Bloomberg Businessweek - USA (2020-10-12)

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BloombergBusinessweek October12, 2020

fromcardiothoracic surgery—and conventional
medical practicealtogether—ultimately founding
DelawareIntegrativeMedicine.Ina recordedtalk,he
attributedthedecisiontohavingbenefitedhimselffrom
ozonetherapyforshoulderinjuries.“Thatchangedtherest
ofmylifeandhowI practicemedicine,”hesaid.Hebegan
tomarkethimselfasa Lyme-literatedoctorspecializingin
ozonetreatments.HespokeatanILADSconferencein
October2015,justdaysafterDejayCartwright’sdeath.
In2017,TiffanyCartwrightsuedChildersandhis
clinicfornegligence.Ina pretrialorder,thecourt
statedthatinhisdeposition,Childerstestifiedhe’dleft
Beebebecauseofa fingerinjuryand“hadneverbeen
subjecttoanyattemptstosuspendorrevokehismedi-
callicense.”But,accordingtothatorder,Tiffany’slawyers
laterlearnedthat,in2012,theDelawareBoardofMedical
LicensureandDisciplineandthestateattorneygeneral’soffice
hadjointlyfileda complaintandmovedforanemergencysus-
pensionofhislicense“duetotheclearandimmediatedan-
gerheposestothepublichealth.”ThecomplaintsaidBeebe
hadsuspendedChilders’sprivilegesin2012.(Childerssays
personalanimosityonthepartofhospitalco-workersdrove
themtobuildaninflatedcaseforhisouster.)Thecomplaint
didn’ttriggerdisciplinaryactionfromtheDelawareboard,
andChilderssaysit wassubsequentlydismissed.Thatleft
scantpublicrecordoftheaccusations.
JeffreyFord,investigativesupervisorattheDelaware
DivisionofProfessionalRegulation,whichvetscomplaints
forthemedicalboard,saysChildershasreceivedthreecom-
plaintsrelatedtomalpracticeinthestate.Twowerefound
tobeunsubstantiatedandwereclosed.Thedivisionreferred
thethird,whichit receivedinMarch2019,totheofficeofthe
state’sattorneygenerallastOctober,evenasitsowninvesti-
gationintoChilders’sconductcontinues.A spokesmanfor
theattorneygeneral’sofficeconfirmedthecaseis stillpend-
ing;becauseofprivacyrules,it’sunclearwhetherit’srelated
toCartwright’sdeath.SaysChilders:“We’venever,everhad
a problemlikethiswithanypatient.One’stoomany.”
InadditiontodisputingthatCartwright’sportwasnotice-
ablyinfected,Childersrecallsurginghertoseekemergency
caresinceshefeltunwell.“Shewasa greatlady,andshewas
reallydoingwell,”hesays.“Itwassounfortunate.”AsTiffany’s
lawsuitheadedtowarda jurytrialearlylastyear,theparties
agreedtosettle.Shereceiveda paymentinthelowsixfigures.

Thecont
roversya
roundho
wto
characterizeandtreat
apparent Lyme symptomshaslatelybecomea frontinthe
larger war on science,reminiscentofthefightsovervaccines
or using hydroxychloroquineonCovid-19patients.Infectious-
disease specialists who’veraisedconcernsaboutunproven
Lyme protocols havesometimesfacedcoordinatedharass-
ment and threats.Insomecases,evenclinicianswho’ve
harmed patients endupbeingdefendedbyvocal,organized,
and well-funded networks.GroupssuchastheGlobalLyme
Alliance and the BayAreaLymeFoundationareflushwith

cash;thehedgefundmanagerStevenCohen,whosewife,

Alexandra,haspersistentLymesymptoms,hasgivenmore

than$50milliontowardrelatedgroupssince2015.They

alsoboastcelebrityalliessuchasJustinBieberandAvril

Lavigne,bothofwhomreceivedLymediagnosesandhave

shareddetailsoftheiralternativetreatmentprotocols.

Advocateshavepushedforlegislationthatwouldshield

doctorsfrommedicalboard disciplineandliabilityfor

unorthodoxpractices.In2012,MittRomney,duringhiscam-

paignastheRepublicancandidateforpresident,distributed

materialspromisingtoprotectalternativeLymepractitioners

fromlawsuitsrelatedtoaggressiveantibioticregimes.Elected

officials,includingSenatorsRichardBlumenthal(D-Conn.)

andKirstenGillibrand(D-N.Y.),have

beeninvolvedinfundraisingandadvo-

cacy that undermineestablishedCDC

guidelinesforLyme.Blumenthal,Gillibrand,andothers

pushedfora provisionina 2016packageofdrug-development

laws,the21stCenturyCuresAct,thatestablisheda Tick-Borne

DiseaseWorkingGroupundertheU.S.DepartmentofHealth

andHumanServices.Thegroupis populatedbyactivistswho

opposetheprimacyofevidence-basedtreatments,according

tocurrentandformermembers,anditsreportstoCongress

includetheirrebuttalsalongsidescientificfindings.

“Wehavethisnotionthatif you’redesperate,you’reyour

ownjudgeofwhatrisksyouwanttotake,”saysArthurCaplan,

headoftheDivisionofMedicalEthicsatNYUGrossman

SchoolofMedicine.“Butyoucanbesoeasilyexploited.And

desperationdoesn’tmakefora rationalchoice.”

Theuncertaintysurroundingthecausesofpeople’ssuf-

feringhaslefttensofthousandsofthem—somewithpast

Lymediagnoses,somenot—togatherinprivateLyme-focused

Facebookgroups,sharinga steadystreamofanti-sciencepro-

paganda,self-diagnoses,andquestionablehomeremedies

thattheyinject,ingest,orfeedtochildrenandpets.Some

grouprulesstipulatethatpractitioners’namesmaybeshared

onlyinprivatemessagessotheydon’tbecometargetsforreg-

ulatorsormedia.OnInstagram,patientspromoteproducts

suchasanunproventreatmentwithbeevenomandcloth-

ingdesignedtoaccommodateportorPICCdevices.Anda

searchfor“Lymedisease” on GoFundMe turns up more than

4,300 crowdfunding campaigns, some with five- or six-figure

fundraising goals. Absent a strong regulatory system, offi-

cials express fears that desperate patients will continue to

be exploited.

At his clinic, Henry Childers has lately expanded his offer-

ings to include a menu of stem-cell treatments, some of which

are derived from a patient’s own cells and which aren’t FDA-

approved. The clinic’s website markets these as remedies for

a swath of conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis and

chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The typical stem-cell

protocol runs about $8,000 and isn’t covered by insurance, but

in a video posted online in April, Childers offers a discount.

“Anyone who’s watching,” he says, “if you come in for a con-

sultation, we’re gonna reduce the price by another $1,000.” <BW>

“De

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