Policies - John's Pharmacy

Privacy Policy

Thank you for reviewing our Privacy Policy. This website (the “Site”) is operated from the United States of America on behalf of Chris’ Pharmacy (“Company,” “we,” “us” and “our”). If you choose to access this Site from locations outside the U.S. you do so at your own risk and subject to the laws of the United States of America, and you are responsible for compliance with any local laws. You may not use or export anything (including information) from the Site in violation of U.S. export laws, regulations, or the Terms of Use.

Your privacy is important to us. It is our policy to protect your personal information and to use it only in accordance with this Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy only governs our use and disclosure of information collected through this Site.

1. Acceptance of Privacy Policy

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. We want you to understand what data we collect from you when you visit our Site; how we use such data; and whether and to whom we share such data with others. Using our Site is voluntary, and by accessing or using the Site, you: (i) acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy; (ii) agree that your access and use of the Site are subject to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use; and (iii) consent to our collection and use of your Non-Personal and Personally Identifiable Information as described in this Privacy Policy, as updated or revised from time to time. At all times, we reserve the right to disclose any information, including personally identifiable information, to comply with any applicable law, regulation, legal process or governmental request; to protect the Company’s rights or property (including without limitation in the event of a transfer of control of the company, or substantially all of its assets), or during emergencies when safety is at risk, or for credit fraud protection and risk reduction purposes.

2. Information We Collect From You

When you use the Site, several types of data may be collected from you, including: (1) Non-Personal Information; and (2) Personally Identifiable Information. Certain types of data are specifically NOT collected, including personal information from children.

2.1 Non-Personal Information

We automatically collect certain anonymous data regarding usage of the Site. The anonymous data we collect may include information such as:

The name of the Internet domain you used to access the Internet;
Your IP address and if applicable, the IP address of the web site from which you linked to our Site;
The date and time you accessed our Site;
The type of web browser you are using; and
The pages you visited.

This information (“Non-Personal Information”) does not personally identify users, by itself or in combination with other information. We use this Non-Personal Information to monitor the effectiveness of the Site and to consider potential changes to improve the user experience. Non-Personal Information may be collected through cookies. For more detailed information on cookies, please refer to the “Use of Cookies” section below.

2.2 Personally Identifiable Information Generally

If you would like to order products and prescription or non-prescription drugs using our Site to the extent they are available, our registration process asks you to provide us with a limited amount of personal, health-related and/or transactional information. This information is necessary to process your order and enable you to use our Site to access such functions, or to otherwise receive individualized or personalized customer service that we would not be able to offer to anonymous users. Categories of personally identifiable information include: name, address, e-mail address, phone number, date of birth, where appropriate, Protected Health Information such as, prescription number, and if applicable, Transaction Information as described in Section 2.2(b) (collectively, “PII”). By providing such information, you consent to our collection and use of it, as described in this Privacy Policy.

a. Protected Health Information. Certain PII collected, such as your prescription number, may also be considered Protected Health Information (“PHI”). PHI is information that may identify you and that relates to your past, present or future physical or mental health or condition and related health care services. Additional information regarding PHI, including our use and disclosure of your PHI, and your health information rights, is provided in our Notice of Privacy Practices.

b. Financial and Other Transactional Information. In conjunction with our online prescription ordering service, we may collect certain categories of PII necessary to complete and process your requests for service or products, to process your selected method for payment and if applicable, to arrange for delivery of your prescription(s) to your door (“Transactional Information”). This information is limited to your name, billing address, shipping address, email address, phone number, and if you choose to pay by credit card, credit card information, such as type of credit card, name on card, card number, validation number, and expiration date, as well as any relevant insurance information, if you would like us to submit your claim for payment to your insurance payor. We may retain Transactional Information as long as is necessary to fulfill the purposes specified in this Privacy Policy and for recordkeeping, subject to statutory or regulatory retention requirements and legitimate business needs, such as for order tracking and status retrieval purposes.

2.3 No Personal Information from Children

The services hosted on the Site, including online prescription ordering, are not offered to children. Children are not permitted to use the Site, and we request that children under the age of 13 not submit any personal information to the website. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 13. Since information regarding children under the age of 13 should not be collected, the Company does not knowingly distribute personal information regarding children under the age of 13. If your child has submitted personal information, please contact us to request that such information be removed. Once we are aware of information entered by a child, we will exercise commercially reasonable efforts to remove such information from our databases and storage areas; however, we are not liable for any consequences relating to such information.

2.4 Other Information NOT Collected

Our services and your use of the Site do not require you to disclose, nor require us to request or collect, any information not described above. We do not request, solicit or intend to collect any such information and you should not disclose any such information on the Site. If we discover that such information was disclosed by you, we will exercise commercially reasonable efforts to delete such information; however, we are not liable for any consequences relating to such disclosures of information.

3. Use and Disclosure of Information Collected

Our use and disclosure of certain information varies with respect to the type of information collected, including: (1) Non-Personal Information; (2) Personally Identifiable Information; and (3) Transactional Information.

3.1 Non-Personal Information

We use the Non-Personal Information collected through the Site for statistical purposes and for improving the functionality of the Site. In general, this information is used internally but we may, from time to time, engage a third party’s software or services to assist us with these analyses. In those limited cases, disclosure of this information to a third-party is necessary; however, the data remains anonymous at all times.

3.2 Personally Identifiable Information

We use PII collected through the Site in conjunction with our online prescription ordering function to respond to your requests for service. We may also use PII to communicate with you regarding refill reminders and other information relevant to your health.

Additionally, we may use your email address or other contact information to send you transactional messages, newsletters, special promotional offers, consumer surveys and other commercial messages. If you no longer wish to receive such commercial messages, simply click the ‘unsubscribe’ link that we include at the bottom of every email that we send you.

We may use third party service providers and suppliers to facilitate our operation of the Site and/or to do mailings on our behalf, and they may have access to PII. Additionally, we may provide PII to third parties for marketing purposes or to third parties that we believe have products or services of interest to you.

3.3 Transactional Information

We use Transactional Information collected through the Site for the purpose of processing commercial activities that you have initiated. This may include contacting third-party payors such as your insurance carrier, processing your request to pay by credit card or for delivery purposes, where applicable. Additionally, Transactional Information may be used for recordkeeping purposes, as appropriate.

Though we make every effort to preserve your privacy, disclosure of PII to third parties for non-marketing purposes may occur in certain situations such as: (i) responding to a subpoena, court order or other such request; (ii) responding to a law enforcement agency’s request or as otherwise required by law; and (iii) providing PII and/or Transactional Information to a third party if we file for bankruptcy, or there is a transfer of the assets or ownership in connection with proposed or consummated corporate reorganizations, such as mergers, acquisitions, or sales of business units. In all such instances, we will take the utmost care to disclose only that information which is necessary and appropriate under the circumstances.

4. Use of Cookies

Cookies are small bits of data cached or stored on your computer based on Internet activity. We use cookies to monitor individual activity in aggregate to improve the Site and provide features that are tailored to your needs. The information we gather may include IP address, user language, the operating system, browser type, the presence/absence of “flash” plug-ins, screen resolution, connection type, and information that identifies the cookie. However, no other user information is generally collected. We do not use cookies to obtain any personally identifiable information. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually change your browser settings to prevent this. If you disable cookies, your ability to use some features of the Site may be limited.

5. Linked Sites

We may provide links on the Site to other sites of interest; however, we do not review or endorse the content of these sites and are not responsible for that content or the privacy policies of websites to which the Site links. If you provide any information to such third parties, different rules regarding the collection and use of your personal information may apply. We strongly suggest you review such third party’s privacy policies and terms of use before providing any data to them. You should contact these entities directly if you have any questions about their use of the information that they collect.

6. Security

We strive to maintain the security of your information by using appropriate measures designed to protect our systems. However, we cannot guarantee the security of any information that is disclosed online. Consequently, we do not insure or warrant the security of any information you transmit, and you do so at your own risk.

7. Modifications to This Privacy Policy

It may be necessary for us to modify this Privacy Policy. We will notify all users by posting an amendment to the Privacy Policy on the Site. Such modifications will become effective on the day they are posted. We encourage you to frequently review the Privacy Policy for any modifications.

8. Questions

If you have any questions or concerns about this policy or the use of your information, or to modify or update any information we have received, please contact us through our website, in person or by mail.

9. For More Information or to Report a Problem

If you have questions or would like additional information about Pharmacy privacy practices, you may contact our Privacy Official at Chris’ Pharmacy by mail or in person (18525 LA-22, Maurepas, LA 70449) or by phone (225-698-6000).

If you believe your privacy rights have been violated, you can file a complaint with the Privacy Official at the above address. You can also file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights by sending a letter to 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20201, calling 1-877-696-6775, or visiting www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints/.

There will be no retaliation for filing a complaint.

Notice of Privacy Practices

THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATION. PLEASE REVIEW IT CAREFULLY.

The Pharmacy is required by law to maintain the privacy of the health information it maintains about its customers (also known as “Protected Health Information” or “PHI”) and to provide its customers with notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with respect to PHI. PHI is information that may identify you and that relates to your past, present or future physical or mental health or condition and related health care services. This Notice of Privacy Practices (“Notice”) describes how we may use and disclose PHI to carry out treatment, obtain payment or perform our health care operations and for other specified purposes that are permitted or required by law. This Notice also describes your rights with respect to PHI about you.

The Pharmacy will follow the practices described in this Notice. Except as described in this Notice, we will not use or disclose PHI about you without your written authorization. We reserve the right to change our practices and this Notice. In the event that we revise this Notice, the new Notice provisions will be effective for all PHI we maintain. We will provide you with a revised Notice upon request.

Your Choices Regarding Your PHI

For certain health information, you can tell us your choices about what we share. If you have a clear preference for how we share your information in the situations described below, talk to us. Tell us what you want us to do, and we will follow your instructions.

In these cases, you have both the right and choice to tell us to:

Share information with your family, close friends, or others involved in your care
Share information in a disaster relief situation
Include your information in a hospital directory

If you are not able to tell us your preference, for example if you are unconscious, we may go ahead and share your information if we believe it is in your best interest. We may also share your information when needed to lessen a serious and imminent threat to health or safety.

In these cases, we never share your information unless you give us written permission:

Marketing purposes
Sale of your information
Most sharing of psychotherapy notes

For this purpose, “marketing activities” generally include communications to you that encourage you to purchase or use a product or service and potentially, communications to you in the context of treatment and health care operations where we receive remuneration (monies) from a third party for making the communications.

We may contact you for fundraising efforts, but you can tell us not to contact you again.

You may revoke an authorization in writing at any time. Upon receipt of a written revocation, we will stop using or disclosing PHI about you, except to the extent that we already have acted in reliance on the authorization.

Our Uses and Disclosures of PHI

The following categories describe different ways that we may use and disclose your PHI. Examples of such uses or disclosures are provided for each category. These are provided for illustrative purposes only and not every use or disclosure within each category is listed. However, all of the ways we are permitted to use and disclose information will fall within one of the categories below.

1. Treatment

We may use and disclose your PHI with other professionals who are treating you. Information obtained from your physician may be used to dispense prescription medications to you.

2. Payment

We may use and disclose your PHI to bill and get payment from other health plans or other entities. We may contact your insurer to determine whether it will pay for your prescription and the amount of your co-payment. We will bill you or a third-party payor for the cost of prescription medications dispensed to you. Alternatively, we may disclose your PHI to the pharmacy benefits managers retained by your insurer for those same payment purposes.

3. Organization Operations

We may use and disclose your PHI for health care operations. We may use your PHI to review and assess the quality of the services we provide to you. We also may disclose your PHI to our attorneys and auditors for assistance with legal compliance and financial reporting requirements. We also may use or disclose your PHI for limited operations purposes of certain other health care providers, clearing houses or health plans. The persons or entities to which the Pharmacy personnel may disclose your PHI must have or have had a relationship with you, and the PHI disclosed must pertain to that relationship. The operations purposes for which we may disclose your PHI include, but are not limited to, various quality assessment and improvement activities, credentialing and training activities, and health care fraud and abuse detection or compliance activities.

We are allowed or required to share your information in other ways – usually in ways that contribute to the public good, such as public health and research. We have to meet many conditions in the law before we can share your information for these purposes. For more information see: www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/consumers/index.html.

We may use or disclose your PHI for the following purposes:

1. Business Associates

Certain of the services we provide may be delegated to contractors, known as business associates. We may provide your PHI to those of our contractors who require the information to perform certain services on our behalf. For example, we may provide PHI to a claims submission service that ensures that our claims are submitted in the appropriate form to the appropriate payors. To protect you, we require the business associate to appropriately safeguard the PHI.

2. Communication

We may disclose to a person involved in your care or involved in payment for your care PHI relevant to that person’s involvement in your care or payment.

We may contact you to provide refill reminders or communicate with you about a drug or biologic that is currently prescribed to you so long as any payment we receive for making the communication is reasonably related to our cost of making the communication.

We may use or disclose PHI about you to notify or assist in notifying a family member, personal representative or another person responsible for your care, of information regarding your location and your general condition.

3. Public Health

We may disclose information about you for certain public health and safety issues such as: preventing disease; helping with product recalls; reporting adverse events with respect to drugs, foods, supplements, products and product defects; reporting suspected abuse, neglect, or domestic violence; or preventing or reducing a serious threat to anyone’s health or safety.

We may also disclose PHI about you to an oversight agency for activities authorized by law such as state boards of pharmacy or the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). These oversight activities include audits, investigations, and inspections, as necessary for our licensure and for the government to monitor the health care system, government programs, and compliance with laws.

4. Research

We may use and disclose your information for health research.

5. Comply With the Law

We will share information about you if state or federal laws require it, including with the Department of Health and Human Services if it wants to see that we’re complying with federal privacy law.

6. Tissue Donation Requests

We may disclose health information about you with organ procurement organizations for the purposes of responding to organ and tissue donation requests.

7. In Event of Death

We may disclose health information with a coroner, medical examiner, or funeral director when an individual dies.

8. Address Workers’ Compensation, Law Enforcement, and Other Government Requests

We can use or share health information about you: for workers’ compensation claims; for law enforcement purposes or with a law enforcement official; with health oversight agencies for activities authorized by law; for special government functions such as military, national security, and presidential protective services.

9. Legal Actions

We can share health information about you in response to a court or administrative order. We may also disclose PHI about you in response to a subpoena, discovery request, or other lawful process by someone else involved in the dispute, but only if efforts have been made by the requesting party to tell you about the request or to obtain an order protecting the requested PHI.

Our responsibilities regarding your PHI include:

We are required by law to maintain the privacy and security of your protected health information.
We will let you know promptly if a breach occurs that may have compromised the privacy or security of your information.
We must follow the duties and privacy practices described in this notice and give you a copy of it.
We will not use or share your information other than as described here unless you tell us we can in writing. If you tell us we can, you may change your mind at any time. Let us know in writing if you change your mind.

Your Health Information Rights

You have the following rights with respect to your PHI that we maintain:

1. Get an Electronic or Paper Copy of Your Medical Record

You can ask to see or get an electronic or paper copy of your medical record and other health information we have about you. Ask us how to do this. We will provide a copy or a summary of your health information, usually within 30 days of your request. We may charge a reasonable, cost-based fee.

2. Ask Us to Correct Your Medical Record

You can ask us to correct health information about you that you think is incorrect or incomplete. Ask us how to do this. We may say “no” to your request, but we’ll tell you why in writing within 60 days. If we deny your request for amendment, you have the right to file a statement of disagreement with the decision and we may provide a rebuttal to your statement.

3. Request Confidential Communications

You can ask us to contact you in a specific way (for example, home or office phone) or to send mail to a different address. We will say “yes” to all reasonable requests.

4. Ask Us to Limit What We Use or Share

You can ask us not to use or share certain health information for treatment, payment, or our operations. We are not required to agree to your request, and we may say “no” if it would affect your care. If you pay for a service or health care item out-of-pocket in full, you can ask us not to share that information for the purpose of payment or our operations with your health insurer. We will say “yes” unless a law requires us to share that information.

5. Get a List of Those With Whom We’ve Shared Information

You can ask for a list (accounting) of the times we’ve shared your health information for six years prior to the date you ask, who we shared it with, and why. We will include all the disclosures except for those about treatment, payment, and health care operations, and certain other disclosures (such as any you asked us to make). We’ll provide one accounting a year for free but will charge a reasonable, cost-based fee if you ask for another one within 12 months. We will notify you of the cost involved and you may choose to withdraw or modify your request at that time.

6. Get a Copy of This Privacy Notice

You can ask for a paper copy of this notice at any time, even if you have agreed to receive the notice electronically. We will provide you with a paper copy promptly.

7. Choose Someone to Act for You

If you have given someone medical power of attorney or if someone is your legal guardian, that person can exercise your rights and make choices about your health information. We will make sure the person has this authority and can act for you before we take any action.

Changes to the Terms of This Notice

We can change the terms of this Notice, and the changes will apply to all information we have about you, including any information created or received prior to issuing the new Notice. The new Notice will be posted on our website and will be available upon request.

For More Information or to Report a Problem

There will be no retaliation for filing a complaint.

False Claims Act Policy & Procedure

Compliance Policy

John’s Pharmacy in Albany, LLC

POLICY

It is the policy of John’s Pharmacy that all employees and any contractors or agents, are educated regarding the federal and state false claims statutes and the role of such laws in preventing and detecting fraud, waste and abuse in federal health care programs.

PROCEDURE

FALSE CLAIMS LAWS

This is the law most often used to bring a case against a healthcare provider for the submission of false claims to a Federal healthcare program. The False Claims Act prohibits knowingly presenting (or causing to be presented) to the Federal Government a false or fraudulent claim for payment or approval. Additionally, it prohibits knowingly making or using (or causing to be made or used) a false record or statement to get a false or fraudulent claim paid or approved by the Federal Government or its agents, like a carrier, other claims processor, or state Medicaid program.

False Claim: A false claim is a claim for payment for services or supplies that were not provided specifically as presented or for which the provider is otherwise not entitled to payment. Examples of false claims for devices or supplies that were not provided specifically as presented include, but are not limited to:

A claim for a service or supply that was never provided
A claim for a service that the provider knows is not reasonable and necessary
A claim for services provided by an unlicensed individual
A claim indicating a higher level of service that was actually provided

The penalty for violating the False Claims Act is a minimum of $5,500 up to a maximum of $11,000 for each false claim submitted. In addition to the penalty, a provider could be found liable for up to three times the amount unlawfully claimed.

Qui Tam and Whistleblower Protection Provisions

The FCA authorizes the United States Attorney General to bring actions alleging violations of the statute. The statute also authorizes private citizens to file a lawsuit in the name of the United States for false or fraudulent claims submitted by individuals or companies that do business with, or are reimbursed by, the United States. Commonly known as a qui tam action, a lawsuit brought under the FCA by a private citizen begins upon the filing of a civil complaint in federal court, under seal, and service of a disclosure of material evidence on the Attorney General. The government has sixty days to investigate the allegations in the complaint and decide whether it will join the action, in which case the complaint is unsealed, and the Department of Justice or a United States Attorney’s Office takes the lead role in prosecuting the claim. If the government decides not to join, the whistleblower may pursue the action alone, but the government may still join at a later date if it demonstrates good cause for doing so. As an incentive to bring these cases, the Act provides that whistleblowers who file a qui tam action may receive a reward of 15-30% of the monies recovered from the government plus attorneys’ fees and costs. This award may be reduced, however, if for example the court finds the whistleblower planned and initiated the violation. The FCA also provides that “whistleblowers” who prosecute clearly frivolous qui tam claims can be held liable to a defendant for the defendant’s attorneys’ fees and costs.

Whistleblowers are also offered certain protections against retaliation for bringing an action under the Act. Employees who are discharged, demoted, harassed, or confront discrimination in furtherance of such an action or as a consequence of whistleblowing activity are entitled to all relief necessary to make the employee whole. Such relief may include reinstatement, double back pay, and compensation for any special damages including litigation costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees.

ADMINISTRATIVE REMEDIES FOR FALSE CLAIMS AND STATEMENTS

These statutes prohibit any person from knowingly presenting (or causing to be presented) a claim that the person knows or has reason to know is false, fictitious, or fraudulent; includes or is supported by any written statement which asserts a material fact which is false, fictitious, or fraudulent; includes a written statement which omits a material fact which there person has a duty to include and such omission renders the statement false, fictitious, or fraudulent; or is for payment for the provision of property or services which the person has not provided as claimed. They prohibit any person from knowingly presenting (or causing to be presented) a written statement that the person knows or has reason to know asserts a material fact which is false, fictitious, or fraudulent; or omits a material fact which there person has a duty to include, which omission makes the statement false, fictitious, or fraudulent; and the statement contains or is accompanied by an express certification or affirmation of the truthfulness and accuracy of the contents of the statement.

Any person who violates these statues shall be subject to, in addition to any other remedy prescribed by law, a civil penalty of not more than $5,000 for each false claim or statement made. In addition, in the case of a false claim, unless the Government has not made payment on such claim, that person shall also be subject to an assessment, in lieu of damages sustained by the United States because of such claim, of not more than twice the amount of such claim, or portion of such claim.

LOUISIANA PENALTIES FOR FALSE CLAIMS AND STATEMENTS AND WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION

Louisiana Medical Assistance Program Integrity Law, La. R.S. 46:437, 1, et seq.

The LMAPIL prohibits the solicitation, receipt, offer or payment of any remuneration including but not limited to kickbacks, bribes, rebates or payments, directly or indirectly, overtly or covertly, in cash or in kind in return for referrals to a healthcare provider, furnishing healthcare services or supplies, or to obtain patient identifying information, recognizing the safe harbor exceptions created under federal regulations. It also prohibits any person from knowingly presenting or causing to be presented a false or fraudulent claim; knowingly engaging in misrepresentation or making, using, or causing to be made or used a false record or statement to obtain payment for a false or fraudulent claim from the medical assistance programs’ funds; knowingly making using, or causing to be made or used, a false record or statement to conceal, avoid, or decrease an obligation to pay or transmit money or property to the medical assistance programs; conspiring to defraud or attempt to defraud, the medical assistance programs through misrepresentation or by obtaining, or attempting to obtain, payment for a false or fraudulent claim; and knowingly submitting a claim for goods, services, or supplies which were medically unnecessary or which were of substandard quality or quantity.

Actual damages incurred as a result of a violation shall be recovered by the medical assistance programs. Any person who violates the statute regarding illegal remuneration shall be subject to a civil fine up to $10,000 per violation, or 3 times the value of the illegal remuneration, whichever is greater. Any person who violates the statute regarding false claims shall be subject to a civil fine up to 3 times the amount of actual damages sustained by the medial assistance programs. Said person may also be subject to a civil monetary penalty of no less than $5,000 but no greater than $10,000 for each prohibited act, and interest on the amount of the civil fine imposed.

Qui Tam and Whistleblower Protection Provisions

In addition to authorizing the government to enforce the statute, MAPIL also authorizes private individuals to institute civil actions in state court on behalf of the medical assistance programs (called “qui tam plaintiffs”). The attorney general must be provided with the information and evidence forming the basis of the complaint within one year of the date the plaintiff knew or should have known the information. Then, at least thirty days after the attorney general has been provided with the information, the qui tam plaintiff may file the claim in the appropriate state district court, and serve the secretary and attorney general with notice of the filing. The complaint is filed under seal and remains under seal for at least ninety days. During that time, the secretary or the attorney general may elect to intervene in the case and control the proceedings on behalf of the state. The qui tam plaintiff may continue as a party. If the government does not intervene, the qui tam plaintiff may proceed unless the government shows that the proceeding would adversely affect the prosecution of a pending criminal action or investigation. If the government intervenes, qui tam plaintiffs are entitled to at least 10%, but not more than 20%, of the total recovery for the government, not including civil monetary penalties. If the government does not intervene, qui tam plaintiff is entitled to an amount as determined by the court, not to exceed 30% of the recovery. The qui tam plaintiff is also entitled costs, expenses, fees, and attorney fees for bringing the action.

If the court finds that the qui tam plaintiff participated in the violation, the court may reduce any award that the qui tam plaintiff would otherwise receive. In addition, if the government declines to intervene and the court finds that the claim was meritless or brought primarily for the purposes of harassment, the defendant may be entitled to costs, expenses, fees, and attorney fees associated with defending the claim.

The statute prohibits employers from discharging, demoting, suspending, threatening, harassing, or discriminating against a qui tam plaintiff unless the court finds that the qui tam plaintiff has instituted or proceeded with an action that is frivolous, vexatious, or harassing. The government may intervene and proceed with the qui tam action at any time during the proceedings.

WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS

Federal law prohibits the discharge, demotion, suspension, threat, harassment, or discrimination by an employer in any manner in terms and conditions of employment because of any lawful act taken by or on behalf of an employee, including whistleblowing, in furtherance of any action taken pursuant to the above laws in regard to the health care provider or other person from whom recovery is or could be sought. Any employee who suffers any of these actions by an employer due to lawful acts committed in furtherance of an action shall be entitled to see any and all relief for his injury to which he is entitled under state and federal law. The Pharmacy expects and requires all personnel to make such reports to the Compliance Officer of any suspected instances of non-compliance, unethical behavior, or violations of any laws or regulations including the State and Federal health care program requirements. In return, the Pharmacy has established a confidential disclosure program for all personnel, will make all reasonable efforts to protect the identities of those making confidential complaints, and will protect reporting employees against this prohibited retribution or retaliation of any kind.

REPORTING CONCERNS REGARDING FRAUD, ABUSE AND FALSE CLAIMS

John’s Pharmacy takes issues regarding false claims and fraud and abuse seriously. John’s Pharmacy encourages all employees, management, and contractors or agents of the Pharmacy’s affiliated facilities to be aware of the laws regarding fraud and abuse and false claims and to identify and resolve any issues immediately.

As an employee of John’s Pharmacy, you are expected and required to comply with all State and Federal health care program requirements and with the Pharmacy’s Policies and Procedures. This includes reporting any suspected instances of non-compliance, unethical behavior, or violations of any laws or regulations including the State and Federal health care program requirements.

You may report legitimate and appropriate concerns with regard to compliance and integrity to your immediate supervisor, when appropriate. If the supervisor is not deemed to be the appropriate contact or if the supervisor fails to respond quickly and appropriately to the concern, then the individual with the concern is encouraged to discuss the situation with owner(s), John H. Smith or Warren Christopher Williams at the below contact information.

John H. Smith
jhsrx@yahoo.com

Warren Christopher Williams
chris@genericstogo.com