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Consumer Health Digest #23-06
February 5, 2023, 2023
Consumer Health Digest is a free weekly e-mail newsletter edited by William M. London, Ed.D., M.P.H
http://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/william-m-london., with help from Stephen Barrett, M.D
http://www.quackwatch.org/10Bio/bio.html. It summarizes scientific reports; legislative developments; enforcement actions; news reports; Web site evaluations; recommended and nonrecommended books; and other information relevant to consumer protection and consumer decision-making. Its primary focus is on health, but occasionally it includes non-health scams and practical tips. To subscribe, click here
http://lists.quackwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/chd_lists.quackwatch.org###
Avarice in health care blastedDonald M. Berwick, M.D., MPP, of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, has written a powerful essay outlining the consequences of unchecked greed in U.S. health care and calling for corrective actions.
[Berwick D. Salve Lucrum: The existential threat of greed in US health care
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2801097. JAMA, Jan 30, 2023]
He notes:
The grip of financial self-interest in US health care is becoming a stranglehold, with dangerous and pervasive consequences. No sector of US health care is immune from the immoderate pursuit of profit, neither drug companies, nor insurers, nor hospitals, nor investors, nor physician practices.
He criticizes pharmaceutical pricing, profiteering among insurance companies participating in the Medicare Advantage program, hospitals playing pricing games, hospitals directing services toward wealthy suburbs, enormous salaries and benefits of many health care executives, and cost increases associated with hospital consolidations. He notes such practices harm individuals (with 41% of U.S. adults bearing medical debts), families, vulnerable institutions, government programs, small and large businesses, and workforce morale. He notes the United States pays more for health care than any other developed nation, but has worse health status, longevity, and health equity. He calls for health professionals to:
*** speak out about these problems
*** insist that their guilds and trade organizations make protecting patients from medical debt and bankruptcy a higher calling than pursuing higher payment
*** lobby Congress to reform patent laws, change coding and billing rules, strengthen antitrust enforcement, expand price transparency, and accelerate global budgets for the care of populations
*** insist that their organizations invest actively in improving the true social influences on health
###
Prescriber of ivermectin to treat COVID-19 placed on probation
The Colorado Medical Board has placed the medical license of Scott Rollins, M.D. on indefinite probation pending the completion of a physician education program.
[Henderson J. Colorado doc put on probation for ivermectin prescriptions
https://www.medpagetoday.com/special-reports/features/102904. MedPage Today, Jan 31, 2023]
Henderson practices in Grand Junction, Colorado. According to the Stipulation and Final Agency Order
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23592550-rollins-colorado-medical-board-agreement?responsive=1&title=1, Rollins admitted to unprofessional conduct involving three patients for whom he:
*** prescribed the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin for the treatment or prevention of COVID-19
*** either
(a) did not document the performance of an adequate clinical assessment,
(b) did not discuss or did not document the discussion of any risks of ivermectin or other drugs indicated,
(c) did not discuss or did not document the discussion of any perceived benefits of prescribing ivermectin,
(d) did not discuss or did not document the discussion of the patient’s participation in clinical decision-making or his application of clinical judgment and decision-making to the patient’s specific presentation and needs,
(e) did not discuss or did not document discussion of the availability, risks, and benefits of alternative, FDA-approved treatments for COVID-19,
(f) did not document the discussion of availability, risks, and benefits of FDA-approved vaccines to prevent or mitigate the severity of COVID-19 infection, and
(g) did not document the discussion of other non-pharmaceutical measures to reduce the likelihood of COVID-19 infection
*** failed to adequately document elements of medical decision-making, clinical assessments, risk/benefit analyses of important decisions, application of clinical judgment to the situation, the plans for patient treatment, the purpose of those plans, and the patient’s participation in medical decision-making
###
Defamation suit by COVID-misinformation-spreading doctor dismissedA district court judge in Texas has dismissed Dr. Mary Talley Bowden’s defamation lawsuit
https://cdn.centerforinquiry.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2023/02/05184453/bowden_complaint.pdfalleging that Houston Methodist Hospital damaged her reputation by publicly denouncing her social media comments about COVID-19 as misinformation. The judge also ordered Bowden to reimburse the hospital for its expenses in defending against the suit
https://cdn.centerforinquiry.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2023/02/06200648/bowden_order.pdf. The motion to dismiss
https://cdn.centerforinquiry.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2023/02/06200651/bowden_motion_to_dismiss.pdfwas brought under anti-SLAPP provisions of the Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code
https://texas.public.law/statutes/tex._civ._practice_and_remedies_code_title_2_subtitle_b_chapter_27that authorize the court to order the plaintiff to pay defendant’s court costs and attorney’s fees.
In November 2021, Bowden’s privileges to practice at the hospital were suspended over her spreading dangerous misinformation and using vulgar language on social media. Soon afterward, she resigned her privileges. The Houston Chronicle reported she had:
*** touted ivermectin for use against COVID-19
*** urged against vaccinations for children and those with “natural immunity”
*** suggested that Houston Methodist won’t treat unvaccinated patients (a statement she later walked back)
[Gill J. Doctor’s $25M suit against Houston Methodist dismissed after COVID allegations
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/us/doctors-m-suit-against-houston-methodist-dismissed-after-covid-allegations/ar-AA16XL0x?ocid=sapphireappshare. Houston Chronicle, Jan 31, 2023]
Quackwatch will publish a more detailed analysis in the near future.
Bowden is an ear, nose, and throat specialist who operates a clinic called BreatheMD. In another court case, she testified that she had treated more than 2,000 COVID patients and successfully prescribed ivermectin many times.
[Cardona M. Family of Tarrant County deputy sues Texas Health hospital to treat COVID with ivermectin
https://www.star-telegram.com/news/coronavirus/article255797366.html. Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Nov 15, 2021]
###
doTerra distributors banned from making deceptive COVID-19 claimsIn response to a complaint
https://truthinadvertising.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/1_28_22-complaint-re-doTerra-COVID-19-claims_Redacted.pdfby TruthInAdvertising.org to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), three high-ranking distributors of essential-oils multilevel-marketing-company doTerra, were sued for violating FTC law and the COVID-19 Consumer Protection Act.
The three, who improperly touted doTerra products for use against COVID-19, were
*** Eliza Johnson Bacot, ACNP
https://truthinadvertising.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/us-v-bacot-civil-complaint.pdf*** , Lauren Busch, RN
https://truthinadvertising.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/USA-v-Busch-complaint.pdf, and
*** Tina Wong, M.D
https://truthinadvertising.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/USA-v-Wong-complaint.pdfBacot
https://truthinadvertising.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/us-v-bacot-stipulated-order.pdfand Wong
https://truthinadvertising.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/USA-v-Wong-order.pdfhave settled their cases.
In their stipulated order, each agrees to:
(a) pay a $15,000 civil penalty,
(b) various prohibitions and requirements for the next five to ten years, and
(c) provide a copy of the order to all their “agents and representatives who participate in conduct related to the subject matter of the Order” for the next five years.
Nevertheless, Bacot has continued to make inappropriate health claims such as a testimonial that doTerra products cured a skin condition and deceptive claims for six-figure distributor incomes on her website.
[DOJ orders doTerra distributors to pay $15,000 each after TINA.org complaint
https://truthinadvertising.org/articles/doj-orders-doterra-distributors-to-pay-15000-each-after-tina-org-complaint/. TINA.org, Jan 30, 2023]
A similar settlement for Busch
https://truthinadvertising.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/USA-v-Busch-joint-motion-for-entry-of-stipulated-judgment.pdfis pending,
==================
Stephen Barrett, M.D.
Consumer Advocate
7 Birchtree Circle
Chapel Hill, NC 27517
Telephone: (919) 533-6009
http://www.quackwatch.org (health fraud and quackery)
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