Healthcare Industry

US Stem Cell Loses Appeal

US Stem Cell has been featured many times on this blog. In an unsurprising move, an appeals court just upheld a lower court decision on the concept that adipose stromal vascular fraction prepared in a doctor’s office is a drug that can be regulated by the FDA. This ruling also contains an interesting easter egg…read more

New Medicare CAC Meeting on Amniotic Reimbursement: No Surprises Here

I have been tracking the Medicare billing scams involving amniotic fluid for some time now. This week, Medicare held a critical CAC meeting. What the heck is that and why should you care? Let’s dig in. Medicare Billing for Amniotic injections Medicare doesn’t cover amniotic injections for arthritis, tendon/ligament issues, or spinal pain. Period. End…read more

Should Naturopaths Be Able to Perform Complex Spinal Procedures?

I’ve covered this issue a few times on this blog. We have naturopaths with limited medical training who are performing complex interventional spine and surgical procedures. As I have reviewed their practice acts, IMHO many are violating these acts, but the medical boards that could stop this are asleep at the wheel. Let’s dig in.…read more

VSELs – State of the Art Regen Med or Fairy Dust?

There has been a two-decade-long debate in Regenerative Medicine concerning tiny stem cells. I had largely forgotten about these Very Small Embryonic Like (VSEL) stem cells until a patient came into the clinic claiming that he had been treated with them. So what is this and why should we care? Let’s dig in. What Are…read more

Medicare Umbilical Cord and Amniotic “Stem Cell” Scam Is Crashing

I’ve blogged a number of times on manufacturers who found a creative way to make it appear that their umbilical cord and amniotic “stem cell” products were covered by Medicare to treat orthopedic and spinal problems. This scam is now ending and recent information from CMS provides hard evidence of that change. Let’s dig in.…read more

The Insurance Coverage Bioethics Dilemma

There a raging controversy among physicians since the advent of orthobiologics that I would like to explore. Should a doctor push a patient towards something that may work, but is a bad or “less good” option solely because there is insurance coverage? What ethical responsibility does the physician have to recommend all options and encourage…read more

What Is QC Kinetix?

I was recently asked to look at the QC Kinetix website by a physician colleague. After almost a week of digging deep, I thought I would share what I found. In addition, the unique set-up of these clinics raises all sorts of fascinating questions. For example, what is the role of a physician’s assistant or…read more

Paragon Integrated Medical: The Scams Continue

It’s time again to explore the stem cell wild west. Today’s entry is a clinic in California, but what you’ll see here might as well be any integrative chiropractic clinic offering “stem cells”. I’ll cover two interesting models over the next two blogs on this topic that both miss the mark. Let’s dig in. Integrated…read more