The United States government was soundly defeated and forced to ask a Federal Judge to dismiss all charges against an innovative young California company and the clinics it serves.
U.S. Government Soundly Defeated in Alleged Kickback Scheme
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#nationalspineandpaincenter#physicalmedicalassociates#proovebiosciences
The judge for the United States District Court in the Central District of California has issued an order granting the United States Government’s motion to dismiss all charges in a case involving physicians and other employees from Physical Medical Associates, Ltd., National Spine and Pain Center, LLC, and Proove Biosciences, Inc.
The case involved an alleged $3.5 million kickback scheme. The government claimed that Proove paid doctors illegal kickbacks to induce them to order the company’s genetic tests.
Proove is an Irvine, California-based biosciences company that specializes in the genetic testing of pain patients. According to the company, its “proprietary effective technology” includes “genetic tests and predictive software algorithms in its CLIA-certified, CAP-accredited state-of-the-art laboratory that helped doctors objectively assess pain, predict who would misuse opioids with up to 96.7% accuracy, and provide treatment insights which resulted in 50% pain reduction within 30 days of treatment changes, saving Medicare over $70 million annually.”
The order dismissed charges against Proove Founder and CEO Brian Meshkin; Proove Sales Representative Ossama Jawhar; and National Spine and Pain Center Board of Directors Member and Chief Medical Officer Lester Zuckerman, M.D.
The order also dismissed charges against the following physicians and shareholders from Physical Medical Associates: Daniel Kendall, M.D.; Abraham Cherrick, M.D.; and Assaf Gordon, M.D. Physical Medical Associates was affiliated with National Spine and Pain Center.
Meshkin expressed excitement about the dismissal. In a statement, Meshkin commented in part, “Those words used by the government to dismiss this case – ‘in the interests of justice’ – ring especially true today for the millions affected by this misguided effort to destroy Proove. There has been so much injustice over the past 6 years that it is wonderful to see truth prevail. I am excited to have the opportunity to set the record straight and to move forward from here with my head held high.”
For OTW’s initial coverage of the allegations, see “Indictment Charges Docs in Alleged Kickback Scheme.”
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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