Outcomes from the Kadile case

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients,  July, 2004  by Terry Chappell

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Editor:

What was accomplished by defending Eleazar Kadile under the excellent counsel of attorneys Frank Recker and Ray Roder, with the advisory team of Tim Bolen, Bob Waters, and Terry Chappell, and with the financial backing of Wally Simons and many others? A settlement was reached. The initial statements of each section are the terms and conditions that Kadile's previous attorney strongly urged him to accept. The Outcome statements list what actually happened.

I. Accused of substandard treatment of several patients due to use of thyroid replacement, environmental medicine, and chelation therapy. There were no patient complaints. Outcome: all allegations related to patient care were dropped.

II. Chelation therapy was not accepted by the Board as an appropriate treatment for any of four patients in question. In fact, according to the prosecutor, Arthur Thexton, the Board's position was that chelation therapy was both ineffective and dangerous. Outcome: The Board made no findings or comments on the use of chelation therapy. In fact they stated that they had no position on the use of chelation therapy. Thexton's statement was found to be inaccurate.

III. The Board contended that Robert Baratz, as state's expert, was qualified to give admissible testimony on all aspects of the charges, including his broad-brushed indictment of CAM. Outcome: This finding was deleted. Although the judge did not dismiss Baratz altogether, during cross-examination, Baratz was discredited on many points (see section XVIII below). His testimony is now public record and can be used against him wherever he surfaces as an "expert" witness in the future.

IV. The Board accused Dr. Kadile of "unprofessional conduct" relating to the treatment of several patients using chelation. therapy, natural thyroid replacement and environmental medicine. Outcome: The Board reprimanded Dr. Kadile for minor advertising statements made almost 10 years ago. No mention of unprofessional conduct nor any of these therapies was made.

V. In order to treat patients, Dr. Kadile was to be ordered to first inform all other primary care physicians and cardiologists in writing of his diagnosis and treatment plan. Outcome: Provision was deleted.

VI. Dr. Kadile was to be forbidden from prescribing any drugs for uses not FDA-approved (i.e. off-label drug use was forbidden). Outcome: Provision was deleted.

VII. Dr. Kadile was to be forbidden to prescribe any compounded drug or drug product. Outcome: Provision was deleted.

VIII. Dr. Kadile was to be forbidden from ordering any laboratory test from commonly used laboratories in Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) without full disclosure that the test was experimental and found to be inappropriate and possibly dangerous by the Medical Board (there was no evidence that the Medical Board had made these determinations). Outcome: Provision was deleted.

IX. Dr. Kadile was to be forbidden to sell any goods or article for other than actual cost without a detailed informed consent that the patient is purchasing the article voluntarily and is aware that he or she can purchase it elsewhere. Outcome: Provision was deleted.

X. Dr. Kadile was to be forbidden to use any unconventional treatment, including chelation therapy, natural thyroid replacement, and environmental medicine without a detailed informed consent that included a statement that the Board had examined the therapy in question and found it to be inappropriate and possibly dangerous (another incorrect statement). Outcome: this provision was deleted, except that a mutually agreed upon informed consent will be required for treating a patient with chelation therapy. It was also agreed that a patient would have a three-day waiting period prior to receiving chelation therapy, unless the patient had received it elsewhere. The Board stated that it had no policy against the use of CAM. After Tim Bolen met with Sandra Rowe, the new chief of enforcement in Wisconsin, she told him that they no longer were going to go after CAM docs. She agreed to work with Bolen on resolving the 13 cases in Wisconsin that he was working on. Rowe admitted that they had a significant problem with two prosecutors in her department and stated that in the future they would be closely supervised.

XI. Dr. Kadile was to be required to hire an outside monitor to review his medical practice on a regular basis for at least three years. Outcome: this provision was deleted.

XII. Dr. Kadile was to be reprimanded for stating in the newspaper that he had been certified by the Board of Environmental Medicine, when the actual name of the Board is the American Board of Environmental Medicine and he was told that he must specify that this Board is not recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties (most are not). Outcome: this provision was deleted but was mentioned by the judge in his decision on costs.

XIII. Dr. Kadile's wife, Genia, continued to be attacked by prosecutor Thexton for using a title of certified nutritionist because she was not certified by Wisconsin, although she was indeed certified by the state of New York. Thexton continued his attacks on Genia even after the settlement of Dr. Kadile's case. Outcome: another judge then threw out the case. Initially, Thexton objected, but the next day he told the judge that he had been ordered to withdraw his objections.