U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson, Northern District of Oklahoma announced this week that compounding pharmacy owner Christopher Parks was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release. U.S. District Judge George K. Frizzell further ordered Parks to pay $6,400,651.57 in restitution. Parks admitted in his June 2023 plea agreement that he was one of the owners and/or operators of OK Compounding, LLC, and One Stop Rx, LLC and paid physicians remuneration or kickbacks to induce referrals of their patients’ compounding prescriptions.
Compounding prescriptions is a practice in which a pharmacist or physician combines, mixes, or alters ingredients of a drug or multiple drugs to create a medication that is tailored to the specific needs of a patient. These medications are prescribed when standard Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs are unsuitable for the patient. Compounded medications are also more expensive and reimbursed at a far higher rate by federal and private insurance companies than other forms of the same medication.