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Consumer Health Digest #16-07
February 21,  2016

Consumer Health Digest is a free weekly e-mail newsletter edited by Stephen Barrett, M.D
http://www.quackwatch.org/10Bio/bio.html
,with help from William M. London, Ed.D., M.P.H
http://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/william-m-london
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.

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Experts call for global rejection of homeopathy

Last month, eight prominent scientists met in Freiburg, Germany to discuss how to inform the public responsibly and counter the rampant misinformation about homeopathy to which Germans and others are regularly exposed. They founded the Homeopathy Information Network and issued the Freiburg Declaration on Homeopathy
http://edzardernst.com/2016/02/a-new-and-important-declaration-about-homeopathy/
,which called homeopathy "a stubbornly persistent belief system" and concluded:

"Our criticism is not aimed at needy patients or practicing homeopathic clinicians; it is aimed at the school of homeopathy and the healthcare institutions which could have long recognized the nonsensical nature of homeopathy, but have chosen not to interfere. We ask the players within our science-based healthcare system to finally reject homeopathy and other pseudoscientific methods and to return to what should be self-evident: scientifically validated, fair and generally reproducible rules promoting top-quality medicine for the benefit of the patient."

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“MCS" doctor shut down

The Maryland State Board of Physicians has ordered Grace Ziem, M.D. to cease medical practice. The summary suspension order
http://www.casewatch.org/board/med/ziem/order_2015.shtml
was based on the board's conclusion that Ziem was habitually intoxicated by alcohol and ordered excessive amounts of controlled substances for herself and others. The suspension order noted that Ziem practiced medicine 3½ days per week, seeing two or three patients per month for face-to-face office visits and having teleconference consultations with four or five patients a day, many of whom were from out-of-state. From 1994 through 2000, Ziem and an associate served as founding directors of MCS Referral and Resources, Inc
http://mcsrr.org/whoweare.html
,a nonprofit organization whose objective was to legitimatize the medically-rejected diagnostic concept of multiple chemical sensitivity
http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/mcs.html
In 2006, the organization's Web site described her as "an occupational and environmental medicine physician who has specialized in chemical injury and sensitivity since 1987."

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Another chelationist disciplined

The North Carolina Medical Board has reprimanded John C. Pittman, M.D
http://www.casewatch.org/board/med/pittman/order_2015.pdf
and ordered him to stop treating patients under the age of 18. The action was based on the board's conclusion that Pittman had improperly managed the care of a 15-year-old boy, The boy had presented with nonspecific symptoms that included headaches, dizziness, leg numbness, fatigue and malaise. Although a blood test revealed that he had a dangerously low platelet count, Pittman said he did not see the report until several weeks later and did not inform the boy's mother until the day after the test was repeated and showed an even lower count. When informed, the mother brought the boy to a hospital emergency room where he was diagnosed with idiopathic thrombotic purpura (a bleeding disorder), admitted to the hospital, and monitored by a hematologist until his platelet levels increased. (Platelets enable blood to clot normally
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/heart_vascular_institute/clinical_services/centers_excellence/womens_cardiovascular_health_center/patient_information/health_topics/platelets.html
)The board concluded that Pittman's delay in recognizing and addressing the low platelet count until several weeks after his initial blood test had placed the patient "at a higher risk for potential catastrophic illness." Pittman operates the Carolina Center of Integrative Medicine, which advocates chelation therapy, thermography, and many other nonstandard modalities. In 2002, he was disciplined after the hemoglobin level of a patient he was treating with intravenous hydrogen peroxide dropped to life-threatening levels
http://www.casewatch.org/board/med/pittman/consent.shtml
The clinic's Web site claims that chelation therapy is effective against dozens of diseases and conditions.

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Continuing request for help from Dr. Barrett

In June 2010, Doctor's Data, Inc. sued Dr. Barrett because it didn’t like what he wrote about its urine toxic metals test on Quackwatch and in this newsletter. The events leading up to the suit are described at
http://www.quackwatch.org/14Legal/dd_suit.html
In November, 2011, about half of the allegations were dismissed, but discovery was permitted for more than a year. The rest of the suit is ripe for dismissal; and we are waiting for the judge to rule on a motion to dismiss that was argued 20 months ago. So far, the proceedings have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Even small donations, if sent by enough subscribers to this newsletter, will be very helpful. Contributions can be made by mail or through
http://www.quackwatch.org/00AboutQuackwatch/donations.html
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=================================

Stephen Barrett, M.D.
Consumer Advocate
Chatham Crossing, Suite 107/208
11312 U.S. 15 501 North
Chapel Hill, NC 27517

Telephone: (919) 533-6009

http://www.quackwatch.org (health fraud and quackery)
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