Everybody knows that, in my advocation, I hunt “Quackbusters,” The fact that there exists at all, a group whose purpose is to stop innovation, and progress, in health care, in favor of the “drug world” status quo, raises my ire.
Opinion by Consumer Advocate Tim Bolen
Professionally, I’m a Crisis Management Consultant in the health care industry. My clients, for the most part, are “cutting edge” practitioners whose successful activities on behalf of their patients, or customers, have earned them the attention of the status quo – who react against them as viciously as possible. Inevitably, during my work with clients, the influence of the “Quackbusters”, on the case, comes to the surface.
I learned a long time ago, in these types of cases, that you can’t deal with the client’s problem without dealing with the source of the problem – the “Quackbuster”conspiracy against innovation in health care. So, I deal with that issue right up front.
And, the “Quackbusters” don’t seem to like my activities.
Robert S. Baratz MD, DDS, PhD, the current president of the “Quackbuster’s” flagship, the now legally defunct National Council Against Health Fraud (NCAHF) nearly had a heart attack, the other day, Tuesday, June 7th, 2005, when I walked into a hearing room, in downtown Boston, where he was slated to testify for the sixth day. Baratz, who always has a lot to say (he gets paid by the hour) was supposed to be “cross-examined” on his five earlier days of testimony. I was there, since I know a lot about “Bobbie,” to help the attorney make that “cross.”
“Bobbie” is terribly afraid of me – mentally and physically – and he should be. For, I know him well, and I know what a rotten little rodent he really is personally – and I know how he testifies. I know about his “REAL” resume, and I’ve provided assistance in a large number of cases where Bobbie comes to do some cutting-edge practitioner victim harm. Bobbie’s “testifying specialty” is against North America’s “cutting-edge” practitioners.
As soon as Bobbie saw me walk into the room, he physically changed color, started out of his chair, and almost dove towards the State’s attorney, whimpering (honest-to-God) “we’ve got to talk – right now!” He got the attorney to leave the room with him. It was all I could do to not break out in laughter. When they came back from their hallway meeting, the State attorney was clearly distressed, and wanted the police called to have me removed from the building. Baratz had told him that I “had a gun” and that he “was afraid for his life.”
I broke into a smile.
The Judge was clearly aghast, and asked the attorney for our side “what was going on?” She responded correctly, and explained my role -and asked that all discussions on this subject “be part of the record.”
The judge ruled, correctly, that I had every right to be there, and that the attorney, and her client, had every right to consult with me, and the day began.
What fun Bobbie can be to watch, when he begins to sweat while testifying. And, sweat he does – when confronted with reality. A few years ago, when I was assisting in another case, in another State, Bobbie, by the end of the day, had sweat right through his suit. He was damp from his curly locks to the tip of his toes – he’d had that bad of a day. On another occasion Bobbie cried (crocodile tears, sniffles, and whimpering), on video tape, for about twelve minutes.
Why does Bobbie get so emotional? Because, Bobbie is a fake. He’s a “liar for hire,” and if left unchecked, can do serious harm to “cutting-edge” health professionals with his testimony. Baratz knows that when I’m involved in the case, his history, personal credibility, and his “wild-eyed” statements made during the case, or elsewhere, become the issue. In short “Bobbie Baratz goes on trial.” And, he should…
No wonder he didn’t want me in the hearing room, again. Bobbie, for instance, doesn’t want the hearing Judge, or the State’s attorney, I think, to know that he’s never been able to hold a job for any length of time – that he’s been fired from virtually every position he’s ever held. And, not so long ago, his termination was about the “sexual harassment” of one of the employees under his supervision. Baratz claimed that he had been “having an affair with the employee, and had broken it off, and the employee was now causing trouble…”
The “cross-examination” of Robert Baratz didn’t actually begin until about 3:00 PM, and ran only until 5:00PM – to be continued, as the State attorney, I think, sensed correctly that the case against this Biological Dentist was about to change radically. I know “CYOA” (cover your own ass) mode, in a government employee, when I see it. The State attorney questioned Baratz for an additional five hours on his “opinions” about the case being argued. Why? Because the State attorney, in this case, made a BIG mistake – Baratz was the ONLY State witness in the case, and the ONLY one who was consulted about what this Biological Dentist did. Baratz, and his weird opinions about health care, are the State’s whole case.
So, the State of Massachusetts’s whole case, against this Biological Dentist, hinges on the professional credibility of a known crackpot, a man with a fake resume, a man who, virtually, could never hold a job, a vicious little rodent of a man, a “Quackbuster” – Robert S. Baratz MD, DDS. PhD – “Bobbie Bogus.”
Now the hunt begins.
Stay tuned…
Tim Bolen – Consumer Advocate