BALTIMORE, April 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Ameritox, the national leader in pain medication monitoring, today announced that it filed an amended complaint against San Diego-based Millennium Laboratories seeking damages, injunctive and other relief for false advertising, unfair competition, and unfair trade practices. The Ameritox filing alleges that numerous Millennium Laboratories' business practices have resulted in violations of the Lanham Act, unfair competition in accordance with the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, California Business and Professions Code, New Hampshire Consumer Protection Act and national laws relating to unfair competition.
"It is tremendously harmful to physicians, their patients and the industry when a laboratory's business model, as alleged in this case against Millennium Laboratories, effectively flies in the face of ethical and legal business conduct and the healthcare provider's decision-making process," said Dr. Harry Leider, Chief Medical Officer at Ameritox. "These practices of providing financial incentives that mislead health professionals into believing that it is lawful for them to accept illegal inducements are a disservice to the public and the industry. All companies must be held to the same high standards in providing patient-care services."
Federal Anti-Kickback Statute and numerous state anti-kickback statutes, including those of Arizona, Florida, California, New Hampshire and Texas, prohibit companies from providing financial inducements to health providers in order to induce the referral of business. These laws prohibit direct payments to physicians as an inducement for the referral of business, and prohibit other forms of kickbacks, such as the provision of equipment, supplies, tests, services, and other benefits to the health care provider at no cost or at below fair market value, as alleged against Millennium Laboratories.
Ameritox, as the national leader in pain medication monitoring, believes it is important to provide a transparent exchange of business practices. The Company's programs are subject to OIG verification and Ameritox adheres to the highest standards in Federal and state policy.
Reporters have online access to complete documentation for this case -- Ameritox, LTD. V. Millennium Laboratories, Inc. in the UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDATAMPA DIVISION via the public access service Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER). Case number is 8:11-cv-00775-SCB-TBM.
About Ameritox
Ameritox is the nation's leader in pain medication monitoring solutions, offering specialized laboratory testing and reporting services. Ameritox's expertise and innovative science provide physicians with insights and support to enhance and optimize the care of chronic pain patients. Ameritox offers the most thorough pain medication monitoring lab process Rx Guardian(SM) with Rx Guardian CD(SM), the only pain medication monitoring solution with a proprietary normalization algorithm and a reference database of pain patients assessed for medication adherence. Patient results are compared against this database, helping physicians assess whether patients are taking their pain medications correctly. Medication monitoring through urine drug testing helps physicians make more informed clinical decisions and manage the risks and complexities associated with prescribing pain medications. Ameritox is headquartered in Baltimore, Md. with laboratory facilities in Midland, Texas and Greensboro, N.C. Ameritox can be found online at www.ameritox.com, on Twitter @Ameritox, on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/ameritox or on Facebook at facebook.com/ameritox.
© 2012 Ameritox Ltd. All rights reserved. AMERITOX, the AMERITOX logos, AMERITOX AUTOREMINDER, AMERITOX MEDICATION MONITORING SOLUTIONS, AMERITOX UNIVERSITY, PAIN MEDICATION MONITORING SOLUTIONS, POWERED BY YOUR NEED TO KNOW and PROTECT YOUR PATIENTS. PROTECT YOUR PRACTICE. RX GUARDIAN, RX GUARDIAN CD, and RX GUARDIAN AUTOREMINDER are trademarks of Ameritox.
For more information, contact:
Lon Wagner
Ameritox
Office: 336-387-7742
Lon.Wagner@ameritox.com
SOURCE Ameritox