Congressional Intervention Needed on FDA Failings

Click the link below to see the 1991 testimony of victims and surviving family telling the FDA advisory committee about how Prozac caused suicides. Then see the conflicts of interest these psychs had before they got to vote on warning the public about this dangerous drug.

Dr. Karl Hoffower

Congressional Intervention Needed on FDA Failings

15 Year Lapse Before Warning of Antidepressant Suicide Risks is Negligent Says Human Rights Group — Warnings Don’t Go Far Enough

Washington DC: December 14—Members of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), the group that orchestrated an FDA Hearing into the antidepressant Prozac in 1991—today met with Members of Congress to demand an overhaul of the FDA’s reporting system and accountability to the American public. The demand is in response to the FDA’s Psychopharmacological Committee yesterday recommending an extension of the 2004 “black box” warning of suicide risk to under 18 year olds to include those 25 years of age and under. However, the Committee stopped short of applying the warning to all age groups.

Spokesperson and General Counsel for CCHR, Mr. Rick Moxon, who testified at yesterday’s hearing into antidepressants and suicide, presented footage of the 1991 FDA hearing where adults, with no history of violence or suicide, testified that they were driven to murderous acts of self-harm, influenced by the antidepressant. Moxon had filed a Freedom of Information request to the FDA in 1990, obtaining copies of the 17,000 adverse reactions reports (ADRs) against Prozac—at the time more ADRs than any other drug in the FDA’s history. Yesterday, he accused the FDA of “acting in the interest of the pharmaceutical companies instead of the public that you serve” when it ignored the earlier and yesterday’s testimony of adult suicide risk from antidepressants.

“The stories from the victims have not changed – but more importantly – neither has the FDA,” Moxon said. The 1991 panel included psychiatrists with financial interests in pharmaceutical companies and this incestuous relationship, Moxon said, has placed consumers at risk because of the FDA’s failure to warn them of antidepressant dangers. Yesterday it was given the opportunity to correct this and failed, according to Moxon.

“The FDA has not changed in the past 15 years,” Moxon added. “It is still dismissing adults who experience suicidal and violent side effects as anecdotal and still relying upon the pharmaceutical companies and psychiatrists for its information.” With deeply imbedded financial ties to the antidepressant industry, whose sales topped $15.5 billion in 2005, FDA panel members routinely ignore testimony that threatens profits.

Mrs. Suzanne Gonzales admonished the panel for not acting in time to save her 40-year-old husband, who shot himself in the head shortly after he started taking Paxil. “I hold you all responsible for his death, and I always will,” she said.

In July, Senator Charles Grassley, who has conducted oversight of the FDA, responded to a Union of Concerned Scientists survey about the FDA, in which 81% of the 998 FDA scientists surveyed, agreed that the “public would be better served if the independence and authority of the FDA post market safety systems were strengthened.” Since then, he coauthored bipartisan legislation to improve post market surveillance of drugs by the FDA (S. 930) and to require information about clinical trials be publicly available (S. 470). Senator Grassley said that the FDA needed to “re-establish its relationship with its own scientists and distance itself from the drug industry.”

Moxon said this should also extend to the psychiatric industry that profits from pharmaceutical company funding. Congressional investigation and intervention is needed to ensure the FDA acts in the interest of consumers it was established to protect.

CCHR is an international psychiatric watchdog that has been in the vanguard of patients' rights since it was co-founded in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and Dr. Thomas Szasz, Professor of Psychiatry Emeritus at the State University of New York Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, to investigate and expose psychiatric violations of human rights.

115 Suspicious Patient Deaths in Psychiatric Wards

Atlanta Journal-Constitution Exposes 115 Suspicious Patient Deaths in Psychiatric Wards

Physical Abuse, Massive Drugging and Medical Neglect Among Common Abuses

In the early morning of February 13, 2006, 14-year-old Sarah Crider, on a cocktail of psychiatric drugs, died alone at the Georgia Regional psychiatric hospital, lying in a pool of her own vomit. Her horrific and preventable death was exposed in an investigation by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC), described in a January 7^th article, which uncovered at least 115 suspicious patient deaths in Georgia’s state psychiatric hospitals between 2002-2006, involving patients choking on food, lack of proper medical care, suicide, physical restraint and other unnatural causes. The AJC article reported that the findings—“employees beating patients with aluminum pipes to doctors widely prescribing sedatives just to maintain order—evoke images [of horrific psychiatric treatment] from the mid-20^th century….” According to the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) a mental health watchdog, in just 4 decades, more Americans have died in psychiatric institutions than American soldiers killed in battle in all the wars since 1776—including World Wars I and II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Gulf Wars and Iraq War.

A testament to the barbaric conditions still found in psychiatric facilities today, the AJC reported that at the end of her last visit to Sarah at the hospital, Sarah’s grandmother “heard a loud, prolonged scream from behind the locked door to Sarah’s unit. A hospital employee explained that a patient was being restrained.” According to Dr. Bernard Aarons, former director of the Center for Mental Health Services, restraint deaths by mental health staff could result in as much as 150 deaths a year.

Due to exposure of these needless and tragic abuses, federal regulations in the United States now prohibit the use of physical and chemical restraints to coerce or discipline psychiatric patients. However, with government-funded psychiatric institutions lacking independent oversight, deaths, rapes and abuses occurring in the facilities routinely go uninvestigated and unpunished. For more information on child deaths resulting from psychiatric "treatment," read The Silent Death of America's Children, a publication by the Citizens Commission on Human Rights, or click here to learn more about violent and lethal restraints in psychiatric facilities.

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The above is one more example of why psychiatry is a failure that should be abolished. There are better ways to treat people who are mentally frail and in need of compassionate help. Check out alternative mental health.com .

A medical evaluation field manual was created to help psychiatrists know what medical tests to perform when a person is so deranged that involuntary commitment is imminent. This field manual was created out of research which found that 40% of those people institutionalized had a untreated genuine medical illness that was causing or significantly contributing to the mental illness they had been labeled with.

Every County in America had a "Department of Mental Health". Have you ever heard of a "Department of Diabetes"? or a "Department of Heart Disease"? No and you never will. Psychiatry and the rest of the mental health industry has pushed to have patients forced to accept their treatment coupled with a reliable funding source... namely our tax dollars.

Fraud in the mental health field is not an isolated incident. Dr. Seltzer, M.D. is a psychiatrist who wrote about his experience as a fraud investigator in the Psychiatric Times Vol. XIII Issue 4

He writes: "For mental health providers to get reimbursed from Medicaid, patients had to be diagnosed with a major psychiatric illness, which then qualified them to apply for food stamps, SSD, SSI, free prescriptions and free medical and psychiatric care. Once they received Medicaid benefits patients also were eligible for disability. If they were well enough to work, they couldn't get free psychiatric care.

Thus, the psychiatry provider develops a strong self-interest to approve people for disability, and "patients" who are interested in taking the system for some money learn how to act seriously mentally ill.

It soon became very evident to me that many of my patients could work. One of my patients was on disability for depression. He was taking 20 credit hours at two different colleges, and denied any depressive symptoms.

"Look, Doc," he told me, "I'll get off welfare next year when I get my degree. I'll have to. I have a good job lined up as a nurse."

When I refused to sign his disability papers (he wanted food stamps on top of SSI), the clinic administrator spoke to me.

"I know some people shouldn't be here, but we don't get paid unless they are disabled. If you don't sign, the medical director just signs them off," he said.

The above is another example of an industry which seeks to keep its patients under control for the benefit of the psychiatrist, not the patient.

To learn more about the work of Citizens Commission on Human Rights or Dr. Karl Hoffower, click here for CCHR or here for Dr.Karl's myspace page

Does real illness cause Psychiatric Symptoms?

People sometimes ask me, "Don't you believe mental illness is real?" My response? Psychiatrists themselves admit there is no illness in "mental illness". Now does someone need help who is wrapping their head in tin-foil, screaming aliens are beaming microwaves into their head? Of course, but putting them under the authority of psychiatry is not the way to help them

If you have only seen by a psychiatrist, you weren't diagnosed. You were labeled by one of the lowest scoring medical students in the US. That isn't just a funny joke, it is the truth. Psychiatrists score the lowest compared to other physicians. They scored lower on United States Medical Licensing Examinations than any other type of medical doctor.

Diagnosis is a method of deciding what illness or injury you have that is different and separate form any other illness, disease or injury. Psychiatrists choose a label out of their own book, the DSM. This label was voted into existence by a show of hands at the annual convention of psychiatrists. it wasn't as if a real doctor "discovered" a new disease. Nope just...all of you guys think this is a good label? Raise your hand!!

Now to the title of this blog, does real illness cause mental duress and wierd behavior? The answer is yes and the psychiatrists have known about this for decades. Yet time after time a study exposes the fact that many people have a genuine, real and treatable medical illness that is causing or greatly worsening their mental state but are only getting psychiatric drugs. I've linked two of the 5 I found with a few hours searching.

Here is the conclusion of one study, " Active and important physical disorders are common among patients admitted to psychiatric inpatient units. Some patients' mental symptoms are caused or exacerbated by undiagnosed medical conditions. Additional research is needed to define cost-effective medical evaluation methods for patients in this setting and to devise ways to convince program administrators and staff to implement them".
Psychiatr Serv 53:1623-1625, December 2002
Medical Disorders Among Patients Admitted to a Public-Sector Psychiatric Inpatient Unit Lorrin M. Koran, M.D.,

Hosp Community Psychiatry 35:1151-1152, November 1984
© 1984 American Psychiatric Association

Mobile Medical Screening Teams for Public Programs
Lorrin M. Koran M.D.et al
"The high prevalence of previously undetected, important physical disease in mentally disordered patients argues strongly for medical screening of this population".

MY POINT? Go see a regular medical doctor and get a full and searching physical exam if someone is acting strange or saying weird things. Chances are they have an unusual manifestation of a real and actual disease.

Dr. Karl Hoffower
President, South Bay Chapter
Citizens Commission on Human Rights

Government Accountability - San Jose's Sunshine Reform Taskforce

Due to overwhelming pressure and the fact that San Jose's City business was occurring in the dark. The San Jose City Council created the Sunshine Reform Task Force (SRTF)

I serve as the Non-profit representative on the task force. My name was literally chosen out of a hat by the City Clerk, Lee Price.

I was very honored when City Council member, Linda LeZotte asked if I would be willing for her to submit my name into the pool of potential members.

I found out I was chosen when I got numerous emails and a few voice mails congratulating me. I think it took 3 or 4 emails before someone actually mentioned what they were congratulating me for.

It has been quite a learning curve for me, but one I truly cherish.

Essentially being raised in San Jose my whole life. I never realized just how big, powerful and widespread our city has become. It is unfortunate that we need a SRTF. But I am so glad that our City Council had the guts to make this a reality.

You can watch the meetings live via webcast or take a look at past meetings here.

I will keep you up to date on what we are going to be delivering to the new Mayor and City Council to help make San Jose a great city for all of us.

Dr. Karl Hoffower

Podcast with Dr Karl

I taped a podcast with Doc Wong for his New Civilization podcast site. He has lost a great interviews. You can download my podcast directly by clicking here.

Hope you like it.

Dr. Karl Hoffower


look here to - http://www.podcastdirectory.com/podcasts/17786

http://www.newcivilizationpodcast.org/

Mother sues Santa Clara County CPS for $400 million billing fraud

A few websites are publicizing an erroneous story about the $400 million fraud lawsuit filed against Santa Clara County. An innocent mother had her children removed by corrupt Social Workers. She got her kids back as soon as a Judge was seen. Later it was discovered that Santa Clara County's Department of Family and Children Services had submitted fraudulent bills on her case to the CA State and Federal Governments. The bills state Santa Clara County removed and processed more children than the mother had ever given birth to. Submitting bills for more work than you have done is fraud, pure and simple. County employees must be held to the same code of conduct as the average citizen.

When I found out about this lawsuit I helped write a press release to alert the public about this fraud. Late in the evening when CCHR South Bay sent out the press release, a very tired and ill reporter with the Bay City News Wire wrote a story about the lawsuit. She unfortunately made a mistake and did not correctly name who had filed the lawsuit.

When informed of the error, the Bay City News Wire wrote a correction. The San Jose Mercury News, CBS-KPIX TV, ABC-KGO TV, FOX KTVU TV and other media who carried the story replaced the news story with the corrected version that rightly names Attorney Doug Linde and this mother as the parties who filed the lawsuit.

You can read all about it below.

Dr. Karl Hoffower

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Fraud Investigation Against Department of Children and Family Services of Santa Clara County

The Linde Law Firm has filed a lawsuit, based upon specific evidence, alleging a pattern and practice by the Department of Children and Family Services of Santa Clara County of increasing its funding by setting up accounts for fictional children and seeking reimbursement from Plaintiffs the State of California and the United States of America for purported services on their behalf. Of course, no services are performed on behalf of these fictional children and all bills submitted in their regard are false claims.

A copy of the Complaint may be viewed here (PDF 143KB).

If your children have been taken and/or returned by the Santa Clara Department of Social Services, and you would like to assist in the investigation of these allegations, please provide the information indicated below in an email.

• Full name
• Address
• Telephone Number
• E-mail

Please e-mail us the above contact information.

Vested Mental Health Interests Under Attack - Texas Lawsuit

Lawsuit says drug companies conned state

By MARK HORVIT

Star-Telegram staff writer

A recently unsealed lawsuit accuses Johnson & Johnson and related companies, including Janssen Pharmaceutical, of conning the state of Texas into spending millions of dollars on costly psychiatric drugs.

The suit targets a controversial state program that instructs doctors at state-funded healthcare facilities about which medicines to prescribe for a variety of mental illnesses.

The suit was filed in 2004 in Travis County by Allen Jones, a former employee of the Pennsylvania Office of Inspector General who investigated drug companies' ties to his state's officials. In the process, he learned of allegations related to Texas. The Texas attorney general's office has joined the lawsuit.

The lawsuit was sealed until late Friday while the attorney general's office looked into the case. The suit seeks damages that would amount to millions of dollars.

Brand-name expenses

While the suit does not name a "state mental health program decision-maker" who it alleges received payments and other benefits, a spokeswoman for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission confirmed that the lawsuit refers to Dr. Steven Shon, who managed the program. Shon took more than 80 trips throughout the country and abroad to promote it, with his expenses often underwritten by drug companies.

Shon, who left the Department of State Health Services this fall while the investigation was ongoing, said he has not received money from drug companies in connection with his work for the state. Money paid for his travel expenses or to reimburse taxpayers for his time away from the office, he said.

"These assertions are really ridiculous," he said.

However, Shon said he received a few thousand dollars from Janssen several years ago for consulting work unrelated to his state job. He said he got approval from the department's legal staff, but commission spokeswoman Stephanie Goodman said the agency was unaware of payments and would not have approved them.

The lawsuit alleges that Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiaries misled state officials about the benefits of the antipsychotic drug Risperdal, including promoting it for treating children when the drug had not been federally approved for such use. The company's influence led the state to purchase the expensive brand-name drug instead of cheaper generic alternatives, according to the lawsuit. The result, it alleges, was that the state paid excessive amounts in claims for Medicaid, which covers medical costs for low-income people.

Spokesmen for Janssen and the attorney general's office declined to comment Tuesday.

Drug-company donations

A major portion of the lawsuit focuses on the Texas Medication Algorithm Project, which Shon coordinated. That program offers a series of treatment plans, or algorithms, for various mental illnesses, including which drugs to use. In many cases, the plans recommend the newest drugs, which are the most expensive and are not available in generic form. The plan allows doctors to deviate from the recommendations if they have sound reasons to do so, state officials say.

Supporters of the algorithms say that in many cases, the newer drugs are more effective than their older counterparts and can have fewer debilitating side effects. But many of the newer drugs have come under increasing scrutiny from federal regulators, including warnings that they can increase the risk of suicidal behavior or can lead to illnesses such as diabetes.

Such drugs generate much income for pharmaceutical companies. In a recent three-year period, more than $190 million was paid in Texas for outpatient Medicaid claims for Risperdal alone, according to the state Health and Human Services Commission. During those same years -- 2002 to 2005 -- almost $700 million was spent on all antipsychotic medications combined. That does not include care for those who are in state institutions.

Drug companies, including Janssen, gave the state more than $1 million to help promote the plan. And the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, established by the founder of Janssen parent company Johnson & Johnson, gave $2 million. A company spokesman previously said the foundation is independent of the company.

The exact amount donated by the companies remains unclear. Shon has acknowledged that his agency did not always seek required approval from the department's governing board before accepting donations.

Forced out

Shon left his job with the state in October. Goodman would not say why Shon left but confirmed that department officials had been notified of the attorney general's investigation before his departure. In a memo provided to the Star-Telegram by the commission, the department's acting commissioner informed Shon that he was being terminated "effective immediately." No reason was given.

But Shon said he was given the option of resigning or being terminated, and he chose to leave. He said he was told that "the direction I was going in was not the direction the department was going in." He added that he believes that the pressure of the investigation played a role.

Shon said that in his role as coordinator of the project, he did not make decisions about which drugs should be recommended. Those were made by a panel of experts, he said.

He was not the only state official to make trips to promote the algorithms in various states and countries, including Italy, Japan and South Korea. Various versions of the Texas program have been adopted in more than a dozen states.

Goodman said the department still supports the algorithm program. A number of experts believe they are valid, she said.

My Space

Take a look at my new page on myspace.

Dr. Karl Hoffower