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..pharmacist Russell Reitz…agreed to sell his pharmacy (R&O Pharmacy), in a quiet suburban office park, to the group (East Coast investors) for $350,000…he continued as manager, Reitz began finding his store's name and his national pharmacy license number on an avalanche of prescriptions nationwide…a torrent of insurers' money started flowing to his small shop…on pace to equal $230 million a year…Reitz now finds himself at the center of the national scandal enveloping Valeant…In the last two months, Reitz has filed papers in two Los Angeles courthouses laying out details of what he and his lawyer call "a massive fraud."…Until Reitz's court filings…few people knew about Valeant's close ties to Philidor...Reitz detailed how he had discovered that Philidor was using his national pharmacy identification number on prescriptions being filled at other pharmacies — and even on some that were filled and billed before he signed the agreement to sell R&O…Reitz said he believes that Philidor had targeted his pharmacy because it needed access to his licenses, which he has in California and 33 other states, as well as to the contracts he had negotiated with insurers.

AmerisourceBergen…reported $136 billion in revenue for its fiscal year 2015 ended Sept. 30, representing an increase of 13.7%. Adjusted diluted earnings per share from continuing operations were $4.96, an increase of 24.9% over the prior fiscal year…we made a strategic acquisition of MWI Veterinary Supply and earlier this month announced a definitive agreement to acquire PharMEDium Healthcare Holdings…these acquisitions strengthen our position in the pharmaceutical supply channel, and enhance our ability to grow in the future..

While policymakers, and the country, struggle over challenges facing and created by the Affordable Care Act, real healthcare reform is happening almost completely outside of that loop, driven by technology and innovators, many of whom are from outside the healthcare industry…Health IT or Digital Health-the generic terms used to describe these disruptions that include the use of mobile devices and telemedicine, among other changes-are breaking almost every standard healthcare paradigm. It's that "creative destruction" that economists frequently refer to, transforming how care is delivered, received, tracked, paid for and even understood…And unlike traditional healthcare, where the more money you have the more healthcare your get, the health IT revolution largely ignores those barriers. That's because the poor have mobile devices in almost similar numbers to the rich.

..specialty pharmacy that fills prescriptions for Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. has altered doctors’ orders to wring more reimbursements out of insurers, according to former employees and an internal document…Workers at the mail-order pharmacy, Philidor RX Services LLC, were given written instructions to change codes on prescriptions in some cases so it would appear that physicians required or patients desired Valeant’s brand-name drugs -- not less expensive generic versions -- be dispensed, the former employees said. Typically, pharmacists will sell a generic version if not precisely told to do otherwise by a “dispense as written” indication on a script. The more "dispense as written" orders, the more sales for the brand-name drugmaker.

A Rowland Heights doctor was convicted of second-degree murder…in connection with the overdose deaths of three patients, capping a landmark case that was closely watched by medical and legal professionals across the country…Dr. Hsiu-Ying “Lisa” Tseng, who prosecutors say is the first doctor convicted of murder in the United States for recklessly prescribing drugs to patients, was accused of ignoring “red flags” about her prescribing habits, including the overdose of a patient in her clinic and nine phone calls in less than three years from authorities informing her that patients had died with drugs in their system…. Tseng was one of only a handful of doctors across the country who have faced murder charges for prescribing painkillers that led to a patient's death...

The merger agreement between Walgreens Boots Alliance and Rite Aid must be consummated by Oct. 27, 2016, or the deal is off, according to documents filed to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday…If Rite Aid walks away from the deal at any time, Rite Aid will forfeit a $325 million termination fee to Walgreens. Rite Aid may also be required to pay up to an additional $45 million to cover expenses incurred by Walgreens…Conversely, Walgreens will forfeit $325 million to Rite Aid if it's not able to secure regulatory approval of the deal, a figure that could double to $650 million if Walgreens "enters into, consummates or announces certain acquisitions within eight to 12 months of the date of the merger agreement…Walgreens is willing to divest as many as 1,000 locations, or other holdings not to exceed an aggregate value of $100 million, in an effort to secure approval of the acquisition..

U.S. Food and Drug Administration inspectors at Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceutical Co….according to agency documents describing problems at the company...There was evidence that quality control staff deleted records of tests that might show a drug was impure. Audit trails disappeared. A paper shredder was kept close by machines that recorded quality data…U.S. and the rest of the world are more dependent than ever on China for medicine. Along with India, the country is one of the top two producers of base ingredients for drugs in the world…the FDA has made inspections there a priority to keep patients safe. It’s found plenty -- the agency has barred 38 plants in China from exporting some or all of their products to the U.S. for manufacturing violations. And 34 facilities are banned from exporting a blood thinning ingredient, after a past scandal, according to the FDA’s import alert list.

McKesson…exceeded Wall Street analyst expectations by 32 cents, reporting adjusted earnings of $3.31, up 19% as compared to year ago figures. Revenues for the second quarter ended Sept. 30 were $48.8 billion, up 10%. On a constant currency basis, revenues increased 14% over the prior year…McKesson…repurchased approximately 2.5 million shares totaling nearly $500 million, announced the acquisition of the U.K. pharmacy operations of Sainsbury’s and the acquisition of the pharmaceutical distribution business of United Drug Group in Ireland…

Drug Enforcement Administration…announced...an indictment today against three individuals and two pharmacies for a multimillion-dollar oxycodone distribution scheme…through pharmacies operated in Brooklyn and Queens. Lilian Jakacki, Marcin Jakacki, Robert Cybulski, European Apothecary Inc, Chopin Chemists, MW&W Global Enterprises Inc…charged with illegally distributing more than 500,000 pills of oxycodone...with a street value between $10 million and $15 million.  The defendants are also charged with money laundering and health care fraud…one of the largest illegal diversions of oxycodone…in a New York State pharmacy. Pharmacies also illegally diverted more than 160,000 additional pills by accepting 1,300 fraudulent prescriptions…including prescriptions made out in the names of famous luxury brands such as “Coach” or “Chanel.”

UnitedHealthcare said Thursday it will expand its high-profile test of whether bundled payments for chemotherapy can help slow rising cancer treatment costs, part of a growing effort by insurers to find new ways to pay for care…Results from United’s initial pilot test – reported last year – were puzzling: The overall cost of cancer care for patients in the study dropped by 34 percent, even as spending on chemotherapy drugs spiked significantly…so-called “bundled payments” that are becoming more common… The idea is to bill and pay based on the overall treatment of a certain condition, rather than for each separate procedure and doctor visit. Because cancer treatment is so expensive, it is also now being targeted for bundled payments, but the complexity of treatment makes it harder to design bundles…Meanwhile, United isn’t the only private insurer testing ways to try to slow spending on cancer care, while also improving care…results from three other efforts showed decidedly smaller savings compared with United’s....