quick. Quite shady. That said the PF of now is nothing of the PF back then.

 

[Sushirolls]

Luminello has a decent description of how to transition/transfer over charting and billing aspects from a different EMR.

It'll just take time.

 

[TexasPhysician]

It'll just take time.

the most valuable type of currency.

 

[notdeadyet]

This shouldn't come as a surprise that they are dodgy as fug.

The user agreement you sign agrees to let Practice Fusion use your patient data (anonymized) to run reports and sell data to Big Pharma. That data is also used to sell ad space.

The fact that they are in trouble for kickback from drug companies shouldn't surprise anyone. Their whole BUSINESS MODEL is based on being a kickback receptor for the drug companies.

I've railed against this product with medical students and residents since day one. I always consider it a bummer that even knowing what Practice Fusion does with PATIENT DATA that I still have residents saying, "but it's FREE!" Sigh...

 

[birchswing]

This shouldn't come as a surprise that they are dodgy as fug.

The user agreement you sign agrees to let Practice Fusion use your patient data (anonymized) to run reports and sell data to Big Pharma. That data is also used to sell ad space.

The fact that they are in trouble for kickback from drug companies shouldn't surprise anyone. Their whole BUSINESS MODEL is based on being a kickback receptor for the drug companies.

I've railed against this product with medical students and residents since day one. I always consider it a bummer that even knowing what Practice Fusion does with PATIENT DATA that I still have residents saying, "but it's FREE!" Sigh...

My psychologist uses Doximity for face-to-face video therapy. This issue of privacy actually came up recently. I was saying how I thought Facetime would be safer (we had used that in the past) because it's end to end encrypted. And he said he has to use something that says it's HIPAA compliant. And I asked, "Well how do they make money if it's free for you and free for me?" And he said he didn't know. I asked him if he thought they might listen in and he said he didn't know but that he had plausible coverage because it says HIPAA compliant so he has reason to believe it is. I then went on a long rant about people who bring up HIPAA not knowing what the many laws in it are actually about. I'm pretty wary of that Doximity. I mean it's expensive to pay for the bandwidth to stream live video. They've got to make money somehow. I guess they have paid tiers he doesn't use. I'd feel more comfortable with any more established off the shelf service like Skype from Microsoft or Facetime from Apple or even just a phone call. I guess those are free too, but like Apple for example really seems willing to go up to bat to keep data private against the FBI. Some start up like Doximity is liable to roll over and play dead the minute someone comes knocking.

 

[TexasPhysician]

This shouldn't come as a surprise that they are dodgy as fug.

The user agreement you sign agrees to let Practice Fusion use your patient data (anonymized) to run reports and sell data to Big Pharma. That data is also used to sell ad space.

The fact that they are in trouble for kickback from drug companies shouldn't surprise anyone. Their whole BUSINESS MODEL is based on being a kickback receptor for the drug companies.

I've railed against this product with medical students and residents since day one. I always consider it a bummer that even knowing what Practice Fusion does with PATIENT DATA that I still have residents saying, "but it's FREE!" Sigh...

That is what the agreement said, but they were terrible at it. I never saw pharma ads.

 

[dl2dp2]

It's a more usable product than many, and the fees are still relatively low. If need be can transition to similar products like Kareo or Epic (for small practice).

 

[Jules A]

It's a more usable product than many, and the fees are still relatively low. If need be can transition to similar products like Kareo or Epic (for small practice).

I just assumed EPIC would be exorbitant.

 

[TexasPhysician]

I just assumed EPIC would be exorbitant.

It is.

 

[notdeadyet]

That is what the agreement said, but they were terrible at it. I never saw pharma ads.

This. To be honest, I think the target-marketed ads to doctors were mostly an explanation for the minority of physicians who cared about patient privacy. I have a hunch the real money is selling the patient data to the pharma companies.