According to data hacked to The Intercept, a network of health professionals made millions selling ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine. According to hacked data provided to The Intercept, the data shows that large sums of money have been taken from those who are concerned or affected by Covid-19 and are not willing or able or able to receive vaccinations. Americas Frontline Doctors is a right-wing organization that was founded to promote pro-Trump doctors during a coronavirus pandemic. They work in conjunction with a small group of health care companies to create distrust in the Covid-19 vaccination, deceive tens or thousands of people into purchasing ineffective treatments, then sell millions of dollars of these medications and consultations. According to data, patients spent $15 million on consultations and possibly more on medications.
The Intercept obtained records from CadenceHealth.us, and Ravkoo containing hundreds of thousands of records, which revealed the true nature of this lucrative operation. Americas Frontline Doctors (or AFLDS) has been spreading misinformation about Covid-19 ever since the summer 2020. They refer their many followers to SpeakWithAnMD.com which uses Cadence Health. Sign up and pay $90 to have a consultation by AFLDS-trained doctors who will prescribe treatment such as hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin. This is done in order to prevent and treat Covid-19. Ravkoo delivers the drugs. This service works with local pharmacies in order to deliver drugs to patients' doors. That is assuming patients get the consultation. Many customers have told Time that they didn't receive the call after they paid. An anonymous hacker provided The Intercept with data from Ravkoo and Cadence Health sites. He claimed that the sites were easy to hack despite the promises of privacy. This was confirmed by comparing it with publicly available information. The Intercept has taken steps to protect the data and is not publishing patient data. Cadence Healths Roque Espinal Valdez, Cadence Healths Roque Espinal Valdez, stated that he had shut down the platform after The Intercept reached him. He did not want to profit from Covid-19 quackery.
Americas Frontline Doctors was founded in 2020 and has close ties with a network right-wingers who attempted to harm public health during the pandemic. Simone Gold (founder of the AFLDS) was charged and arrested following the attack on the U.S. Capitol in January 6. After the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, Simone Gold, the founder of AFLDS, was arrested and charged. This extremist group is also a partisan and misleads people regarding Covid-19 vaccines. They refer to them as experimental biological agents and are against public health measures such as vaccine mandates and masking, social ditancing, and restrictions for businesses. Gold claims that Covid-19 isn't very deadly and that vaccines are much more dangerous than the virus. The video, entitled "The Truth About Covid-19 Vaccines", has been viewed over 1.3 million times. The virus has claimed the lives of over 690,000 Americans. Unvaccinated persons now account for 99 percent of all recent Covid-19 deaths.
It is possible to convince people with misinformation to buy products.
The power of misinformation can be very powerful to deceive people into purchasing products, Dr. Kolina Koltai of the University of Washingtons Center for an Informed Public told The Intercept. America's Frontline Doctors can scale this up tremendously.
The hack data contains information about 281,000 patients who were created in Cadence Health between July 16th and September 12th 2021, 90 percent of which were referred by Americas Frontline Doctors. Patients paid $6.7 million in consultation fees within those two months. This data also includes phone consultation notes, which can sometimes include prescription information and medical histories. Roque Espinal (CEO of Cadence Healths) stated that he wasn't aware of the scheme, and that Cadence Health provided a telehealth platform to SpeakWithAnMD.com and its patients and doctors. I am completely shocked. He said that he had to research the identities of these people. I am fully vaccinated. All of my children have been vaccinated. Espinal stated that he has terminated his service with SpeakWithAnMD. Espinal stated, "I don't want to be associated in any kind of crap like that." There is no such thing as quackery. SpeakWithAnMDs Telemedicine Platform, which relies upon Cadence Health, has been down for some time. [SpeakWithAnMD] does not support vaccinations and is not affiliated with the anti-vax movement, Jim Flinn, Encore Telemedicine's public relations agent, stated to The Intercept. American Frontline Doctors [sic] takes these issues very seriously, Thomas Gennaro (a lawyer for Americas Frontline Doctors) stated to The Intercept in a release. AFLDS values confidentiality and positive patient-physician outcomes. It is important for AFLDS to maintain confidentiality and positive patient-physician outcomes. 46 percent of prescriptions were for hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin. Another 30 percent were for zinc and azithromycin. These are ineffective drugs that SpeakWithAnMD doctors, Americas Frontline Doctors, claim they train, and which are prescribed in Covid-19 consultations. Ravkoo CEO Alpesh Patel stated that data breaches are very serious. Patel claims Ravkoo stopped doing business in August with SpeakWithAnMD, AFLDS because of the increased volume. We didn't feel safe. We don't have the capacity to fill as many prescriptions. Patel suggested that it could be refills or prescriptions that were stuck and they had to fill them. Because hydroxychloroquine is ineffective and can cause side effects, the WHO advises against using it to treat Covid-19. Cardiologists warn that taking hydroxychloroquine with azithromycin (a combination which was publicly supported by former President Donald Trump) can increase the risk of irregular heartbeats, which could prove fatal. The CDC warned people against taking ivermectin. They said it could cause serious illness. You are not a cow. Seriously, yall. You need to stop it. Here's a link to an article that explains how Covid-19 can cause severe health problems.
You are not a horse. You are not a horse. You're not a cow, you guys. Stop it. https://t.co/TWb75xYEY4 U.S. FDA (@US_FDA) August 21, 2021
According to patient records, at least one of the prescribing physicians is aware that Covid-19 experts do not recommend using these drugs. However, he prescribed them anyway. This disclaimer was included in the consultation notes of a physician who saw several patients. These two medications were deemed highly not recommended by the above-mentioned medical governing bodies, but they are legal to prescribe. I have stated that I will not hold the patient legally or medically responsible if they have an adverse reaction to these medications. I also explained that they won't be able to hold them medically negligent, pursue any malpractice claims, or bring criminal and civil suits against me. I, as a potential patient, acknowledge that Hydroxychloroquine and Ivermectin were highly not recommended by the WHO (FDA, CDC, NIH), and I have read the disclaimer. If a patient refuses to disclose their medical history, the clinician can't hold them responsible. Also, any medical license in any other state cannot be reviewed or held responsible. Flinn, spokesperson for SpeakWithAnMDs parent, stated that MDs in the SpeakWithAnMDs program are fully licensed and follow the rules and regulations of their medical profession to facilitate the doctor-patient relationship. TeleMDs can approve FDA medications off-label if they feel that any FDA medication is appropriate for them.
Chart: Soohee Cho/TheIntercept
Extremely Pro Trump Doctors. The foundation for America's Frontline Doctors was laid during a conference call on May 11, 2020 between Trump's senior staffer and the Republican activist group CNP Action. According to reports, they discussed how to find extremely pro-Trump doctors who would be willing to appear on television and defend Trump's plan to quickly reopen the country despite the cautious safety guidelines from the CDC. Gold then created an Arizona nonprofit, the Free Speech Foundation, with a budget of one million dollars and financial sponsorship from Tea Party Patriots Foundation. This nonprofit launched Americas Frontline Doctors on July 27, 2020. Gold, who NPR confirmed was a California licensed physician, hosted a press conference at the Supreme Court Building where she and other white-clad doctors claimed that Covid-19 could be cured with a combination of azithromycin, hydroxychloroquine and zinc. Stella Immanuel was another doctor who spoke outside of the court. She called for the removal of masks and gained viral fame after it was revealed that she previously claimed that the uterine disorder Endometriosis was caused by having sex with demons in dreams. After being shared by Trump on Twitter, the event was streamed live on Breitbart. Videos of the event were viewed millions upon millions on social media. The group recently promoted ivermectin to be a miracle cure for Covid-19. Koltai stated that Americas Frontline Doctors are skilled at manipulating science to make it appear the vaccine isn't safe or has not been tested or isn't necessary. This is why they have been so impactful over the past year. Americas Frontline Doctors began to offer $90 telehealth consultations in order to obtain prescriptions for other treatments to Covid-19. This was after more than 345,000 Americans had died from the pandemic. Gold, a maskless, packed church audience in Tampa, Florida on January 3rd, stated that Americas Frontline Doctors had made hydroxychloroquine accessible for all Americans. The video, The Truth About Covid-19 Vaccine has been viewed over 1.3 million times by Rumble, a video hosting site. You can then consult with a doctor via telemedicine. You can then consult with a telemedicine doctor, regardless of whether you have Covid or not. Its website guides potential customers through a series questions before directing them towards SpeakWithAnMD.com. It explains how to get prescription medication for COVID-19 from our AFLDS-trained doctors in just three steps.
Sign up to receive a Covid-19 consultation from Americas Frontline Doctors. Screenshots taken September 20, 2021.
AFLDS is accessible through many social media platforms. Gold, founder of the group, has over 340,000 Twitter followers. She regularly posts anti-vaccine content such as this false claim by Joe Rogan that ivermectin or other drugs that are ineffective in treating Covid-19 have cured him.
American comedian, podcaster, UFC commentator and podcaster @joerogan announced that he has COVID-19. He credits ivermectin and monoclonal antibody, azithromycin, and other medicines for his rapid recovery.
A wonderful heartfelt TY to modern medicine for pulling me out of this so quickly. pic.twitter.com/6LfuqSXSEa Dr. Simone Gold (@drsimonegold) September 3, 2021
Gold created an account on Gab on Saturday. This social media site is popular among right-wing extremists. She already has over 36,000 followers and has received thousands of comments. AFLDS' Facebook page has 112,00 fans, Telegram channel has 184,00 subscribers and the group channel on Rumble has 28,000 subscribers. This email newsletter from Bridge Connection Ministries contains an AFLDS plug and asks: Have you ever been exposed to COVID?
Screenshot: The Intercept
Cadence Health The Intercept has two months of patient records which show that AFLDS referred more than 255,000 people to see doctors to obtain Covid-19 treatment. 72,000 people paid $90 each for phone consultations. Many of those who had follow-up consultations were $59.99. Although the Cadence Health hack data does not contain payment data, it is clear that patients paid over $6.7 million in phone consultations during the two-month period. According to archived versions, this data doesn't include the $90 phone consultations between January and July. SpeakWithAnMD seems to have hosted the intake forms directly for $90 telemedicine consultations. According to archived versions of the site, the telemedicine website appears to be billing patients directly rather than their insurance companies. Espinal claimed that Cadence Health did not collect credit card payments, and that $90 for telehealth was paid using SpeakWithAnMDs processor. Espinal claimed that he charged SpeakWithAnMD $17,500 to use its platform and that SpeakWithAnMD is his only and first customer. The Intercept reached out Monday to the companies to get their comments. According to Espinal who attended briefly via Zoom, Encore Telemedicine, SpeakWithAnMD's parent company, hosted an emergency meeting with AFLDS lawyers. According to Espinal, there were 16 attorneys present, but Gold was not there. Espinal claims that he told lawyers, "I am ending my contract with your guys immediately," and then he left. He then shut down Cadence Healths services, which prevented SpeakWithAnMD's operation. Cadence Health's hacked data gives an insight into the patients. In the two-month span, 58% of those 72,000 patients were females, 38% were males, and 4% chose not to answer the question. People of all ages were able to seek consultations with AFLDSs healthcare providers. However, those in their 50s or 60s were more likely than others to do so. The CDC data shows that Covid-19 patients 50-64 are four times more likely than those aged 18-29 to die and to be admitted to the hospital. Patients 65-74 years old are five times more likely than others to be admitted to the hospital and 90 percent more likely to die. The unproven Covid-19 treatments were sought by people in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and every county. 8600 people paid $90 to receive telehealth consultations in California, while another 8,000 in Florida or 7,400 in Texas. The service was used by more than 1,000 people in 21 additional states to consult with health care providers. Delaware and Vermont were the only two states with fewer than 100 patients. Houston, Phoenix, Phoenix, and Jacksonville had all over 300 patients.
Based on the hacked data this map shows how many people have sought unproven Covid-19 treatment in each city, for cities with at least 10 users. Map: The Intercept
Ravkoo Ravkoo received its first prescription for hydroxychloroquine from AFLDS only 10 days after Golds the Truth About The Covid-19 Vaccine speech on January 13. The prescription data shows that AMERICAS FRONT LINE DOCTORS ENENCORE was listed in the comments field. Ravkoo filled 340,000 prescriptions between November 3, 2020 and September 11, 2021. The hacked data lists the price for each prescription. The prices for each type of medication are added up and it appears that Ravkoo charged $4.7 million for Ivermectin, $2.4 Million for azithromycin, $1.2 Million for hydroxychloroquine, $52,000 for Vitamin C, and $175,000 for Zinc. Only $500 of these medicines were purchased by insurance companies. Patel stated to The Intercept that Ravkoo does not take a cut on prescription sales and that they operate a platform that delivers prescriptions directly to local pharmacies. This is similar to Uber. However, he did not answer any questions about Ravkoo's business model. The Better Business Bureau warns Ravkoo that the pharmacy currently has one star out of five stars. Customers complain that the pharmacy ignores their requests for prescriptions for Covid-19 medication from AFLDS. The pharmacy replied to complaints to the Better Business Bureau on September 2 by saying that it was no longer affiliated to AFLD [sic] and speakwithanmd.com. We are diligently working to resolve this problem. The hacked data contains 268 prescriptions which mention AFLDS between September 2, and September 11, Ravkoo's hack date.
Chart: Soohee Cho/TheIntercept
