Opinion by Consumer Advocate  Tim Bolen 

Tuesday, November 30th, 2010

I admit it.  I love telling a good story.  Give me a chance and I'll drag out the good parts, throwing in laughs here and there.  The story, of course, I'm telling today is about the Doctor's Data v Stephen Barrett Federal Court case, which is, by far, the most important court case involving health care in North America. 

Today I've got a BIG laugh for you - unless, of course, you are a quackbuster - then you are not going to find this story funny at all - you are going to, once again, call me names - nasty names.  Ready?

Let's go.

The National Council Against Health Fraud (NCAHF), also a Defendant in this case, has a Twenty member Board of Directors.  I have a copy of the last publicly listed Board just below.  In short, they are named in this case because the so-called "Consumer Health Digest," supposedly a weekly newsletter to its approximate 12,000 subscribers, is supposedly a joint effort of Stephen Barrett and the NCAHF, co-edited by Barrett and William London.  Articles in that newsletter are named in the case itself. 

I suspect that the mailing list for the so-called "Consumer Health Digest," once subpoenaed, and made public, is going to be a treasure trove containing key information on how the quackbuster conspiracy works.   People whose names, I think, are on this list, will become targets of health freedom groups for years to come - and they should be. Any, and every, government employee, at any level, on this list, should immediately be a highly focused-on target.

In February of 2008 I released an article called "The Six Components of the 2008 Quackbuster Operation..." which was an outline of the quackbuster conspiracy as it was operating then.  In it I talked about the role of the so-called "Consumer Health Digest" and why it was dangerous:

(1)  The Quackbuster Communication Network has five parts: 

(a)  The Consumer Health Digest is a newsletter with mailing list of over twelve thousand names.  The newsletter is sent out weekly to the mailing list.  The list is made up of lower and middle level employees of county, state, and federal health administration and enforcement agencies, and employees of health insurance and medical malpractice insurance company employees.  The so-called "Digest" is a simple tool to do two things:  (1) propagandize those lower level employees into believing that the targets of the so-called articles are "bad people," criminals, doubtfuls, etc.,  and (2)  convince those employees that they should devote time to investigating, prosecuting, or, at the very least, watching, the targets constantly. 

If you, or yours, are the subject of any article on this newsletter - beware, for the readers of these articles are not the brightest people in the world, and would tend to believe what they read.

So, you can see the importance in suing the NCAHF also, for, allegedly, according to Barrett anyway, the newsletter was a joint operation of Barrett, the NCAHF, and William London (who we will get back to later).

The question arises; "What, exactly, was the NCAHF's role in the newsletter?"  Personally, I suspect that Barrett was just using the NCAHF name to puff up the newsletter's importance, but, then again, we won't know until we ask the Board members of the NCAHF.

But, let's look at the situation in an either/or format:  (1)  If the NCAHF was actively involved in the newsletter then they have direct liability for the contents, including any articles about doctor's Data.  (2)  If, as I suspect, Barrett was using the NCAHF name to puff up the newsletter's importance, and got no input from the NCAHF, then the NCAHF is still liable for the content because the Board has fiduciary responsibility for what is done in its name.

Period.

So, now comes the question "Are the NCAHF Board members PERSONALLY LIABLE for what happened here?"  I believe they are - and below  will tell you why I think so.

Those NCAHF Board Members should have done their "due diligence" a long time ago.  They should have asked someone, with knowledge, what two legal terms mean in terms of being a Board Member with responsibilities of a non-profit corporation:  they are (1) "Fiduciary Responsibility," and (2)  "Piercing the corporate veil."  One activity, or lack of it, leads to the other. 

Legally speaking, what those terms mean is that if YOU accept a position on a non-profit corporation, like the NCAHF Board of Directors, then you accept, by law, the responsibilities that come with that position.  The NCAHF, itself, is a Defendant in that lawsuit for good reason. 

Example:

Good questions.  For years all we ever heard about, or from, was Stephen Barrett, then Robert Baratz.  You'd have thought that was all there was.  The rest of the Board just seemed to be on the masthead.  But, were they? 

Nope - they all had a role.

Let's see what those roles were. Seven of the members (including Stephen Barrett) are members of the "Skeptic" organization, and four are Registered Dieticians, and, are now, or have been, ranking members of the American Dietetics Association.

To start with, Barrett seems to have taken everyone's name, except his own, off the NCAHF website.  But never fear, I copied a lot of useful (like in Court cases) information off their website and Discussion Groups long ago. 

So, we'll start with the list itself:

Officers

Board of Directors

• Clara Lawhead, RD, Chair
  New Port Richey, Florida

• Paula Benedict, MPH, RD
  La Mirada, California

• Paul E. Brown, MD
  Waconia, Minnesota

• Ellen Coleman, MPH, RD
  Riverside, California

• Charles E. DuVall Jr, DC
  Akron, Ohio

• Tim Gorski, MD
  Arlington, Texas

• Saul Green, PhD
  New York, New York

• Robert Imrie, DVM
  Seattle, Washington

• William T. Jarvis, PhD
  Loma Linda, California

• James Kenney, PhD, RD
  Miami, Florida

• Melvin H. Kirschner, MD, MPH
  Van Nuys, California

• James Lowell, PhD
  Tucson, Arizona

• Loren Pankratz, PhD
  Portland, Oregon

• Linda Rosa, RN
  Loveland, Colorado

• Wallace I. Sampson, MD
  Los Altos, CA

• Russell Worrall, OD
  Colfax, California

Then let's look at the individuals:

(3)  Daniel Oliver, DDS, NCAHF Board  Treasurer, Leucadia, California. oliver@alum.mit.edu
 

I have no idea why this guy is on the NCAHF Board.  He doesn't seem to have ever been involved in anything.  The only thing I could find about him is what is written in the NCAHF history, and all that happened thirty-three years ago.  He may, or may not be, alive.  See below.

"Later that year, Jarvis learned about UC Berkeley's Dr. Thomas H. Jukes's interest in combating health misinformation and quackery through his many articles in the scientific literature. Jarvis visited Jukes and learned that he and oncologist-hematologist Wallace I. Sampson, MD, had formulated plans to organize a group with similar objectives to those of Jarvis-Rick's group. The Jukes-Sampson's group had drafted articles of incorporation, but had not filed them. These were given to Jarvis who passed them to volunteer attorney Cyrus (Jack) Lemmon, Jr., who revised and used them to establish the Southern California Council Against Health Fraud in December, 1977. Five individuals -- William Jarvis, Nuts Among The Berries author Ronald M. Deutsch, LLU faculty member and Raymond West, MD, Daniel Oliver, DDS, and Joan Oliver, RD -- signed the Articles of Incorporation as required by California law. SCCAHF listed 22 original members and began operations as part of Jarvis' community dentistry activities. Although antifluoridationism and cancer quackery were primary issues, SCCAHF included all controversial consumer health issues within its scope."

(4)  Clara Lawhead, RD, NCAHF Board Chair, Pasco County Health Dept., 7511 Little Road, New Port Richey, FL 34654, 727-869-3900 ex 120: FAX 727-863-9734,  clara_lawhead@doh.state.fl.us
 

Charles E. Duvall, Jr., DC, who claimed to be the President of the National Association of Chiropractic Medicine was appointed, in 2002, to the Advisory Committee for the Department of Veteran's Affairs. 

Wikipedia says of Duvall's National Association of Chiropractic Medicine:

"The exact time and nature of the demise of the association is not published, but in the April 9, 2010 issue of Dynamic Chiropractic, the editorial staff wrote:

The National Association of Chiropractic Medicine (NACM) apparently no longer exists. Responding to an inquiry regarding the organization's status from another chiropractor, a March 6, 2010 e-mail sent by NACM's national executive director, Ronald Slaughter, DC, said it all: "All good things come to an end. We tried. We failed. Chiropractic is a 'failed' profession....

As of press time, the NACM Web site (www.chiromed.org) is no longer accessible. Exactly how long the site has been down is anyone's guess. The last recorded existence of the site is May 30, 2008. Like the National Association of Chiropractic Medicine, it too has disappeared with little notice."

It is not known, at this time, whether or not Duvall is still on the Veteran's Affairs Advisory Board.

(9)  Tim Gorski MD (OB/GYN) - NCAHF Board Member, 1001 North Waldrop Drive #815, Arlington, TX 76012, (817) 792-2000, info@obgdoc.com OR xenomed@dnamail.com

More, just below, you read carefully, Gorski's lament over what was clearly coming for pregnant horse urine based HRT:

In fact, although HRT is not necessarily for every woman, it offers significant benefits to most. We know, for example, that HRT prevents osteoporosis, which is itself a serious public health problem. Osteoporosis affects nearly 20 million American women and results in more than a million fractures annually. Of those with hip fractures, half never walk again and about 20% are die within a year. These numbers are expected to increase as the U.S. population grows older. There is also very strong theoretical and epidemiologic evidence for HRT's having cardiovascular benefits. Although the HERS study failed to show that it reduces coronary events in women who already have heart disease, HRT has been proven to reduce coronary risk factors in healthy women, particularly for those with Lipoprotein(a). HRT has also been shown to reduce the risk of colon cancer, the third leading cancer among women.

Although many women fear that HRT causes breast cancer, and promoters of "dietary supplement" products intended to treat menopause symptoms make an effort to arouse and increase those fears, the scientific evidence for a connection has never been compelling. Rather, the hormonal link with breast cancer appears to operate much earlier, with women who have early onset of menstrual periods, late or no childbearing, and late menopause showing a clear increased risk of breast cancer. Breast cancer mortality is not increased among women using HRT and, in fact, mortality from all causes is reduced. HRT also improves quality of life with users having more frequent and satisfying sexual relations, reduced tooth loss, and less risk of Alzheimer's disease.

We all know what happened to HRT - OFFICIALLY.  What we don't know is the number of Gorski's patients he inflicted with pregnant horse urine based HRT - and what happened to those women victims in Gorski's care.

It is time for a little humor.  Here is what Gorski, in his Magnum Opus, concluded:

"It is not going to be easy to start picking up the pieces and setting things right. But further delay is not going to make it any easier. The National Council Against Health Fraud and other groups and individuals whose concerns are truly for consumers, science, compassion, and true freedom of choice in the medical marketplace can be relied on to assist in this task."

LOREN PANKRATZ, Ph.D.

"A fascination with the successful deceivers of history," Dr. Pankratz says, led him to devote his teaching, writing, and speaking career to the exposure of quacks and charlatans. He has debunked faith healing, firewalking, mentalism, psychics and Satanic Ritual Abuse - all with equal fervor.

As Dr. Pankratz puts it: "My professional career has focused on understanding patients who deceive health-care professionals. I have published papers on malingering, factitious disorder, drug seekers, wandering patients, and pretenders of post-traumatic stress disorder."

He invented his own syndrome, called the Dudley Moore Syndrome (after the movie comedian). And he has investigated an old, established syndrome, the Munchausen Syndrome.

In the academic world, Dr. Pankratz was a professor of psychiatry and medical psychology at Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland, OR. He was also a consulting psychologist at the VA Medical Center in Portland. However, he recently retired early to devote his time to independent consulting, speaking, and book collecting.

With his reputation for skepticism, it is small wonder that Dr. Pankratz is a fellow of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal.

As a member of the ethics committee of the Oregon Psychological Association, Dr. Pankratz began to receive calls about problems caused by therapists. "It was one of these chance calls that eventually got me involved on the board of the False Memory Syndrome Foundation."

(17)  Linda Rosa, RN - NCAHF Board Member - rosa@ezlink.com

Linda Rosa RN is a person, in Colorado, who, I think, can create a new, important sounding, position for herself in just a few minutes.  An internet search will turn her up as the Executive Director of more instant organizations than Carter has liver pills.  This woman could give lessons to bobbie baratz on how to puff a resume.

Rosa's personal positioning tactics are typical quackbuster.  You can't go down a list of quackbusters without instantly observing the "puffing" of their qualifications.  But, Rosa's claim to fame (insert a loud snort here) seems to be the day she talked her nine-year-old into doing a school show-and-tell on "Therapeutic Touch" and with top Research Scientist (sarcasm intended) Stephen Barrett, actually got this show-and-tell published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (must have been a slow day down at the JAMA office).  This article has become the touchstone for all of the quackbuster dimwits in their attack against Therapeutic Touch - to no avail, for TT is alive and well everywhere.  It has even been approved for teaching by the Nursing Board of California.

Rosa, and a somewhat non-descript individual named Larry Sarner, team up to run the two person, but important sounding, "Colorado Council on Health Fraud."  I think they hold their annual meetings in a sleeping bag.

Linda Rosa is a Member of the Rocky Mountain Skeptics.

(18)  Wallace I. Sampson, MD - NCAHF Board Member - wisampson@cs.com