Mission Statement - "The mission of HFTFC is to combat health fraud through education, advocacy and referrals. Health fraud is defined as any false, misleading or unproven claim about care, treatment, or prevention of disease. Specific emphasis is placed on increasing the awareness about health fraud among people with HIV/AIDS and other chronic diseases."

Goals:

The goals for the Task Force are as follows:

• Providing education about health fraud to community organizations and health care professionals that work with them;

• Collecting and disseminating information on the fraudulent claims being made regarding drugs and therapies; and

• Assisting enforcement agencies through education, dissemination of information and cooperation in the prosecution of perpetrators of health fraud.

Specifically the Task Force will:

• Increase awareness of Health Fraud through ads, exhibits and media stories;

• Route all reports of potential fraud to appropriate government agencies,
  maintain current information dissemination methods such as the web site;

• Develop a database of providers for the purposes of mailing an intro/informational packet regarding the Task Force and  fraud and;

• Concentrate on structural issues (such as governance, recruitment and member retention) to help the Task Force remain strong and continue to provide national leadership.

Education: Public Information Campaigns

The primary goal of the  Health Fraud Task Force of California is the continued education of health professionals, persons living with HIV/AIDS and other serious diseases, governmental agencies, and community organizations working with clients with HIV/AIDS about the existence and detection of health fraud, how to report fraudulent products and where to go for additional information.

Public information was distributed utilizing the following venues: speeches, brochures and exhibits at conferences, trainings and community events; the web site; the 800-hotline number; and advertisements in community event catalogues.

Internet web site: The Health Fraud Task Force of California web site www.healthfraudca.org relays information to the public about the Task Force and  health fraud, it includes the Health Fraud brochure, additional resource materials, the "Wall of Shame" that features fraudulent products and services that have been prosecuted and links to other relevant internet sites. The web site has been continuously maintained and upgraded to keep its look and information content as current as possible.

Brochures: The  Health Fraud brochure has been distributed at meetings, conferences, training seminars, college classes, substance abuse treatment programs, clinics and hospitals, and outreach service agencies. The brochures are available in English, Spanish, Japanese, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Cambodian, Korean, Chinese, and Thai. In fiscal Year 2002, approximately 3,000 brochures were distributed.  An additional 10,000 brochures were sent to the Clearing House for distribution. The Task Force brochure was added to their resource list.  More will be sent when the brochure is reprinted next year.

800 hotline: The 800 hotline number was available in the telephone company White Pages in 24 cities across California. The hotline number continues to be publicized through the use of promotional items, brochures and ads. In FY2002 there were approximately 100 calls received. Ten percent of these calls were related to  health fraud and required follow up.

Advertisements: This year the Task Force advertised in various Pride festival magazines: Bakersfield, Long Beach, San Diego and San Francisco.

Newsletter Article: A short newsletter article on how to recognize health fraud was developed and marketed to agencies with newsletters. This activity will be continued in 2003.

Outreach to Health Care Providers

Brief presentations on the work of the task force and the types of reporting referred were made at the following meetings: Alameda County  Resource Network, Northern California  Drug Assistance Program trainings and Peer Advocate trainings.

A health fraud training at the state contractors' conference in San Francisco sponsored by the Pacific  Education and Training Center (PAETC), an affiliate of UCSF and the San Francisco  Research Institute was conducted. The thirty trainers (physicians, nurses and health educators) will relay the information to the  health care providers in California, Arizona, Hawaii and Nevada. In Southern California a presentation was made to 35 Registered Dieticians and other nutrition professionals at the APLA sponsored Training.

The Task Force has also been invited to provide presentations for the California Statewide Treatment and Education Program (C-STEP) which educates service providers on medical issues relating to HIV.

Brochures have been distributed to UCSF  Health Project trainees, Project Inform volunteers (they also will be using the slide show for training), and the Institute for Community Health Outreach Workers.

Web site Links: A link has been established to the California Office of AIDS.

Exhibits: The Task Force maintains an exhibit that was taken to numerous locations in FY2002.  Exhibited events are denoted by an (*).  The Task Force information was available at the following events/meetings:

• African American Marketplace, Health Expo, 8/17, 18, 24, 25

• Bakersfield  Walk*

• Black  Awareness Day, Oakland*

• "Bridging Medical Care and Communities to Improve the Health of Women 50+" Conference - California Medical Association and the CMA Foundation, San Jose

• CPR Sunday, 6/2

• California Dietetic Conference, 4/5

• Celebrando la Mujer, Santa Ana, 5/18

• Diabetes Conference for Doctors

• Episcopal Church Living with  Workshop

• Evans Consumer Fair (Adult education for immigrants)

• Governor's Conference for Women, 9/24

• Health Fraud Conference, 5/3 Irvine

• Healthy Students Health Community Conference

• Health Sundays (African-American Churches) Oakland, San Francisco

• HIV in the Frontline Conference, Costa Mesa*

• International  Society Regional Meetings

• Jewish Synagogue  Outreach

• Los Angeles County Fair

• Los Angeles Times Health Festival

• National HIV/ Update Conference, San Francisco *

• San Diego District Community College (college classes)

• Southern California Physicians

• Sunset Junction Annual Fair, Los Angeles 8-21-22

• U.S. Conference on , Anaheim 9/21-02 *

• Wellness Foundation Conference

• Westmont College, Santa Barbara, 4/16

Outreach to Gay Men:

The committee developed text and a design for palm cards which will be sent  to the GPO for printing.

Video Production:

The Task Force has been approved to contract with the San Diego State University Production Center to develop a training video targeting both service providers and PLWAs. The script is in the development stage and the committee is working hard to conceptualize the project. It will be distributed statewide upon completion next year.

Membership: Increase and Diversify

The Task Force continues to increase the diversity of its members. Connections and ties to communities are essential for our work. Last year three new members were added to the Task Force who will strengthen bonds to underrepresented communities.

General Information

The Task Force held monthly teleconferences except for the months of the face-to-face meetings in November, March and July. In addition, members met by teleconference for committee work on an as needed basis. The chair of the Health Fraud Task Force of California participated in the National Leadership Committee.

Conclusion

The Health Fraud Task Force of California delivers its message at conferences, community events, meetings and in periodicals. Both the web site and the 800 number provide an excellent resource for the community to seek information about health fraud. The committees are active and by 2003 the Task Force will have developed a training video for PLWH/As and health care providers. The Health Fraud Task Force of California is committed to combating fraudulent treatments and cures and ensuring that both providers and PLWH/As have the tools they need to fight fraud.