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Dr. Bob Sears Medical Board Case Update: LA Times tries to squeeze, shame and goad the California Medical Board to go after Bob Sears and other vaccine exemption writing Docs harder and faster

Dr. Bob Sears Medical Board Case Update: LA Times tries to squeeze, shame and goad the California Medical Board to go after Bob Sears and other vaccine exemption writing Docs harder and faster

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We recently received hearing dates in late May, 2018 for Dr. Bob’s hearing before an administrative law judge. The case is primarily about his writing a note excusing the child from vaccination due to two prior severe vaccine reactions. But May, 2018 apparently is not soon or severe enough for the LA Times which today published a story complaining that Dr. Bob and many other doctors are still writing medical exemptions that don’t meet the standards of medical exemptions by…

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Big trouble ahead for companies selling homeopathic remedies in California (revised)

Big trouble ahead for companies selling homeopathic remedies in California (revised)

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Last month, the California Court of Appeals came out with a decision which should scare the bejesus out of companies selling homeopathic remedies in California. The case is Rosendez vs. Green Pharmaceuticals. Here is the decision: https://www.leagle.com/decision/incaco20171004089 First horrible thing: It was a class action You want to get a company’s attention: file a class action. It’s more time consuming and expensive for plaintiff’s counsel to obtain “class certification” as opposed to filing a case for just one or two…

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California enacts a new stem cell law, but it won’t do or change anything

California enacts a new stem cell law, but it won’t do or change anything

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On Monday, October 2, 2017, Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law SB 512, which requires what I call the practice of medicine stem cell clinics to notify their patients that the use of stem cells by the clinic is not FDA approved. And that’s it! Here is the link to the law: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB512 The law should be a welcome relief to the hundred plus California clinics that provide stem cell treatments to patients, because it does not affect their businesses…

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Insurance and healthcare for dummies, (and I mean you, members of Congress)

Insurance and healthcare for dummies, (and I mean you, members of Congress)

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I just can’t stand it anymore, listening to these idiots in Congress talk about insurance and healthcare costs. The more you listen to these people, the more you realize that most of the people representing us don’t have a clue about what insurance is and what’s required to make health insurance and health care more affordable. Either that or they don’t want to or don’t have the political will to do what is necessary to make sure that everyone has…

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The Sleeping Giant Awakens: The FDA starts its final push to eliminate practice of medicine stem cell clinics

The Sleeping Giant Awakens: The FDA starts its final push to eliminate practice of medicine stem cell clinics

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In late August, the FDA issued a trilogy of pubic actions and announcements advancing its goal of shutting down what I’ll call the practice of medicine stem cell clinics (“POM”). These clinics provide autologous stem cells and other autologous tissue or tissue based products which have not been approved by the FDA. These clinics have exploded in popularity over the past dozen years, which has caused the FDA and the stem cell institutional players much angst. The FDA’s efforts to…

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New Mexico Integrative Practitioners Dodge a Bullet (with Shirley MacLaine’s help) but there’s still danger and work to be done

New Mexico Integrative Practitioners Dodge a Bullet (with Shirley MacLaine’s help) but there’s still danger and work to be done

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(Dinner with Shirley MacLaine, Pamela Costello, M.D., and Bill Wolfe, D.D.S.) Awhile back I reported that the New Mexico Medical Board was going after a prominent integrative medical practitioner because she was prescribing and selling herbal protocols as primary therapy for the treatment of various environmentally caused neurological conditions, supposedly in violation of the AMA ethical guidelines. See http://rickjaffeesq.com/2017/03/22/can-cam-docs-legally-prescribe-and-sell-herbals-and-nutritional-supplements-as-therapy-without-bad-things-happening-prescribe-yes-sell-well-see/ New Mexico is one of a handful of states that incorporates the AMA’s ethical guidelines as rules of practice, the violation…

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Landmark Texas Stem Cell Legislation Gets through the Texas Legislature!

Landmark Texas Stem Cell Legislation Gets through the Texas Legislature!

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Over the Memorial Day weekend, the Texas Legislature passed amended HB 810, which allows access to autologous (yours) and allogenic (not your) stem cells. It is landmark legislation in that it is the first state law allowing access to stem cell treatments which are not FDA approved, and which do not fit within the narrow types of autologous stem cell treatments permissible under federal law. Here is the amended bill awaiting the Governor’s signature. (The Governor has previously tweeted that…

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Texas stem cell legislative battle goes down to the wire, but alas, it’s less the meets the eye

Texas stem cell legislative battle goes down to the wire, but alas, it’s less the meets the eye

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Under current law, it is illegal for patients to have their own stems cells removed, cultured/expanded and reinjected. That’s too bad because there are plenty of instances where this treatment seems to be helping patients with incurable chronic diseases such as MS. Patients who want this type of treatment have to go abroad, usually either Mexico or Panama. That’s quite burdensome for some, given their medical problems. Texas MS Patients to the Rescue, (maybe) During the current Texas legislative session,…

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ALL’S MOSTLY QUIET ON THE FDA FRONT, but don’t expect that to last now that there’s a New FDA Commissioner

ALL’S MOSTLY QUIET ON THE FDA FRONT, but don’t expect that to last now that there’s a New FDA Commissioner

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It seems like forever ago since the FDA’s 2015-2016 attempt to increase its regulatory powers, or more pointedly, since the FDA regulatory thugs have tried to dramatically restrict the personal freedom of US citizens. The good news is that most of the major proposed changes are still up in the air. The not-so-good news is that now that the FDA has a new commissioner (Scott Gottleib was confirmed by the Senate on April, 27, 2017), I’m expecting things to happen,…

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I want to sue the Medical Board for Antitrust violations, because it’s restraining trade by prosecuting me for practicing my kind of medicine.

I want to sue the Medical Board for Antitrust violations, because it’s restraining trade by prosecuting me for practicing my kind of medicine.

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I hear that a lot from CAM docs. There is nothing more emotionally satisfying for a doc being prosecuted/persecuted by a medical board than to turn the tables and sue the board, its ignorant and venal board members and its executive director. Aside from the pure joy for the doc, isn’t the best defense a good offense? Good sentiment for sure, but regrettably, two problems First, board members are typically immune from damage awards regarding their decisions. That brings up…

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