Oklahoma DME owner charged in $30M brace fraud scheme; intoxicated without drinking; pharmacists face a higher suicide risk – Morning Medical Update

Oklahoma medical supply company owner charged in $30M brace fraud scheme

A federal grand jury has indicted Oklahoma chiropractor and medical supply company owner Mark Loftis, 38, for allegedly orchestrating a $30 million durable medical equipment (DME) fraud involving orthotic braces billed to Medicare, TRICARE and CHAMPVA. Prosecutors say Loftis, through Back Pain Home Supplies LLC — which did business as EZ Medical Supply — paid kickbacks to marketers and telehealth providers for patient referrals and signed orders, then submitted claims for unnecessary or improperly provided braces, resulting in roughly $8 million in payments. Loftis is also accused of misusing more than $133,000 in COVID-19 Provider Relief Fund money for personal expenses and to further the scheme.

Loftis is charged with health care fraud, kickback conspiracy and theft of government funds; if convicted, he faces a maximum of 20 years in prison on the health care and wire fraud conspiracy count, five years in prison on the conspiracy and kickback count and 10 years on each of the theft of government property counts.

Gut microbes tied to auto-brewery syndrome

A study in Nature Microbiology links auto-brewery syndrome — a rare condition where patients appear intoxicated without drinking — to gut microbes that ferment carbohydrates into alcohol. Researchers report that certain intestinal organisms can produce enough ethanol to raise blood alcohol levels and cause symptoms including dizziness, confusion and impaired coordination. The work may help clinicians better recognize and diagnose the condition and adds to growing evidence that gut microbiota play a key role in metabolic and neurologic health.

Pharmacists face higher suicide risk

Pharmacists are more likely to die by suicide than people in the general population, according to a new national study in the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy. Using federal mortality data from 2011 to 2022, researchers found pharmacists had a 21% higher suicide risk overall, with male pharmacists 25% higher than other men. While pharmacy technicians as a whole had slightly lower risk, female technicians were 22% more likely to die by suicide than women in general. Job stress, expanding responsibilities without matching pay or recognition, insurance and prior authorization hassles, and difficulty accessing mental health care all appear to play a role.