PT "Whore" of the Month Club #1

Now that 2008 is underway, we thought it would be useful to start a "PT Whore of the Month" club. These will be organizations or individuals that represent the worst of PT.

For January 2008, the PT Whore of the Month is a company called webpt.net (Bear in mind, we are NOT referring to our friend WebPT.com, an EMR software vendor). Larry recently blogged about webpt.net. Their founder, Mark Spier, is also apparently under investigation for violations related to employing aides and working on a probationary license.

Please submit your entries for consideration as a comment to this post or send an email to info@evidenceinmotion.com. We will select from the submissions and post one a month.

EIM Team

 

Note: In the event that anyone is concerned with our use of the word "Whore", we are referring to definition #4 below.

whore-

1. a woman who engages in promiscuous sexual intercourse, usually for money; prostitute; harlot; strumpet.

2. to act as a whore.

3. to consort with whores.

–verb (used with object)

4. Obsolete. to make a whore of; corrupt; debauch.

Comments

[Phil Hanson]

May I suggest next month's candidate at the following weblink:

http://hqchiro.com/custom_content/12149_services__techniques.html

They may not be PT's, but the claims made in the link are highly troubling.

[sean]

Did you notice their latest infringement on licensed and certified personnel? Dieticians! can you believe these tools have the audacity to think they have a clue about proper nutrition?
I've noticed that it is their latest way to supplement income by selling supplements and "provide structural nutritional problems for individual needs".
When is someone going to reign these quacks in?

[sean]

I just did a search of squidoo lenses on chiropractors. Here is the #2 Lense:
http://www.squidoo.com/chiroquack
At least someone out there finally gets it. and apparently lots of people are getting his message.

[Marshall]

It is certainly about time we are doing intraprofessional policing. Protecting the public from "PT-Quacks" is probably more important for our image than anything else.

[Jason Silvernail]

I love this post.

Kudos to the EIM team for calling a spade a spade and generating some discussion and professional censure for this sort of behavior.

[Chad]

The sad thing about the practice referenced in Phil's post, is that it is reflective of a bigger problem with both the chiro and PT practice acts in Maryland. Both acts permit chiros to receive a physical therapy license, from the chiro board of course, and subsequently claim they perform PT after a staggering 270 hours of training. False claims are bad enough, but practice act support making it legal is a whole other issue, which makes me thankful I don't practice in Maryland.

http://www.mdchiro.org/Chiro%20Regulations%20.%202007.htm

[Kyle]

Im not sure "PT Whore of the Month" is the most profrssional way to approach this subject. On the topic of webPT, his idea isnt any different than many MD sites out there. Suppose the creator was a PT with a over one hundred thosand dollars of school loans to re-pay, making about 40K a year and trying to support a family. Can you blame him for trying to supplement his income? Its only a matter of time until respectable pt's are creating more sites. We've got to continually evolve.

[VPC]

ummmm...suppose he is trying to support his family and pay off student loans by robbing banks and mugging mature ladies.....Can you really blame him for trying to supplement his income?

[BZ]

Good idea for a posting segment. Poor choice of wording.

[John Ware]

Kyle,
Have you actually looked at the webPT site? He charges $45 for an online "evaluation." Here's a quote:

"Within 24 hours, a licensed physical therapist will examine your symptoms and provide a personalized assessment and treatment program to treat your injury for only $45."

How does one "examine" symptoms?

You call this "evolving"? I call it misrepresentative, insulting, unprofessional and self-serving. And don't excuse this behavior by telling us that physicians do the same thing, as if all of them are pillars of ethical conduct.

Good idea for a posting segment. Exquisite choice of wording.

[Marshall]

On a related note.. I thought this was interesting:

http://www.jayparkinsonmd.com/index.html

[Kyle]

VPC, John;
I think this PT could be tapping into a market currently untouched by PT's. That being the injured, uninsured and unable to afford face to face time with a medical professional. I doubt that insured or well off people would visit a site like this as opposed to actually seeing a PT. However, the guy looking for a job who hurt his back snowboarding or biking last week might be looking for some help without going broke. I dont know if this particular site is safe, ethical, etc at this point given the verbage he is using, but I would assume this type of practice is going to continue, improve and expand. What do you think?

[John Ware]

Kyle,
There's a huge market for worthless nutritional supplements, palm-reading and online doctor of divinity degrees, but that doesn't mean a professional should "tap into" these markets, unless it can be done in a way that is ethical, accurate and actually beneficial to society.

I've looked at the guy's website, and I'm convinced he's just trying to use his credentials to make a quick buck. You can't "examine" symptoms.

And how in the world is the guy who hurt his back snowboarding or biking last week going to benefit from an online "examination" of his symptoms? Chances are that best practice would include spinal manipulation followed by instruction in specific exercises, maybe even one's with a directional preference included. There's no way that treatment could be provided with an online consultation. And that's a best-case scenario assuming the patient doesn't have something more sinister going on.

At best, this guy may be delaying more appropriate care for someone's condition, at worst he may be doing harm by missing something that only a face to face EXAMINATION and EVALUATION could identify. In either case, I am steadfastly against our profession promoting or participating in online diagnosis and treatment of musculoskeletal injuries. I think, at least at today's level of technology, that would be bad public health policy.

[VPC]

Kyle,

I doubt someone who is snowboarding or biking cannot afford even a cash based PT clinic. If you are referral to underpriveleged populations, how many of them have access to a computer, are tech savy enough to find there way to this site, and then still pay 40 bucks to use it? Think about it....the clinic I manage charges 65 dollars for a cash based visit verses 40 for a bogus online PT site where you really don't know who is on the other end of the site.

And be careful what you wish for....if you want to embrace online physical therapy as a way to address issues in the affordability of physical therapy, you will soon be in the unemployment line with everyone else whose job has went overseas.

On a side note, the link that Marshall posted had an interesting line about how to match health care with his "mobile lifestyle" That may be great for a six figure income guy living in the Park Slope area in Brooklyn, NY, but what about the guy in Cleveland, OH or Silver City, NY...do you think thier IT mobile lifestyle is going to lend themselves to this kind of service?

John, well said!

[Tim]

Worthless nutritional supplements? Have you bothered studying nutrition at all? I am a third year physical therapy student who spends a lot of time reading about nutrition. At least chiropractors learn about it in school!

[John Ware]

Tim,
Do you disagree with me that there are worthless (if not dangerous) nutritional supplements? I'll share with you this excerpt from a recent report from an FDA commisioner:

"...over the last 15 months, FDA has witnessed the voluntary destruction of approximately $7.7 million of dietary supplements that were determined to be non-compliant with the FD&C Act and has monitored two voluntary recalls of dietary supplement products.

"FDA also sent numerous Warning Letters to marketers of products represented as dietary supplements but whose products did not qualify as such because claims on them caused them to be misbranded and/or unapproved drugs. At least two of these Warning Letters were sent to firms whose products were marketed in lieu of approved drugs that were available to the public. For example, one made claims that its products were alternatives to vaccinations/immunizations against anthrax, measles, smallpox, and encephalitis; the other promoted its product as a natural alternative to Ritalin for ADHD. This calendar year, FDA also issued Warning Letters to 18 firms marketing coral calcium products as effective treatments or cures for a variety of disease conditions. In addition, FDA and the FTC warned website operators, manufacturers, and distributors who were making misleading or deceptive claims on the Internet regarding their products ability to prevent, treat, or cure SARS that they must cease making these impermissible claims. FDA also issued Warning Letters to 8 firms marketing “dietary supplements” as street drug alternatives and warned 26 firms to stop making unproven claims that ephedrine-containing dietary supplements could enhance athletic performance.

Lastly, over the course of the course of the last 15 months FDA utilized its judicial and administrative enforcement tools to take one injunction action and 8 seizure actions against marketers of, and/or fraudulent dietary supplements. Six of the seizure actions occurred in FY 2003 alone, including 3 that were undertaken in cooperation with FTC."

The nutritional supplement industry is rife with fraud and misleading advertising claims. The chiros and nutritional supplements? "Birds of a feather..."

[Jason Silvernail]

Tim-
Here's the kind of thing found in chiropractic "nutrition education". At least they learn it in school, right?

http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/chironutr.html

http://www.chirobase.org/14Misc/huml.html

[Ex-Chiro]

Click here to see what practicing and ex-chiropractors think about chiropractic. It's the largest forum on the internet:

http://www.chirotalk.proboards3.com

[hurt of all]

i was with her for 15 years have two kids worked eveyday. she wood sit home and try to take care of the kids , she couldent handle them with out pot. not even then she could handle them ............ short story I ended up cutting her off. dont get me wrong someing a dank once you get off work or stress full day is exceptional in every case. it just when they had to ahve it to do any thing . that when I knew thing go way out . well i went on woking . one day i got off early she was fucking the pot man brian foler elgen il he was like 44 or older gross iwas 29 she ruin my kids life it was one of there best friends dads his wife is in denial i toled her that night she called me alier and started crying the girl that would hert everone angie maddox if you dont belive i have picturs to prove she lives on plato road in birliton il

[Mendel Potok]

Second on the quack watch, man I hate those guys!