Tennessee Nurse Agrees to 10 Year Exclusion

On September 14, 2018, Cindy Scott, R.N., A.P.R.N. (Scott), Tennessee, agreed to be excluded from participation in all Federal health care programs for a period of ten years under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1320a-7(b)(6)(B) and 1320a-7(b)(7). OIG alleged Scott submitted or caused the submission of false claims for controlled substance prescriptions that were medically unnecessary, substantially in excess of the needs of her patients, and below the professionally recognized standards of care. Specifically, OIG alleged Scott prescribed monthly prescriptions to individual patients exceeding a daily dosage of five hundred (500) morphine milligram equivalents (MME), which included inappropriate combinations of long and short acting opioids often combined with high amounts of a benzodiazepine and/or carisoprodol. OIG also alleged Scott prescribed controlled substances and combinations of controlled substances and other medication without appropriately documenting: (1) a clear objective finding of a chronic pain source to justify the ongoing and increasing prescribing; (2) attempts to identify the etiology of reported pain; (3) a thorough history or adequately inquiring into potential substance abuse history; or (4) a written treatment plan with regard to the use of the prescriptions. Senior Counsels Andrea Treese Berlin, Katie Fink, and Joan Matlack represented OIG.

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