EHR vendor NextGen Healthcare is paying $31 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act, the U.S. Justice Department said July 14.
NextGen allegedly caused the violation by "misrepresenting the capabilities of certain versions of its electronic health records software," and by providing "unlawful remuneration to its users as an inducement to recommend the company's software," according to a statement from the Justice Department.
The Justice Department also alleges that the vendor violated the Anti-Kickback Statute, due to it giving credits, often worth as much as $10,000, to customers who recommended its EHR software to other organizations, resulting in a new sale.
Tickets to sporting events and entertainment were also provided to those who gave referrals that led to new purchases of the EHR software, according to the Justice Department.
NextGen told Becker's in a statement that it denies that any of its conduct violated the law.
"The settlement agreement does not include any admissions of wrongdoing. This agreement relates to claims from more than a decade ago. The settlement resolves the matter without monitoring or changes to NextGen Healthcare's products or compliance policies. To avoid the distraction and expense of litigation, we believe it is in the best interest of the company to put this historical matter behind us and keep our attention focused on innovating solutions that enable better healthcare outcomes for all."