Pfizer, Lilly pressed about telehealth prescriber relationships, STAT reports

A group of lawmakers led by Senator Dick Durbin are seeking answers from Pfizer (PFE) and Eli Lilly (LLY) about their relationships with the telehealth prescribers they point patients to from their websites, seeking to determine whether the companies are violating the federal anti-kickback statute, STAT’s Katie Palmer reports. In letters to the companies, the lawmakers suggest the sites are “steering patients toward particular medications and creates the potential for inappropriate prescribing that can increase spending for federal health care programs,” reiterating concerns raised by health policy and law experts that partnerships between pharma and telehealth companies could increase prescribing of unnecessary and expensive medications.