Tuesday, November 27, 2007.
Eldred Taylor MD and BioIdentical Hormone Seminar
I recently attended the Eldred Taylor MD medical meeting on bio-identical hormone treatment at the Doral Resort in Miami Florida.
One of the speakers at the meeting was Baldev Sandhu MD, a plastic surgeon from New York and author of the book, Doctor, Why Do I Need Liposuction? available on Amazon.com.
The following is public domain information which was openly presented by Dr. Sandhu at the Doral meeting. The other comments are my opinion.
The End of Plastic Surgery - Liposuction and Breast Augmentation
Dr. Sandhu, a pleasant and charming person spoke about his plans for a national network of weight loss doctors called 1800 DRS DIET. He began his 30 minute presentation by discussing the plight of plastic surgeons who train for 16 years only to discover that their tedious facial reconstructions are underpaid by Medicare, and after the transition to a cash only plastic surgery practice, they discover that only two procedures remaining, namely breast augmentation and liposuction, can be done by trained monkeys. Perhaps that is why he switched careers into the marketing business.
An Indian Plastic Surgeon With a Scottish Accent
Dr. Baldev Sandhu, as his name would suggest, is from India, however he speaks with a Scottish accent. Apparently his family is from Scotland before migrating to the US. During his presentation, Baldev talked about his younger and less able brother who lacked the scholastic skills for college, so was given a seven eleven (7/11) store by his parents as a form of livelihood. While Baldev was making his way though his plastic surgery residency and fellowship, his brother became wealthy amassing 7/11 stores. Upon finishing his training, Baldev had to borrow money from his younger brother to start his practice. Whether this is true story or not, I don't know.
Seven Eleven Stores for His Brother
Baldev gave the impression that sibling jealousy was the motivating factor that induced Baldev to seek his fortune elsewhere, in the marketing business. Baldev’s latest marketing idea is 1 800 DRS DIET, a toll free phone number which forwards the phone call to a physician’s office based on zip code entered by a touch tone phone. For the exclusive right to have the calls forwarded to your office phone, you pay Baldev $7,500 dollars to program his computer with your zip code. You also pay an additional $300 per month ($3,600 per year) while subscribed to the program to have the right to place a 1 800 DRS DIET sign in front of your office. This amounts to $11,100 dollars the first year.
Playing With Zip Codes
The zip codes for your exclusive territory surrounding your office location are selected on a laptop at the meeting running a Microsoft Map Program which also contains population information. Enough zip codes are selected to give a total of 100,000 population. All this information was publicly presented at the meeting and there is nothing secret about it.
Baldev informed us that his plans capitalizes on the idea that most diet programs usually contain a disclaimer that instructs the patient to first consult a physician. Therefore, his 1 800 DRS DIET does just that. It connects the patient with a physician supervised weight loss program. He mentions the huge amounts of money being made by Jenny Craig and other weight loss companies and pointed out that all that money should be going to physicans, and Baldev’s plan is a way to do that.
Buy Your Pur Food Program Delivered in Nitrogen
Baldev’s plan also has a weight loss food program provided by PUR Foods Fitness Co.
His subscribing physicians’ sell it to the patients and make a 12% profit. The food is shipped to each patient in 10 day increments, and stays fresh in the refrigerator because it is sealed in Liquid nitrogen. The diet food must be good, because his daughter ate it. One small detail Baldev omits is that any doctor can sign up as an affiliate at the Pur Fitness Foods web site and get the 12% discount without Baldev:
Also included in the Baldev Sandhu marketing materials are things like pens in the shape of plastic forks which contain the 1 800 DRS DIET logo, and magnet pads with the 1 800 DRS DIET logo for the refrigerator.
Baldev says he has about 30 MD’s subscribed to his program so far. However, this list is confidential and we don’t know any of the names, except for Eldred Taylor MD who admitted to his involvement, and invited Baldev to speak to his audience. Neither one discussed their financial arrangements openly at the meeting. Thirty subscribers aren’t nearly enough to create a nationwide network of zip code coverage.
Dr. Taylor Uses the Marketing Plan
When I asked Dr. Eldred how his plan was working out, and if he was happy with his association with Baldev, his response wasn’t very enthusiastic. Apparently the number of calls from his 800 DRS DIET phone line were few and far between. I have not been able to find a doctor subscribing to the plan getting any calls from the 1 800 DRSDIET line, and Baldev doesn’t supply this information at the meeting.
Later, Taylor informed directly me by email that Baldev Sandhu paid Taylor an undisclosed amount of money to speak and give his sales pitch at Taylor's Bio-Identical Hormone meeting. Taylor claims he was not obligated to disclose this financial relationship with Sandhu because it was a "non-CMA" portion of the meeting. In my opinion this represents a conflict of interest, and I would have preferred disclosure of this information in advance.
Back to Baldev’s presentation, remember he says he has 30 docs signed up and he says he needs the magic number of 78 docs to make a critical mass, at which point he plans to start national television advertising.
Some Day Maybe the Video Will Play on National TV
The advertising video clip was shown to us at the meeting and is posted on the 800 DRS DIET web site here:
http://www.1800drsdiet.com/
This video shows a young doctor in his office telling the viewing audience that they should consult a doctor before starting a weight loss program, and then telling the viewer to find such a doctor by calling the 1-800 DRS DIET number.
Once the national television advertising starts, the subscribing MD pays Baldev an additional fee of $900 per month ($10,800 per year). If you believe this I have a bridge to sell you. Whether the TV advertising will ever happen is questionable.
It's All in His Imagination
Baldev then spoke about one of his many phone conversations in which he tries to sell the idea to an MD in say, Nebraska, who replies, “So, Baldev, you are asking me to pay you $21,900 a year for an idea which exists entirely in your imagination?” To which Baldev replies, “That’s right. And if you pass it up, you will later regret that you missed this opportunity.”
Baldev himself reveals to the audience that his national marketing program for doctors exists largely in his imagination. And Baldev is so charming and pleasant and his presentation is so compelling that his idea is easily transferred from his imagination to that of the listening audience.
The Contract is Not Imaginary - But there is No Exit
In order to subscribe to Baldev’s imaginary network of weight loss clinics, you have to first sign a contract. This is where the plan leaves the lofty realm of the imagination, and is transformed into the cold hard reality of a legally binding document which commits the signing doctor to pay Baldev very real cold hard cash every month continuously. The weight loss program suddenly assumes the role of a belt tightening austerity program for the doctor who must now transfer huge amounts of money from his bank account into Baldev’s bank account for an 800 telephone number which can be purchased independently at a fraction of the cost. Even though he talks of great plans, the only thing required of Baldev is the 800 number, a simple inexpensive thing anyone can order for themselves.
Zip Code Territory
In order to make it seem to you that you are really getting something for all the money to be transferred from your bank account to Baldev’s bank account, Baldev sits with you with his laptop and shows you the zip code maps of your exclusive “territory”. This exclusive territory looks quite real on the map, however, this also exists in the imagination. How many phone calls are guaranteed each week by his marketing program? If the answer is none, you might want to reconsider.
At present, since there is no local or national marketing program in place, the only callers would be those who drive by your office and actually see your sign with the phone number on it. For these callers, it would more cost effective to set up your own 800 number, easily done by calling the phone company and have them forward the calls into your office number.
Where did the 100,000 population number for the cumulative zip codes cone from? Was it a matter of convenience for Dr. Sandhu? We don’t know.
If on average, every 4 contiguous zip codes are bundled together, this makes 10,000 exclusive zip code territories in the US. If each "territory" pays Baldev 20,000 dollars per year, that totals 200 million dollars annually to 800 DRS DIET which is not bad for an imaginary network of weight loss clinics. and Baldev might acheive his dream of surpassing his younger brother, the 7/11 store mogel.
Please take my advice, and do not sign any contract, including those with Sandhu Baldev, without first having the contract carefully reviewed by your attorney, who may bring you back to the reality of a huge financial commitment for a pie-in-the-sky idea that exists largely in the imagination of a pleasant and agreeable businessman named Baldev Sandhu MD plastic surgeon.
Even though Baldev Sandhu MD is a charming and pleasant fellow, and presents himself as a trustworthy fellow doctor, in reality he is a businessman, in the business of removing as many dollars from the pockets of his customers who happen to be other doctors.
An Air-Tight Contract that you Can't Refuse
Once a contract is signed, you are legally obligated to everything in that contract, and you may face legal action against you if you later decide to get out of the agreement. For example, after a few months you might discover that you are paying a huge amount of money and not getting any phone calls on the 800 line. How much money will it cost to get out of the contract? This is an important question.
So please be extremely careful, and before signing a contract, first obtain references, a listing of other subscribing doctors with their phone numbers. Some names can be obtained on the internet by searching for 800 drs diet. Subscriber web sites will pop up. Call them. Do your due diligence and ask them, “How many phone calls per week come into your office from the 800 DRS DIET phone line?” If the answer is zero, dont be surprised.
Again, if you want an 800 number, you can easily order an 800 number from the phone company which forwards calls to your office at a fraction of the cost offered by Baldev’s marketing plan. If you want a food plan you sign up independently as an affiliate at the Pur Fitness Food web site.
1 800 BEST DDS, the old one that he neglects to mentionBaldev Sandhu MD neglected to inform us the details of his earlier marketing plans for dentists called 1-800 Best DDS.
http://www.1800bestdds.com/
The 800 BEST DDS story was featured in a New York Times article which tells about Baldev’s whitening toothpaste product imprinted with the logo 1-800-BEST DDS written in large print on the tooth paste tube. The idea was to turn the toothpaste tube into a marketing tool. Baldev also offered the dentists a web site and the 800 BEST DDS phone line. Sound familiar?
Some of dentists were not very pleased with Dr. Sandhu’s results for them. Go take a look. Leaving behind a string of unhappy customers is not a very good way to get ahead in business.
The $4,000 Plastic Fork
Regretfully, I have briefly been a signatory to the contract with Baldev Sandhu MD plastic surgeon turned business man, and as you have probably guessed by now, the experience was costly. I now have a plastic fork on my desk imprinted with the 800 Drs Diet logo which cost me $4,000. How many calls into my office for this? Don't ask.
If you want a similar plastic fork on your desk, then Baldev Sandhu MD business man has the plan for you.
Baldev Sandhu is a gentleman, a charming and pleasant fellow, and an artist at the sales pitch, but remember to keep both hands on your wallet whenever he is in the room.
A disturbing trend in Integrative Medicine meetings is the movement towards greater commercialism. In my opinion, ethical considerations required Eldred Taylor MD to announce his financial involvement in the sales pitch which he allowed at his meeting. Taylor, however informs me that he was not obligated to disclose the financial relationship because it took place during a non-CME portion of the meeting. In my opinion, there is a higher level of ethics which should be followed. In city government for example, a city commissioner is not allowed to profit from a city contract because it represents a conflict of interest representing a felony offense.
If you plan to attend a future medical meeting, alert your colleagues that there may be a high pressure sales pitch for weight loss marketing programs. Be wary, especially of presentations during the non-CME portions of the meeting.
Do you have a story to tell ? Leave a comment on the blog in the comment area below or email me.
Jeffrey Dach MD
4700 Sheridan Suite T
Hollywood Florida 33021
954-983-1443 office phone
www.drdach.comwww.jeffreydach.comLinks:
Baldev Sandhu MD, plastic surgeon, web site is
http://www.plastic-surgery-manhattan.com/114 East 71st Street
New York,
New York, 10021
I worked for this scumbag and your evaluation of him is spot-on!
The man will promise anything to get you to sign a contract, and uses only a few dollars of that money to actually promote his clients.
Kudos to you for calling him out on it!
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Take a look at this page: http://www.plastic-surgery-manhattan.com/
Looks like Dr Baldev plagiarized your web page (including your photo) and altered the text to make it favorable.
This totally proves that this guy has zero credibility. How could anyone even THINK of doing business with a guy like this? Take my advice and STAY AWAY from this guy, unless you want to get BURNED.
Anonymous
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Dear Anonymous,
Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I agree with you. Best to stay away.
Anyone considering doing business with this person, email me or call me for information about the problems with products and conduct.
Jeffrey Dach MD www.drdach.com disclaimer
Reply to this
How I wish I had read this earlier!
Dr Sandhu is a disgrace to his profession and to the trust that credible physicians work so hard to earn. I'm surprised no one has been able to put him away?
What is the AMA doing about his preying on unsuspecting physicians?
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What goes around, comes around. Sooner or later the hammer will fall. Your job is to get the word out.
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