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Published on: 9/9/2007
Last Visited: 2/21/2009
State medical board says Dr. Clifford Bernstein failed to treat woman s symptoms after rapid detox.
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Dr. Clifford Bernstein released a female patient who later developed pancreatitis and other health problems after undergoing opiate withdrawal under anesthesia at Garden Grove Hospital, according to the accusation by the Medical Board of California.
The board accuses Bernstein of filling out the patient s discharge papers without reporting her ongoing flu-like symptoms.
Bernstein said that he treated the patient properly and that she had no medical problems at the time of discharge.
"I am really disturbed by these allegations," said Bernstein, 46.
"She never had a fever.
She never had anything wrong with her.
She was just unhappy after she detoxed."
Bernstein, who specializes in pain management, uses the Waismann Method of rapid detoxification from heroin or prescription painkillers such as Vicodin and OxyContin.
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Bernstein released her to the Domus Retreat for recovery in Anaheim Hills, where she continued to have the symptoms until she left three days later, state officials said.
The next day, the patient was admitted to a Phoenix hospital where she was diagnosed with pancreatitis, low potassium levels, an elevated white blood cell count and dehydration.
The Domus Retreat referred questions to Bernstein.
According to the accusation, Bernstein s colleague performed the rapid detox procedure, but Bernstein failed to diagnose the patient s illnesses, order any tests or refer her to another doctor at the time of her discharge.
"I was not the primary physician taking care of her," Bernstein said.
"She was fine to discharge.
There was absolutely nothing medically wrong with her."
In addition to the detox practice, Bernstein is a board-certified anesthesiologist who also runs Coast Pain Management of Newport Beach.
According to his Web site, Bernstein "stresses the judicious use of opiate medications."
But some patients say they became hooked on painkillers Bernstein prescribed and then were encouraged to undergo his rapid detox program.
"It s strange he (prescribes painkillers) and then he has a business that gets people off pills," said Elaine Domino of Newport Beach, who went to Bernstein for pain from a back injury.
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Bernstein said he doesn t routinely prescribe Klonopin and offered another view of Domino s treatment: "I saved her life," he said.
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Bernstein said his experience makes him uniquely qualified.
"As a specialist in pain management, I have a very thorough understanding of treating complex chronic pain," Bernstein said.
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"Maybe Dr. Bernstein made a bad medical decision, but this has nothing to do with the method," Waismann said.
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Bernstein and other doctors have performed rapid detox at Garden Grove Hospital for about four years.
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Bernstein said his method is successful, safe and its detractors just don t understand it.
"Most opposition is from professionals that do not understand what I do, or even try to find out," he said.
"I am always open to explain our procedure with addiction specialists."
Bernstein has been named in several lawsuits over his pain management and detox practices.
In April, the adult children of 54-year-old Candy Street sued Bernstein for wrongful death, alleging she suffered irreversible brain injury after receiving an injection to treat neck pain and headaches.
The complaint states that Street stopped breathing after receiving an injection in Bernstein s office, which had "inadequate and insufficient resuscitation equipment.
She was transferred to Hoag Hospital and died 10 days later, the complaint says.
In another case now in binding arbitration, Bernstein is accused of having performed rapid detox on a woman who went off medications for her endocrine disorder and subsequently suffered permanent health damage.
In another suit, a woman who suffered back pain after a 2001 shuttle bus accident alleged that Bernstein and a colleague prescribed so many opiate pain medications that she became addicted and had to undergo the Waismann Method.
Her attorney, Federico Sayre, said the case was dropped last year after the woman received a large settlement from the accident.
Bernstein declined to comment on the two pending cases, but he said the latter had no merit.
Bernstein said he s successfully treated more than 2,000 patients in seven years.
He said his patients, who typically became hooked on OxyContin or Vicodin after injuries, felt uncomfortable in traditional rehab settings.
"I d send them to a detox center for rehab, and they d be very upset, saying, We re not drug addicts, we don t identify with those people.
He said treating addiction as a medical condition is a humane way to remove the body s cravings for drugs, when compared to methadone clinics or 28-day rehab stays.
"The Waismann Method is good, common-sense medicine that gets patients off drugs," Bernstein said.
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