Menu
Expat.com

Medical Fraud & the Sale of Toxic Substances in Panama

Last activity 25 November 2013 by purplebox

Post new topic

cgi1940

Recently I posted a factual piece regarding my experiences with an individual in Panama, who has been practising medicine in Panama without a license, selling dangerous drugs(steroids, and banned, black market substances), and providing fraudulent prescriptions.

In summary, I went to this individual to consult about correcting the testosterone levels in my body. I was eventually sold several drugs, and was told they were safe to take. I paid approximately $8000 in total.

I took the drugs and fell dangerously ill, and it was not until after I became ill, that I discovered that the individual was not licensed, and the drugs I had been sold were extremely dangerous for me. Before purchasing the drugs, I was given a promise by this individual that my money would be returned in full, if the drugs did not work as intended. However, upon informing this individual that the drugs had made me very ill, and providing to him confirmation from another doctor that the drugs I had been taking were making me sick, this individual refused to refund my money as he promised, and went as far as to recommend that I take the same drugs at a lower dosage.

The post contained documentation from the Ministry of Health, clearly showing that the individual was not licensed to practice medicine in Panama, along with emails showing the individual providing medical advice to me, before, and after I fell ill.

The intention of posting my experience was to share with the expat community the type of dangers that exist in Panama, with regards to medical fraud, and to provide them with knowledge of how the inefficient the authorities and regulatory agencies are in Panama in regards to policing this type of malice behaviour. However, within 48 hours of making this post, it was removed, and I subsequently received a message from a member of the Expat.com Team, under the sbject "Difamatory postings". The message read, "Hello anais00,

I inform you that your topic has been moved to a private forum only accessible to moderators Expat.com.

Please note that we do not accept defamatory posts on the forum because we want to avoid any possible problems with the law.

We invite you rather go to other sites to denounce all forms of scam or frauds, there is indeed specialized websites for this.

Thank you for your understanding."

I think it to be very irresponsible of the Expat.com Team to silence my post and similar posts. In doing so, they are fostering a distorted, overly positive, and unbalanced image of the communities where Expats live. In turn this denies people access to important information that could help them avoid being victimized in these communities. Many people rely on sites such as Expat.com for information.

I invite anyone interested in reading about my experience to visit my blog at HarmfulDrugs.blogspot.com

Your comments and opinions are welcome.


Thank you for viewing my post.

Hasnaa

Hi cgi1940,

It's really unfortunate what happened to you and we understand your approach to inform the members but please you should do it without mentioning names on the public forum.

You need to understand that according to our terms and conditions, defamatory posting is forbidden on the forum.

Please also note that it would be more appropriate not to post the private messages, that were sent to you, directly on the forum.

If you have any suggestions, please contact us.

Thank you for your understanding.

Hasnaa
Expat.com Team

cgi1940

Dear Hasnaa,

Thank you for your comments. However, I have to point out that you're applying the defamatory posting clause incorrectly in this case.

Defamation is defined as the act of saying false things in order to make people have a bad opinion of someone or something.

I don't believe you actually read my original post. If you had, then you would have clearly seen that all of the points I made were substantiated with documentation, making the points factual. Stating facts about someone, or something, by definition, is not defamation, it's reporting.

Also, I appreciate your comment regarding not quoting a personal message I received, however, I do not see anything in the terms and conditions that prohibits me from doing this.

My suggestion to you would be to not try and enforce policies that are not part of the terms and conditions that your members have agreed to.

I hope you can appreciate the points I have made in this message, and not interpret them as a violation of the terms and conditions of the site.

kristc99

I'm sorry to hear you had such a bad experience. This sounds like a case for the authorities, though we all know this is probably more difficult and complicated than a similar action in the US (which is plenty complicated enough!)

I'm curious how you happened to become a patient of this individual. Here in David, if you want to see a doctor the usual thing is to go to one of the hospitals where the doctors have their offices. I think if you see a doctor associated with a reputable hospital who is recognized and respected in the local medical community, you are less likely to run into this sort of problem. If your provider was associated with a clinic or hospital, do you have any recourse with the authorities of that institution?

Thankfully I have had no such negative experience and don't know what is a good course of action, so just tossing out some ideas.
I expect though, the safest thing in any country is to seek care from people well connected and well respected in the community. There are also in line forums such as this one where you can ask other expats for recommendations in your community.

I hope you are able to overcome your setback and get back on the road to good health! Thanks for the heads up that it's always good to be careful when choosing health care.

richardm777

I am surprised your post was removed unless of course it contained false information.
I am also shocked that you did not check out the person you went to and have to assume it was not at one of the national or licensed hospitals that provide such great care.

So it appears that you were attempting to circumnavigate the system that could have helped you with your self diagnosed problem.

This just shows that using the system can - when used with personal responsibility for ones own health and body - work.

Here's hoping you recover and have learned a valuable lesson.
Sharing it has made us all more aware.

cgi1940

If anyone is interested in viewing updates to this issue, you can view my blog at HarmfulDrugs.blogspot.com

I recently filed a criminal complaint against the other party, and his Compound Pharmaceutical company.

Evidence, and additional updates will be posted regularly.

The site again is HarmfulDrugs.blogspot.com

This is not a commercial site, it's a personal blog, which describes this situation in detail, as I have been restricted from providing details in this forum.

purplebox

it's hard to believe your story
every child knows that drugs don't work

Articles to help you in your expat project in Panama

  • Childcare in Panama
    Childcare in Panama

    Education in Panama is compulsory for children from 6 years. In general, children attend pre-primary school as ...

  • Customs in Panama
    Customs in Panama

    It is advisable to seek customs information through the official channels before travelling to Panama. Because ...

  • Sports in Panama
    Sports in Panama

    A country as conducive to the outdoor life as Panama almost inevitably develops sport-lovers. In this case the ...

  • Accommodation in Panama City
    Accommodation in Panama City

    Panama City, the Panamanian capital city, has a large variety of housing options for all tastes. Take the time to ...

  • Communicating in the local language
    Communicating in the local language

    As a Panamanian who was fortunate enough to learn English and have some exposure to other different cultures ...

  • Visas for Panama
    Visas for Panama

    There are different types of residency visas in Panama, including those for retirees and others for people wishing ...

  • Transport in Panama
    Transport in Panama

    There are different means of transport in Panama: planes, trains, subway, bus, taxi, etc. You can choose among ...

  • Professional visas in Panama
    Professional visas in Panama

    To work in Panama you need an appropriate visa, and although the government protects the interests of its own ...

All of Panama's guide articles