The nation's largest nursing home pharmacy has agreed to pay $28.1 million to settle allegations that it took kickbacks from Abbott Laboratories to promote one of Abbott's drugs, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
As a nursing home pharmacy, Omnicare has pharmacists that consult with nursing homes, reviewing patients' medical charts and making recommendations about what medications they should get. The federal government alleged that Abbott gave kickbacks to Omnicare in the form of so-called grants and educational funding in exchange for Omnicare recommending Abbott's Depakote, an anti-epileptic drug.
