The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Thursday that federal indictments against allegedly fraudulent telemedicine companies could lead to widespread disruptions nationwide to access to ADHD medications, particularly Adderall and other stimulants, increasing the risk of injury and overdose.
“Any disruption from this major telemedicine company could affect 30,000 to 50,000 patients over the age of 18 across all 50 states.” CDC in health alert.
The CDC warning: Announcement from the Department of Justice Federal agents announced Thursday they had arrested two people for allegedly participating in a scheme to illegally distribute Adderall and other stimulants through a paid online telemedicine company called Done Global. The company’s CEO and founder, Lucia He, was arrested in Los Angeles, and its president of clinical operations, David Brody, was arrested in San Rafael, California.
“As alleged, the defendants designed and executed a $100 million scheme to exploit the COVID-19 pandemic to defraud taxpayers and provide easy access to Adderall and other stimulants with no legitimate medical purpose,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. “Anyone who seeks to profit from addiction by illegally distributing controlled substances over the internet should know that they cannot hide their crimes and that the Department of Justice will hold them accountable.”
Fatal Outcome
According to the Department of Justice, Done Global made $100 million in revenue by filling more than 40 million prescriptions for Adderall, an addictive drug used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and other stimulants. Done Global allegedly facilitated access to the drugs by limiting the information it provided to prescribers, instructing prescribers to prescribe Adderall and other stimulants even if patients did not qualify, and requiring prescription appointments to be no longer than 30 minutes. The company also did not encourage prescribers to make follow-up appointments and added an “auto-refill” feature.
Prosecutors also allege that Ho and Brody continued with the scheme even after they learned that patients had overdosed and died.
The CDC warned that the disruption caused by the lack of availability of Done Global prescription medications comes amid a long-standing national shortage of Adderall and other stimulants. For people with ADHD, the disruption could be harmful. “Untreated ADHD is associated with adverse outcomes, including social and emotional impairments, increased risk of drug and alcohol use disorders, motor vehicle accidents and other unintentional injuries, and suicide,” the CDC warned. Additionally, the lack of availability could lead some people to seek illegal sources of drugs, which could be deadly.
“Patients who face barriers to prescription stimulant treatment and seek medication outside of regulated health care systems may be at significantly increased risk of overdose due to the proliferation of counterfeit drugs in the illicit drug market, which may contain unexpected substances such as fentanyl,” the CDC said. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine.
According to the CDC, the Drug Enforcement Administration recently reported that seven in 10 pills seized from the illicit drug market contained lethal amounts of illegally produced fentanyl.