California Medical Board Investigates Doctor’s Diabetes Treatment

A San Diego medical doctor faces fees just before the California health care board for quite a few negligent acts in 2017 and 2018. The costs involve failure to preserve sufficient and precise professional medical documents and unprofessional carry out.

The accusation filed in May well towards James Novak, MD, will involve two individuals who gained a controversial diabetes treatment at a Trina Health clinic that Novak proven in August 2016.

The diabetes procedure, which was the matter of a 2018 inewsource investigation, entails a 4-hour insulin infusion.

All through the investigation, inewsource interviewed Trina founder and CEO G. Ford Gilbert, a Sacramento law firm, along with sufferers and clinic buyers. Gilbert was charged with bribery and pleaded responsible to one rely of conspiring to bribe a state lawmaker to have Trina therapies protected by Blue Cross Blue Shield. He has given that been disbarred.

In accordance to the accusation, Novak unsuccessful to effectively check individuals who gained the remedy. In addition, his notes allegedly did not consist of pertinent information and facts, including referrals for eye and foot tests and enough documentation of lipid panels, and there was “no substantive documentation” of 1 patient’s elevated blood tension and cardiovascular possibility aspects.

Novak was interviewed by an investigator in January 2020 as aspect of the clinical board’s probe. He will participate in a listening to prior to the medical board prior to it is resolved regardless of whether disciplinary action will be taken.

Leading diabetic issues doctors have labeled the remedy a fraud, and in 2017, the American Diabetes Affiliation warned against the so-identified as artificial pancreas procedure.

“As a staunch advocate for the diabetic issues community, the American Diabetic issues Association (ADA) is most anxious that men and women with diabetes are significantly susceptible to be persuaded to request Synthetic Pancreas Treatment (APT), an high priced prolonged-phrase treatment protocol at this time missing enough medical proof of efficiency,” the affiliation mentioned at the time.

Novak is detailed on the Scripps Mercy Medical center web page as a spouse and children medication practitioner with much more than 30 several years of clinical knowledge. He graduated from Hurry Health care Faculty in 1980.

Lindsay Kalter is a well being freelance journalist who has held positions with Politico, the Boston Herald, and the American Coronary heart Affiliation. Aside from WebMD and Medscape, her operate has appeared in The Washington Submit, Boston Globe Magazine and Business Insider.

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