Disciplinary action taken on celebrity doctor Dr. Prudence Hall from Santa Monica for her controversial menopause treatment
- The celebrity doctor Dr. Prudence Hall was prescribing a new menopause therapy and was employing it on her patients which included big names in the celebrity world such as the model Cindy Crawford and actress cum author Suzanne Somers
This treatment of this Santa Monica doctor has been dubbed controversial and received the attention of the Medical Board of California.
She was under the scanner and the Board later started an investigation into her treatment modality and found it to be faulty.
What was the treatment of Dr. Prudence Hall?
The treatment claimed by the doctor to be good for relieving menopausal symptoms was plant-based. She used to use hormones for such cases with no proper indications and also no monitoring of the cases.
Cindy Crawford and Suzanne Somers have provided testimonials to this doctor for the work.
The hormones which Dr. Prudence used to prescribe are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
They are called bioidentical since they share the molecular structure with the natural hormones found in a woman’s body: estrogen and progesterone. She claims to have treated more than 40,000 patients over 30 years.
What did the Medical Board find?
The Board did a thorough probe into the treatment and found that it was not scientifically proven and also dangerous.
There was one patient who the Board says had uterine cancer which was missed by Dr. Hall before the start of the hormones that were supposed to be given to her.
But she had put this patient on the hormones. In another case, the doctor labeled a case as menopausal syndrome when in fact it was not.
She had used this misdiagnosis to her advantage and started the controversial therapy from which she would gain financially.
What was the disciplinarian action against the doctor?
A settlement was approved last month by the Board in which the Board found her guilty of “being unaware of potential risks posed by the plant-based hormones — including cancer — and failing to monitor her patients properly.”
She has been put on probation for 4 years. Hall has been told that she can no longer promote herself as a specialist in hormone therapy, an OB-GYN, or an endocrinologist.
She has to submit her medical practice to oversight by an outside physician who will report to the board. She can continue to treat women for menopause management and other health issues.
What do her colleagues say?
Dr. Jen Gunter is an OB-GYN from the San Francisco Bay Area. She said:
“My jaw was on the floor. This is just egregious. You hear about all these self-described functional medicine doctors providing these treatments. Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would be in this ballpark.”
Dr. Prudence Hall’s publicist responds
The doctor’s publicist Bette Light said:
“Dr. Hall continues to devote her career and life to helping patients achieve optimal health and wellness.”
“She utilizes advances in modern medicine plus proven natural therapies. Safely incorporating results of the latest medical research has allowed her to achieve exceptional results for her patients.”
The statement continued:
“She joins respected physicians worldwide who are also using this type of hormone therapy.”
Also read on: Dr. Bumbum is on the run after the death of his patient post-cosmetic surgery on the buttocks
Reference: people, dailymail.co.uk, times
