MediScams : Dangerous Medical Practices and Health Care Frauds--and How to Prevent Them from Harming You and Your Family

by Chuck Whitlock; Foreword by Ben Chandler

• ISBN13: 9780312306021
• ISBN10: 0312306024
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2003-01-13
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Summary

Where their health is concerned, Americans want answers. Too often, what they get are false promises from medical 'pro-fessionals' more intent on lightening their patients' wallets than shaving off those stubborn five pounds. These medical scams run from the petty to the downright dangerous, and the schemes can leave patients poorer, hospitalized, or much worse. Now journalist Chuck Whitlock tackles the seedy world of medical scams, exposing everything from bogus pills that claim to relieve symptoms of drunkenness, to questionable weight-loss programs and bizarre plastic surgery procedures. With Mediscams, forewarned is forearmed.

Author Biography

Chuck Whitlock, a renowned investigative reporter, has appeared on Oprah, Today, CNN, Extra, Inside Edition, Hard Copy, and Regis and Kathie Lee. His probes into white-collar crime and his exposes of nursing home and Medicare irregularities have garnered national recognition. Among his awards for outstanding investigative reporting are a National Headliner Award and a Sigma Delta Chi Award from the Society of Professional Journalists. As a consumer advocate, he has been called "the nation's leading scambuster" by Oprah Winfrey. Chuck provides training workshops for the public as well as government agencies such as the FBI, Secret Service, and Postal Inspection Service.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	xi
Foreword	xiii
Introduction	xv
Every Patient's Nightmare	23	(12)
Meet the Man Called ``America's Worst Doctor''---John Ronald ``Butcher'' Brown
A Brief History of MediScams	35	(20)
From Snake Oil to Cancer Quackery
Managed Care---The Biggest MediScam of All?	55	(20)
Putting a Price on Human Lives
Dangerous Doctors	75	(24)
Physicians Are Supposed to Police Each Other---Why Don't They Do a Better Job of It?
When ``M.D.'' Means ``Money Doctor''	99	(18)
Don't Let Your Doctor Rip You Off
Lying with Science	117	(18)
Just Because They Tell You It's ``Scientifically Proven'' Doesn't Mean It Is
Marketing MediScams	135	(18)
Fraud as a Multimedia Event
What on Earth?	153	(14)
Turning the Planet into Scam Cures
Plastic Surgery---The MediScammers' Newest Target	167	(14)
The Price of Vanity Can Be Crippling---or Worse
Potent or Placebo?	181	(18)
Will the Real Cures Please Stand Up?
Nursing Homes...or Warehouses for the Elderly?	199	(16)
Surely Our Parents Deserve Better than This
Shopping for Supplements	215	(24)
Buying a Pig in a Poke
Dental MediScams	239	(14)
Taking a Bite Out of Your Wallet
Spotting the MediScams	253	(14)
The Telltale Tip-offs and Profiles of Medical Quacks and Their Victims
Final Thoughts	267	(2)
Appendix: Resources	269	(18)
Selected Bibliography	287