What Happened
On June 9, 2021, Howard Hoffberg, M.D., 65, of Reisterstown, Maryland, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the anti-kickback statutes. He was Associate Medical Director and part-owner of Rosen-Hoffberg Rehabilitation and Pain Management. According to his plea agreement, starting in June 2012 he solicited and received kickbacks from Insys Therapeutics, disguised as honoraria for sham educational programs, and was paid $66,600. Through January 2018 he prescribed Subsys, a fentanyl-based drug approved for breakthrough cancer pain, to patients who were not suffering from cancer. He also admitted switching patients to Subsys from another fentanyl-based drug. He faced a maximum of five years in prison.
“Hoffberg prescribed Subsys to patients of the Practice who were not suffering from cancer”
Related Guidance
- 15 Red Flags of Drug Diversion — Behavioral and transactional indicators of diversion.
- Investigation Playbook — How to investigate suspected diversion inside an organization.