By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Thursday said it settled with Surescripts over a lawsuit accusing the health information technology firm of using illegal methods to maintain monopolies over two parts of the electronic prescriptions market.
The settlement will prohibit Surescripts “from engaging in exclusionary conduct and executing or enforcing non-compete agreements with current and former employees,” the FTC said in a statement.
The FTC in its 2019 lawsuit had accused Surescripts, which provides electronic records and prescription services to doctors, pharmacists and patients, of requiring long-term exclusivity from customers and punishing them with high prices if they bought some prescriptions from another company.
“The FTC’s proposed order has a 20-year term and would prohibit Surescripts from engaging in the types of exclusionary conduct alleged in the FTC’s case,” the agency said.
Surescripts provides a network that allows healthcare providers to send prescriptions to pharmacies electronically. It also contacts patients’ insurance companies to determine benefit eligibility.
“We’re pleased that this agreement brings an end to the FTC’s litigation, formalizing changes to our business practices that we started several years ago, including the elimination of loyalty provisions in contracts,” Surescripts said in a statement.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Diane Bartz, Mark Porter and Deepa Babington)
