San Diego, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 09/12/2017 -- The Whistleblower Institute announces that eClinicalWorks reached a $155 million settlement in a whistleblower lawsuit filed by a software technician formerly employed by the New York City Division of Health Care Access and Improvement, over allegations that it violated federal law by misrepresenting its software's capabilities and paying kickbacks to customers.

Those who have a similar case or experienced a similar situation or any other wrongdoing within a corporation have certain options and should contact the Whistleblower Institute at mail@whistleblowerinstitute.com or call: 619-452–1218. There are no costs or obligations to you.

A settlement has been reached to resolve False Claims Act allegations against eClinicalWorks (ECW).

The allegations arose from a lawsuit that claimed eClinicalWorks (ECW) allegedly misrepresented the capabilities of its software. Reportedly, this settlement also resolves allegations that eClinicalWorks (ECW) paid kickbacks to certain customers in exchange for promoting its product.

Under the Electronic Health Records Incentive Program to encourage healthcare providers to adopt and demonstrate "meaningful use" of EHR certified technology, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) offers incentive payments to healthcare providers that adopt EHRs and meet certain requirements regarding their use. EHR vendors obtain certification for their products by attesting that the products satisfy specific criteria adopted by HHS and pass testing by an HHS-approved certifying entity.

According to the government, eClinicalWorks (ECW) allegedly falsely obtained that certification for its EHR software when it concealed from its certifying entity that its software did not comply with the requirements for certification. For example, in order to pass certification testing without meeting the certification criteria for standardized drug codes, the company modified its software by "hardcoding" only the drug codes required for testing. In other words, rather than programming the capability to retrieve any drug code from a complete database, ECW simply typed the 16 codes necessary for certification testing directly into its software. ECW's software also did not accurately record user actions in an audit log and in certain situations did not reliably record diagnostic imaging orders or perform drug interaction checks. In addition, ECW's software failed to satisfy data portability requirements intended to permit healthcare providers to transfer patient data from ECW's software to the software of other vendors. As a result of these and other deficiencies in its software, ECW caused the submission of false claims for federal incentive payments based on the use of ECW's software.

As part of the settlement agreement, eClinicalWorks (ECW) and three of its founders are jointly and severally liable for the payment of $154.92 million to the United States. Separately, a company Developer will pay $50,000, and two company Project Managers will pay $15,000 each.

The whistleblowers' share of the settlement will be approximately $30 million.

Based in Massachusetts, eClinicalWorks sells electronic medical record (EMR), practice management and personal health record software and services to healthcare providers.

The Whistleblower Institute is an information portal for current or former employees and other people having insight information about wrongdoing and other illegal activities by individuals either individually or within corporations, through company culture and or within international affairs. Whistleblowers should keep in mind that under the Dodd-Frank Act any person who provides the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") with original information that leads to a successful enforcement action with over $1 million recovered must be awarded between 10%-30% of the total amount recovered. In order to determine the total amount of the reward there are numerous factors that need to be considered. Whistleblower actions are complex and our goal is to guide any whistleblower every step of the way. The Whistleblower Institute is dedicated to partnering with any individual who have information about fraud and we work with many of the best law firms worldwide.

Those who have a similar case or experienced a similar situation or any other wrongdoing within a corporation have certain options and should contact the Whistleblower Institute.

Contact:
Whistleblower Institute
2534 State Street - Suite 406
San Diego, CA 92101, USA
Phone: +1 (619) 452–1218
Facsimile: +1 (619) 785 – 3185
Email: mail@whistleblowerinstitute.com

The material was prepared by the Whistleblower Institute for informational purposes only and is not legal or financial advice. The information is provided only as general information which may or may not reflect the most currently available public information, is not provided as a basis for any established or existing relationship, and is not intended to constitute legal or financial advice, or to substitute for obtaining such advice from an attorney or other advisor licensed in your state.