Barrett, M.D. - Quackwatch - FYI

[Guest guest]

Among other things, note what Aetna says about " Nutritional

Counseling considered " not medically necessary " for those

with CFS, ADD, etc. conditions that have not been shown

to be nutritionally related. "

Consumer Health Digest #05-07

Your Weekly Update of News and Reviews

February 16, 2005

Current # of subscribers: 9,937

Consumer Health Digest is a free weekly e-mail

newsletter edited by

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.

###

Aetna evaluates three more questionable procedures.

Aetna Insurance Company, which plays a leading

role in evaluating whether or not procedures are

sufficiently developed to warrant insurance

coverage, has issued more Clinical Policy

Bulletins (CPBs) related to questionable health

approaches:

CPB 0049: Nutritional Counseling.

http://www.aetna.com/cpb/data/CPBA0049.html

Aetna considers nutritional counseling medically

necessary for chronic disease states in which

dietary adjustment has a therapeutic role, when

it is prescribed by a physician and furnished by

a registered dietician, licensed nutritionist, or

other qualified licensed health professional

recognized under an insurance plan. However,

nutrition counseling is considered " not medically

necessary " for chronic fatigue syndrome,

attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, or

other conditions that have not been shown to be

nutritionally related.

CPB 0029: Thermography.

http://www.aetna.com/cpb/data/CPBA0029.html

Aetna considers thermography (measurement of

temperature variations at the body surface)

experimental and investigational because

available medical literature indicates

thermography to be an ineffective diagnostic

technique. The devices mentioned include the

Nervoscope, Temp-O-Scope, and Neurocalometer, all

of which have had widespread use by

chiropractors. The CBP also discusses

breast-cancer screening.

CBP 0696: Suit Therapy for Cerebral Palsy.

http://www.aetna.com/cpb/data/CPBA0696.html

Aetna considers Adeli Suit or TheraSuit therapy

to be experimental and investigational for

patients with cerebral palsy or other

neuromuscular conditions because it has not been

proven effective. (The devices use elastic bands

to provide resistive exercises to specific

muscles.) For additional details, see

http://www.quackwatch.org/06ResearchProjects/adeli.html

###

" Biological dentist " disciplined again.

The Arizona Board of Dental Examiners has ordered

Terry J. Lee, D.D.S. to pay a $4,000 penalty and

stop treating patients for 45 days. In July 2004,

the board charged him with unprofessional conduct

by failing to maintain adequate records.

http://www.casewatch.org/board/dent/lee/complaint2004.shtml

The complaint was filed after an audit of his

charts found that (a) he did not record

evaluations for many patients for whom he

provided periodontal (gum) treatment; ( he

administered intravenous vitamin C infusions

without documenting any diagnosis or health

history justifying their use; and © he made

notations of " detox " without sufficiently

identifying what it is or why he believed it was

necessary. The audits were part of a process that

began in 1999 when the board placed him on 5

years' probation with quarterly audits of

diagnosis, treatment, planning skills, and

recordkeeping.

http://www.dentalwatch.org/reg/lee.html Lee has

the right to appeal the current order, but if he

does, he is unlikely to prevail.

###

Holding therapy stopped in Utah.

The Utah Division of Occupational and

Professional Licensing has obtained a consent

agreement under which social worker Jennie

Murdock Gwilliam will stop practicing " holding

therapy, " have her therapy sessions supervised

for three years, and take classes in ethics and

boundary violations. The agreement states that

she may use restraint techniques only to protect

a client or another person from physical injury

and may not use " restraint techniques for

therapeutic purposes. " In 2002, the state

petitioned to revoke the licenses of Gwilliam and

a like-minded colleague, Larry VanBloem, for

allegedly laying on top of children who were

restrained. VanBloem died in December 2004 an

auto accident. [Hyde J. Utah jettisons holding

therapy: State orders last practitioner to end

the controversial practice. Deseret Morning News,

Feb 11, 2005]

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/1,1249,600111262,00.html

Supporters of holding therapy claims that

holding, poking, and prodding children that

through Mainstream critics consider the treatment

to be a form of child abuse. The holding is a

component of " attachment therapy, " which has been

implicated in the death of several children.

[Maloney SB. Be Wary of attachment therapy.

Quackwatch, July 24, 2003]

http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/at.html

On February 14, the Colorado Supreme Court

refused to consider the appeal of Ponder,

who is serving a 16-year prison sentence for her

role in the suffocation of 10-year-old Candace

Newman during a " rebirthing " session in which she

was wrapped in a sheet and crushed by four adults

who lay on top of her. Candace's death led to

laws banning " rebirthing " therapy in Colorado and

North Carolina. [Associated Press. Colorado

Supreme Court refuses to hear appeal in N.C.

girl's " rebirthing " death. Winston-Salem Journal,

Feb 14, 2005]

http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?

pagename=WSJ/MGArticle/WSJ_BasicArticle & c=MGArticle & cid=1031780819526

Allstate reports results of antifraud campaign.

Allstate Insurance Company has announced that

during 2004, judges and juries around the country

awarded the company more than $30 million in

damages resulting from insurance fraud schemes

against the company-the result of a campaign

Allstate began in 2001 to go after the

pocketbooks of fraud perpetrators in court. Since

that time, the company has gotten more than $55

million in judgments against criminals that range

from individuals to sophisticated organized crime

syndicates. Unfortunately, bankruptcies and money

laundering make it difficult to collect such

awards. Allstate says that only $5.24 million out

of the $30.81 million awarded in 2004 has been

recovered.[Fraudsters Ordered To Pay Allstate

More Than $30 Million in '04. Allstate press

release, Feb 14, 2005]

http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?

ndmViewId=news_view & newsId=20050214005748 & newsLang=en

###

American Biologics receives another FDA warning letter.

The FDA has ordered American Biologics of Chula

Vista, California, to stop making illegal claims

that AB-fem Glandular, AB-Male Glandular, Flu

Solve, Candida Albicans, Ultra Brain Power,

Bronchostem, Calcium A.E.P., Pancreas Glandular,

Pituitary Glandular, and Sub-Adrene Adrenal

Cortex Extract are effective against various

diseases and conditions. [ SJ. Warning

letter to Carol Bradford. Nov 13, 2004]

http://www.casewatch.org/fdawarning/prod/2004/americanbiologics.shtml

The company is part of a network that includes a

Mexican cancer clinic, the Bradford Research

Foundation, and the near-defunct Committee for

Freedom of Choice in Medicine, which, during the

1970s, was a major force in promoting

legalization of the quack cancer remedy laetrile.

The company received FDA regulatory letters in

1986 and 1988 but has marketed dubious products

continuously since the mid-1970s. For a detailed

report on the Bradford network, see

http://www.quackwatch.org/04ConsumerEducation/Nonrecorg/cfcm.html

###

Chiropractic book republished.

The second edition of Dr. Ludmil A. Chotowski's

Chiropractic: The Greatest Hoax of the Century?,

which has been unavailable for several months,

has been reprinted. The 210-page book contains a

detailed overview plus accounts of the author's

personal investigations. The book lists for

$14.95, but copies are available (U.S. only) for

$10 each or 5 for $40 postpaid from Quackwatch,

P.O. Box 1747, town, PA 18105.

###

Consumer Health Digest is a free weekly e-mail newsletter edited by

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. Other issues of the Digest

are accessible through

<http://www.ncahf.org/digest04/index.html>http://www.ncahf.org/digest

05/index.html

For

information about the National Council Against Health Fraud, see

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Barrett, M.D.

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