to whom this may concern,
first, the consumer was not a customer of mine as your letter states but rather a patient whom i saw in the late summer/early fall of 2004.
he was a customer of an out of state compounding pharmacy named meditech with which i have no formal relations. the consumer was provided its contact information, and therefore he is the best source for that.
the facts are that the consumer saw me in consultation in my miami office and underwent some routine, well accepted medical procedures and examinations for the complaint in question.
your letter incorrectly alleges that he was subjected to "inappropriate medical procedures." this is a baseless allegation since no independent, third party medical authority has reviewed his medical record, in which everything is carefully documented.
the consumer's problem was successfully diagnosed as to etiology and severity, and he was informed of same with apparent good understanding. he was prescribed a course of treatment involving a solution of four medications to be compounded by the pharmacy in question.
this treatment was the safest and most effective for the problem presented, considering his advanced age and cardiovascular status. he willingly and knowingly accepted this treatment recommendation and was not pressured into anything, contrary to what your letter alleges.
the consumer left the office that day apparently satisfied with the outcome of his visit. when he returned home to the southwest gulf coast of florida, he found that his house had been destroyed in hurricane charlie.
by that time, however, the medications had already been prepared by the pharmacy and shipped via fedex. when they arrived in florida, fedex obivously could not effect delivery since the house at the address in question no longer existed. when the consumer was contacted to provide an alternative shipping address, he refused.
he ultimately contacted me two days after the consultation to request a refund, citing hardship as the reason. he was never promised a refund as your letter alleges, only that the request would be given consideration.
as a matter of commercial and federal law, once medication has been shipped to a patient it has been dispensed, and the redispensation of said medication to another patient is prohibited. only the consumer could have used it, and he refused.
while this is an unfortunate situation, there is no legal basis for a refund. as far as i am concerned, this case is settled and the matter is closed.
sincerely,
edward j. ferdon, m.d., j.d.
8/6/2005 10:06 PM