Cerebral—Cerebral paid $3.6M DOJ settlement for pressuring providers to overprescribe ADHD stimulants
DOJ settlement found Cerebral engaged in practices encouraging unauthorized distribution of controlled substances (Adderall, Ritalin) from 2019-2022. Company set internal targets to increase 'Initial Visit Rx Rate' for prescribing stimulants, used financial incentives to pressure providers to meet prescribing metrics, and considered disciplinary measures for providers who didn't prescribe enough stimulants.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consumer Protection | -against | primary | -1.00 |
| Research Integrity | -against | secondary | -0.50 |
| Overall incident score = | -0.993 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (critical ×2) × confidence (0.66)
Evidence (2 signals)
DOJ announced $3.6M settlement with Cerebral over controlled substance prescribing practices
DOJ settlement found Cerebral encouraged unauthorized distribution of ADHD stimulants through internal targets and financial incentives to pressure providers to overprescribe.
Healthcare Dive reported on Cerebral controlled substance prescribing fine
Healthcare trade publication confirmed DOJ settlement details including internal targets to increase prescribing rates and financial incentives to pressure providers.