- Naturopath surrenders license after patient dies.
- FTC sues pharmacy benefit managers and affiliates for artificially inflating insulin prices.
- ISCT offers educational resource on unproven cell and gene therapies.
- Intellectual disability research agency warns against facilitated communication methods.
- Scientific evidence on chiropractic, osteopathy, and massage summarized.
Naturopath surrenders license after patient dies. Allison Anne Hofmann, in response to a four-year investigation by the Washington Board of Naturopathy, signed a stipulated order under which she surrendered her naturopathic license. The investigation concerned her treatment of a 28-year-old woman who used pills to die by suicide in 2018. The woman had been under Hofmann’s care for several months. The statement of charges and the stipulated order both state Hofmann used Autonomic Response Testing (ART) to diagnose patients with unsubstantiated diseases and conditions, including dental problems.
ART is a variation of applied kinesiology, which uses muscle tests to diagnose supposed health problems throughout the patient’s body. The procedure is not generally recognized as valid by the scientific community. In its Findings of Fact, the Washington Board of Naturopathy concluded Hofmann had “diagnosed patients. . . using ART or other unreliable method(s) without substantiating those diagnoses using other readily available, credible diagnostic tools.”
It is clear the patient was severely depressed, but the full details of her experience with Hofmann have not been publicly released by the Board. It is safe to say, however, the use of ART generally leads to a misdiagnosis, naturopaths are generally unqualified to manage the conditions listed in Hofmann’s records, and standard naturopathic education does not provide adequate training to treat emotional problems. [Barrett S. Naturopath loses license after patient dies. Casewatch, Sept 30, 2024]
FTC sues pharmacy benefit managers and affiliates for artificially inflating insulin prices. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has charged the three largest prescription drug benefit managers (PBMs) and their group purchasing organizations (GPOs) with engaging in anticompetitive and unfair insulin-rebating practices. [FTC sues prescription drug middlemen for artificially inflating insulin drug prices. FTC press release, Sept 20, 2024] The PBMs are Caremark Rx, Cigna’s Express Scripts (ESI), and United Health Group’s OptumRx. Their affiliated GPOs are Zinc Health Services, Ascent Health Services, and Emisar Pharma Services—According to the complaint, these PBMs administer about 80% of all prescriptions in the United States. The FTC alleges the respondents have:
- created a perverse drug rebate system that prioritizes high rebates from drug manufacturers, leading to artificially inflated insulin list prices
- systematically excluded lower-list-price insulins when they became available in favor of higher-list-price, highly rebated insulin products
- shifted the cost of high insulin list prices to vulnerable patients
- abused their economic power by rigging pharmaceutical supply-chain competition in their favor, forcing patients to pay more for life-saving medications
According to a statement issued by the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, the PBMs are not the only potentially culpable actors. The Bureau remains deeply troubled by the role drug manufacturers such as Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, and Sanofi play in driving up list prices of life-saving medications such as insulin. It warns all drug manufacturers they may be sued in future enforcement actions for engaging in the type of conduct described in the complaint.
ISCT offers educational resource on unproven cell and gene therapies. The Committee on the Ethics of Cell & Gene Therapy of the International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy (ISCT) has created a webpage providing guidance on how to distinguish safe and approved cell- and gene-therapy products from products that have neither a proven record of safety and efficacy nor approval from appropriate regulatory organizations. The site provides information on how to report concerns or actual harm that have resulted from the use of unproven products. Last year, ISCT issued a position paper on direct-to-consumer marketing of unproven and unapproved cell-based, cell-derived, and gene-based therapies/interventions (collectively known as CGTs). Stem cell biologist Paul Knoepfler, Ph.D., has spotlighted the new ISCT resource and recommended additional resources on unproven CGTs. [Knoepfler P. ISCT launches new resource on unproven cell & gene therapies. The Niche, Oct 3, 2024]
Intellectual disability research agency warns against facilitated communication methods. The Australasian Society for Intellectual Disability (ASID) has issued a 19-page position paper noting there is no scientific, rigorous evidence to support the use of Facilitated Communication (FC) and Rapid Prompting Method (RPM) for people with intellectual disabilities and little or no speech. FC is also called Supportive Typing. RPM is often called Spelling to Communicate, Informative Typing, and other names. ASID also released a four-page plain language version of the position paper that makes these key points:
- Do not use Facilitated Communication and Rapid Prompting Method
- Do not use Facilitated Communication and Rapid Prompting Method for Decision-Making Processes
- Messages produced using Facilitated Communication or Rapid Prompting Method may not be the person’s own thoughts
- All people with Communication Disability have a right to an independent assessment of who is writing the messages
- All people with Communication Disability should have access to comprehensive communication assessments
Scientific evidence on chiropractic, osteopathy, and massage summarized. Thomas J. Wheeler, Ph.D., a retired associate professor at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, has updated his summary of scientific evidence concerning chiropractic, osteopathy, and massage. The material was originally developed as the second in a series of handouts for an elective course given to medical students. An updated version was previously published in 2014. [Wheeler TJ. A scientific look at alternative medicine: Chiropractic, osteopathy, and massage. KyCAHF, 2024] The document is also downloadable as a 49-page PDF. Readers seeking more comprehensive information on chiropractic shortcomings can find it on Chirobase.org.
Consumer Health Digest is a free weekly e-mail newsletter edited by William M. London, Ed.D., M.P.H., with help from Stephen Barrett, M.D. It summarizes scientific reports; legislative developments; enforcement actions; other news items; Web site evaluations; recommended and nonrecommended books; research tips; and other information relevant to consumer protection and consumer decision-making. The Digest’s primary focus is on health, but occasionally it includes non-health scams and practical tips. Items posted to this archive may be updated when relevant information becomes available. To subscribe, click here.
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