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Consumer Health

Consumer Health. Fraud and Quackery. Issues. Misleading Information Quackery and Health Fraud Problems with Products Problems with Services Problems with Costs The Need for Consumer Protection Intelligent Consumer Behavior. Issue 7 Intelligent Consumer Behavior.

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Consumer Health

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  1. Consumer Health Fraud and Quackery

  2. Issues • Misleading Information • Quackery and Health Fraud • Problems with Products • Problems with Services • Problems with Costs • The Need for Consumer Protection • Intelligent Consumer Behavior

  3. Issue 7Intelligent Consumer Behavior • Seek reliable sources of information • Maintain a healthy lifestyle • Select practitioners with care • Assess own health • Active health & illness management • Use scientifically substantiated health products and services • Understand costs of health and illness • Report fraud

  4. Health professional-patient relations Individuals’ exposure to, search for, and use of health information Individuals’ adherence to clinical recommendations Construction of public health messages & campaigns Dissemination of individual & population health risk information Images of health in the mass media and the culture at large Education of consumers about how to gain access to health care systems Develop telehealth applications Healthy People 2010Health Communication

  5. Accuracy Availability Balance Consistency Cultural competence Evidence base Reach Reliability Repetition Timeliness Understandability Healthy People 2010Effective Health Communication

  6. Issue 2Quackery and Health Fraud • Definitions • Hazards • Extent of the Problem • Characteristics of Victims • Misconceptions • Recognizing Quackery • Conspiracies?

  7. Definitions • Quakery • Selling unproven remedies • Quacks • Health Fraud • Promotion, for profit, of a medical remedy known to be false or unproven

  8. Hazards • Direct risks • Results in injuries or • Adverse reactions • Indirect Risks • Keeps someone away from proven, sometimes essential, medical treatment

  9. Extent of the Problem • $15 billion per year • $1 billion on arthritis • 60% of patients try questionable diets • Top 10 health fraud products & schemes • Arthritis, AIDS, sexual aids, cancer, weight-loss, baldness, nutrition, muscle stimulators, chelation, yeast infections

  10. Characteristics of Victims • Faced with • Chronic suffering, Deformity, Death • Lack of suspicion • Desperation • Alienation • Belief in magic • Overconfidence

  11. Misconceptions • Quacks are frauds and crooks • Most quackery is dangerous • The media are reliable • Personal to experience is best way to tell if a treatment works

  12. Recognizing • Promise a quick or painless cure • Claim to be made from a special, secret, or ancient formula — often only available by mail or from one sponsor • Use testimonials or undocumented case histories from satisfied patients • Claim to be effective for a wide range of ailments • Claim to cure a disease (such as arthritis or cancer) that is not yet understood by medical science • Offer an additional “free” gift or a larger amount of the product as a “special promotion,” or • Require advance payment and claim limited availability of the product

  13. Pure Emu Oil • One product does all • " ... extremely beneficial in the treatment of rheumatism, arthritis ... infections ... prostate problems, ulcers ... cancer, heart trouble, hardening of the arteries, diabetes and more. ... “ • "completely eliminating the gangrene ...” • "... antibiotic, pain reliever ... ."

  14. Pure Emu Oil • Personal testimonials • "Alzheimer's Disease!!! My husband has Alzheimer. ... he began eating 1 teaspoon full of ... Pure Emu Oil each day. ... Now (in just 22 days) he mowed the grass, cleaned out the garage, weeded the flower beds, and we take our morning walk again. It hasn't helped his memory much yet, but he is more like himself again!!!"

  15. Pure Emu Oil • Quick fixes • "... eliminates skin cancer in days! ..." • FDA determined that a pure emu oil product marketed to treat or cure a wide range of diseases was an unapproved drug. Its marketer had never submitted to FDA data to support the product's safe and effective use.

  16. Weight Loss Product as Alternative to Prescription Drug • Promises of Easy Weight Loss • “Finally, rapid weight loss without dieting” • Paranoid Accusations • "Drug companies make it nearly impossible for doctors to resist prescribing their expensive pills for what ails you ... .“ • "It seems these billion dollar drug giants all have one relentless competitor in common they all constantly fear--natural remedies."

  17. Weight Loss Product as Alternative to Prescription Drug • Meaningless jargon • "... Hunger Stimulation Point (HSP) ...“ • "... thermogenesis, which converts stored fats into soluble lipids ...“ • "One of the many natural ingredients is inolitol hexanicontinate."

  18. Weight Loss Product as Alternative to Prescription Drug • FDA issued an import alert for a Canadian-made weight-loss product whose claims compared the product with two prescription weight-loss drugs taken off the market after FDA determined they posed a health hazard.

  19. Over-the-counter transdermal weight-loss patch • “Natural” • "Healthy, simple and natural-way to help you lose and control your weight." • Time-Tested or new-Found Treatment • "This revolutionary innovation is formulated by using proven principles of natural health based upon 200 years of medical science."

  20. Over-the-counter transdermal weight-loss patch • Satisfaction Guaranteed • "... Guarantee: If after 30 days ... you have not lost at least 4 pounds each week, ... your uncashed check will be returned to you ... ."

  21. Over-the-counter transdermal weight-loss patch • FDA issued a warning letter to the marketer of the weight-loss product described here because it did not have an approved new drug application. Because of the newness of the dosage form--skin-delivery systems--FDA requires evidence of effectiveness, in the form of a new drug application, before the product can be marketed legally.

  22. One product does all Testimonials Quick fixes Promises easy weight loss Paranoid accusations Jargon Natural Time-tested New-found treatment Satisfaction guaranteed Recognizing

  23. Conspiracies? • Paranoid Accusations • Gets consumer attention • Suggests providers & manufacturers are working together • to promote only company products • for financial gain • Ask • Where is the evidence? • Would major of health-care people block treatment

  24. Resources • HealthFinder (www.healthfinder.gov) • Intelihealth (www.intelihealth.com). • Mayo Clinic (www.mayoclinic.com). • Medical Library Association (www.mlanet.org). • Mental Help Net (www.mentalhelp.net) • National Health Council (www.nationalhealthcouncil.org). • National Library of Medicine (www.nlm.nih.gov)

  25. Checking Out a Product • Talk to a doctor or another health professional • Talk to family members and friends • Check with the Better Business Bureau or local attorneys generals' offices • Check with health professional groups • Contact the FDA office

  26. Summary • Definitions • Hazards • Extent of the Problem • Characteristics of Victims • Misconceptions • Recognizing Quackery • Conspiracies?

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