Yet another weight loss scam

The advertisement featured Dr. Thomas Clement Goyer, Geoff Jowett, and the Medical Weightloss Institute. Claims included:

“Thanks to the team at GTC Medical and the Medical Weightloss Institute (MWI), Australians can now lose weight without strenuous exercise and counting calories – thanks to a treatment that resets the hormones to burn fat for fuel.”

“I had been overweight my entire life and tried everything. Nothing worked. Then I had a consult with Dr. Tom, and it changed everything. I’ve lost 42kg now, and I honestly feel amazing. I had more energy from day one of the programs. I tell everyone who will listen; they must try the Medical Weightloss Institute,” says Nazih Hamze from Sydney (32 years old)”.

I have submitted a complaint to AHPRA and the ACCC alleging that this promotion, involving both Dr. Goyer and the Medical Weightloss Institute, is misleading, deceptive, and exploitative, lacks an evidence base, and preys on a vulnerable population, the overweight and obese.

AHPRA / Medical Council of NSW should prosecute Dr. Goyer in the Magistrates Court (Part 7 of National Law) and discipline him by referral to a tribunal (Part 8 of National Law). Also, ACCC should obtain an immediate Court injunction against Medical Weightloss Institute to remove the website content and (by use of an enforceable undertaking) replace it with a significant, suitably worded retraction. A similar full-page retraction should also be published in the next edition of “The Age Green Guide” and any other placement of this advertisement. The NSW Health Care Complaints Commission should take action against Geoff Jowett as it appears he breaches the NSW Code of conduct for unregistered health practitioners.

Meanwhile, I note the following report about Dr. Thomas Goyer.

“Among the AMI doctors who gave evidence was Dr. Thomas Goyer. He told the court that the AMI job was not particularly demanding for a doctor “because no one dies of erectile dysfunction,” and it was not as “terrible” as it would be to practice as a GP. Although he said the work was repetitious, Dr. Goyer was paid $1000 daily. “Dr. Goyer did not present as a doctor who was committed to patient care,” the judge wrote, describing how Dr. Goyer presented his evidence as “arrogant, obstructive and uncooperative.”