Clipping Board » Medical Harm ─ Unnecessary or inappropriate medical procedures can also cause harm.
Business Today
Lin Weiling, Lin Siyu
July 29, 2015
Online-famous weight-loss doctors promise rapid results—shedding 20 kilograms in just three months—but at a hefty cost. Should I trust them completely just because they're "celebrity doctors"? And despite clinics clearly listing side effects on prescriptions, patients still flock to them. Don’t consumers bear some responsibility?
Weight-loss clinics, whether offering traditional Chinese or Western medicine, are everywhere, all vying for a share of Taiwan’s NT$60 billion annual diet industry. Word of mouth has made certain clinics wildly popular, often overcrowded.
But do you know what these "miracle" clinics are actually making you take?
TV anchor Tseng Huai-ying, aiming to look better on camera, tried multiple weight-loss clinics starting this April. She visited "Yadeli Life Clinic," "Wangpin Clinic" on Dunhua South Road in Taipei, "Yang’s Clinic" run by renowned weight-loss doctor Yang Ming-quan, and "Mei Mei Pandora Clinic," which was once suspended for three months due to using banned weight-loss drugs. She obtained prescriptions from all four.
Reviewing these "celebrity doctor" prescriptions, Dr. Hsiao Tun-jen, chairman of the Obesity Society of the Republic of China, shook his head and sighed, "This gives me a headache."
### Three Types of Weight-Loss Drugs
#### Off-Label Use Common in Weight Loss
Hsiao explains weight-loss drugs fall into three categories. The first is legal weight-loss medication, but Taiwan only has one—Xenical (Orlistat). A second, Lorcaserin (Belviq), is under hospital research and available only at National Taiwan University Hospital, China Medical University Hospital, and National Cheng Kung University Hospital for clinical trials.
The second category is off-label drug use. Clinics must inform patients of the drug name, dosage, and side effects. To protect both parties, signed consent is ideal. The third—and worst—category is banned drugs, like PPA (phenylpropanolamine), prohibited in 2004, and the discontinued Meridia (sibutramine). "These must never be used!" Hsiao warns.
"Using off-label drugs for weight control is common in diet clinics," Hsiao notes. Tseng’s prescriptions from all four clinics fell into this category, including laxatives (for constipation), antidepressants (appetite suppressants), and thyroid hormones (to boost metabolism)—all repurposed for weight loss.
### The Problem: Unclear Prescriptions
Under Articles 14 and 58 of the Medical Practitioners Act, doctors must label containers or packaging with the drug name, dosage, and side effects. Prescriptions should also be issued only for legitimate therapeutic purposes.
Tseng recalls explicitly telling "Wangpin Clinic" she had no constipation issues, yet her prescription included MG-OXID, an antacid that can cause diarrhea. She also received antidepressants despite no mood issues and anti-epileptics without having epilepsy—leaving her baffled.
Unclear labeling isn’t unique to "Wangpin Clinic." Yadeli and Mei Mei Pandora also failed to provide complete information.In fact, among these four clinics, only "Yang's Clinic" clearly labeled the medications, dosages, and side effects on the prescription. But when the side effects are clearly stated and people still choose to buy, isn't it a case of "a willing buyer and a willing seller"?
Source: https:/ / tw. news. yahoo. com/ % E……9% AF% E4% BD% 9C- 100703819. html
Expose: Weight Loss Doctor Abuses Medication Side Effects
Lin Weiling, Lin Siyu
July 29, 2015
Online-famous weight-loss doctors promise rapid results—shedding 20 kilograms in just three months—but at a hefty cost. Should I trust them completely just because they're "celebrity doctors"? And despite clinics clearly listing side effects on prescriptions, patients still flock to them. Don’t consumers bear some responsibility?
Weight-loss clinics, whether offering traditional Chinese or Western medicine, are everywhere, all vying for a share of Taiwan’s NT$60 billion annual diet industry. Word of mouth has made certain clinics wildly popular, often overcrowded.
But do you know what these "miracle" clinics are actually making you take?
TV anchor Tseng Huai-ying, aiming to look better on camera, tried multiple weight-loss clinics starting this April. She visited "Yadeli Life Clinic," "Wangpin Clinic" on Dunhua South Road in Taipei, "Yang’s Clinic" run by renowned weight-loss doctor Yang Ming-quan, and "Mei Mei Pandora Clinic," which was once suspended for three months due to using banned weight-loss drugs. She obtained prescriptions from all four.
Reviewing these "celebrity doctor" prescriptions, Dr. Hsiao Tun-jen, chairman of the Obesity Society of the Republic of China, shook his head and sighed, "This gives me a headache."
### Three Types of Weight-Loss Drugs
#### Off-Label Use Common in Weight Loss
Hsiao explains weight-loss drugs fall into three categories. The first is legal weight-loss medication, but Taiwan only has one—Xenical (Orlistat). A second, Lorcaserin (Belviq), is under hospital research and available only at National Taiwan University Hospital, China Medical University Hospital, and National Cheng Kung University Hospital for clinical trials.
The second category is off-label drug use. Clinics must inform patients of the drug name, dosage, and side effects. To protect both parties, signed consent is ideal. The third—and worst—category is banned drugs, like PPA (phenylpropanolamine), prohibited in 2004, and the discontinued Meridia (sibutramine). "These must never be used!" Hsiao warns.
"Using off-label drugs for weight control is common in diet clinics," Hsiao notes. Tseng’s prescriptions from all four clinics fell into this category, including laxatives (for constipation), antidepressants (appetite suppressants), and thyroid hormones (to boost metabolism)—all repurposed for weight loss.
### The Problem: Unclear Prescriptions
Under Articles 14 and 58 of the Medical Practitioners Act, doctors must label containers or packaging with the drug name, dosage, and side effects. Prescriptions should also be issued only for legitimate therapeutic purposes.
Tseng recalls explicitly telling "Wangpin Clinic" she had no constipation issues, yet her prescription included MG-OXID, an antacid that can cause diarrhea. She also received antidepressants despite no mood issues and anti-epileptics without having epilepsy—leaving her baffled.
Unclear labeling isn’t unique to "Wangpin Clinic." Yadeli and Mei Mei Pandora also failed to provide complete information.In fact, among these four clinics, only "Yang's Clinic" clearly labeled the medications, dosages, and side effects on the prescription. But when the side effects are clearly stated and people still choose to buy, isn't it a case of "a willing buyer and a willing seller"?
Source: https:/ / tw. news. yahoo. com/ % E……9% AF% E4% BD% 9C- 100703819. html