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Consumer Health Digest #07-40
October 16, 2007
Current # of subscribers: 11,827
Consumer Health Digest is a free weekly e-mail
newsletter edited by Stephen Barrett, M.D., and
cosponsored by NCAHF and Quackwatch. 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. Donations to help support this
newsletter can be made conveniently through
PayPal or Amazon via
http://www.quackwatch.org/00AboutQuackwatch/donations.html###
Compounding pharmacy indicted for illegal hormone sales.College Pharmacy, of Colorado Springs, Colorado,
its owner (pharmacist Thomas Bader), a sales
representative (Kevin Henry), and a sales
representative (Bradley Blum) from a company in
Houston, Texas, have been indicted by a federal
grand jury for illegally importing and
distributing human growth hormone (HGH) from
China. Federal laws restrict the use of HGH to
treating growth-hormone deficiency and ot her
conditions for which treatment has been
authorized by the Secretary of Health and Human
Services. The indictment charges that the
defendants obtained Chinese-manufactured HGH that
lacked FDA approval and repackaged and sold it to
physicians throughout the United States.
http://www.casewatch.org/doj/college/indictment.shtml The College Pharmacy catalog identifies it as
"one of the largest, most comprehensive
compounding centers in North America." The
company is one of several that supply nonstandard
products to offbeat physicians who do chelation
therapy, mesotherapy, and other dubious
treatments. In 2005, it was fined $50,000 and
placed on probation following complaints that its
pharmacists had incorrectly dispensed medication.
In response to the indictment, Colorado's
pharmacy board has voted to initiate disciplinary
action against Bader. [Nguyen K. Board calls for
discipline of pharmacy. The Gazette, Aug 31,
2007]
http://www.gazette.com/articles/pharmacy_26754___article.html/board_college.htm###
Texas Medical Board blasts "toxic mold" guru.The Texas Medical Board has ordered Andrew William Campbell, M.D. to
(a) undergo a 1-year suspension,
(b) meet various educational requirements, and
(c) pay an administrative penalty of $210,000 plus costs of $8,293.50.
The order also said that if he satisfactorily complies with the these requirements, the board will place him on probation for 5 years, during which he must have a practice monitor, provide appropriate informed consent for nonstandard procedures, and undergo periodic monitoring of patient records.
In 2004, the board accused him of mistreating seven patients and improperly billing their insurance companies. The first amended complaint accused him of
(a) performing inadequate history and physical examinations,
(b) ordering excessive and unnecessary laboratory tests,
(c) failing to maintain records that were adequate to justify what he did, and
(d) submitting insurance claims forms that were misleading and/or fraudulent.
http://www.casewatch.org/board/med/campbell/complaint.shtml In 2006, the board filed a second amended complaint that provided more details about his patient care, stating that in each of these cases, he had "relied on junk science," ordered inappropriate tests, and improperly diagnosed
"toxigenic mold exposure."
http://www.casewatch.org/board/med/campbell/complaint2.pdf The Administrative Law Judge's report provides additional details.
http://www.casewatch.org/board/med/campbell/alj.docCampbell typically tells patients that they are suffering from allergic disorders related to "toxic mold" exposure. In 2001, at a hearing held by the Texas department of Insurance, he testified that his center was seeing 50 such
patients per week. Additional information about Campbell's practices and fees have been revealed in a report by a Vaccine Court special master who denied a petition from a former patient who sought compensation for an alleged vaccine injury. The report indicates that Campbell charged the woman $12,123 for the first visit and about $47,000 more from 1999 through 2002 for about 16 more visits plus intravenous treatments.
http://www.casewatch.org/board/med/campbell/duncan.pdfCampbell has appealed the board's decision to his local district court, which stayed it until the appeal process is completed.
###
De-licensed Canadian doctor gets three-year prison sentence.Ravi Devgan, whose medical license was revoked in 2003 by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario,
http://www.casewatch.org/foreign/devgan/devgan.shtml has been sentenced to three years in prison for defrauding a family out of $30,000 for worthless treatments. Press reports indicate that he was arrested for administering sheep fetus injections to twin boys who were severely disabled with cerebral palsy.
[Pazzano S. MD jailed over useless treatments. Toronto Sun, Oct 12, 2007]
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Crime/2007/10/12/4570072-sun.html In 1993, Devgan was reprimanded for professional misconduct and fined $5,000.
http://www.casewatch.org/foreign/devgan/cpso_1993.shtml In 1996, he faced the criminal courts over the same matter and was convicted of defrauding the patient. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an import alert listing Devgan as having prescribed Laetrile, Life Crystals, and other unapproved drugs whose importation has been banned by the FDA.
http://www.fda.gov/ora/fiars/ora_import_ia6641.html###
FTC attacks another spammer.At the FTC's request, a federal judge has ordered an international enterprise to stop distributing spam solicitations containing unsubstantiated claims that "HoodiaLife" and "HoodiaPlus" would cause significant weight loss and that "HGHLife" and "HGHPlus" contained a "natural human growth hormone enhancer" that would dramatically reverse the aging process. The FTC also charged that the operation violated the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003 (CAN-SPAM Act) by initiating commercial e-mails that contained false ìfromî addresses and deceptive subject lines and failing to provide an opt-out link or physical postal address.
The action was taken against
* Spear Systems, Inc.,
* Bruce Parker (Australia),
* Lisa Kimsey (Caldwell, Idaho), and
* Xavier Ratelle (Montreal), doing business as eHealthylife.com. [FTC stops international spamming enterprise that sold bogus hoodia and human growth hormone pills: Agency
brings first action under US SAFEWEB Act.
FTC news release, Oct 10, 2007]
http://www.casewatch.org/ftc/news/2007/spear.shtml Court documents state that since April 2006, credit card sales of the products generated over $940,000. The temporary restraining order also prohibits the defendants from transferring or maintaining any scheme-related assets outside of the United States.
Spammers who pretend to send from real e-mail addresses can cause great harm to the real owners of these addresses. (When the spam messages are not deliverable, the owners of the hijacked addresses may receive thousands of "nondelivery" notices per day.)
###
Other issues of the Digest are accessible through
http://www.ncahf.org/digest06/index.htmlFor information about the National Council Against Health Fraud, see
http://www.ncahf.org/about/mission.htmlIf you enjoy the newsletter, please recommend it to your friends.
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Stephen Barrett, M.D.
Board Chairman, Quackwatch, Inc.
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[repaired headline, Ayu]
