Dr. Erika | Bioidentical Hormone Expert

Cinergy Health

Dear All:

I am attaching a press release regarding my appointment as Medical Director to Cinergy Health.

I am very excited to team up with Cinergy. Together we will improve the health care system and help the public focus on prevention and patient advocacy.

Please read the release, and check out their website www.cinergyhealth.com.  I am happy to be affiliated with an insurance company who puts the patient first and has the goal of helping people focus on prevention.

My first media opportunity through Cinergy came last Friday and I would like you to watch it: Industrialized Health-Care Mess .

My clinical practice and contact with the patients and public will not be affected by this appointment.

To your health,
Dr. Erika

Cinergy Health Appoints Dr. Erika Schwartz as Medical Director

Provider of Affordable Health Care Insurance Will Draw on Physicians' Expertise in Preventative Medicine and Patients' Health Advocacy to Enhance Health Plans

AVENTURA, Fla., June 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Cinergy Health, a nationwide provider of affordable health insurance benefit programs for the consumer market, today announced Erika Schwartz MD, as the company's medical director, a new position. As Cinergy Health's medical director, Dr. Schwartz will provide guidance on health care issues, ranging from the efficacy of emerging medical procedures to so-called non-traditional treatment methods, such as the use of nutriceuticals. In addition, she will engage the public in a dialog on ways they can optimize relationships with their own health care professionals.

"We are excited to have Erika join the Cinergy Health team, especially given her broad and deep experience as a patients' health advocate," said Daniel Touizer, CEO of Cinergy Health. "Her work in both hospital-based and private practice gives her a powerful perspective on the entire health care delivery system and what constitutes a proper and effective level of service - all for the benefit of Cinergy Health Plan members."

Over the past 30 years, Dr. Schwartz has personally taken care of more than 100,000 patients, treated more than 15,000 patients with various formulations of bioidentical hormones and has written four best-selling books published by Warner Books, Putnam and HarperCollins. In December 2008, the Medical Clinics of North America published an entire chapter written by Dr. Schwartz on the use of hormones in wellness and disease prevention, a first in the field of conventional medicine. She was invited by the chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Harvard to lecture at Massachusetts General Hospital on the topic of bioidentical hormones in February 2009.

"Cinergy Health is an insurance benefits company that actually puts the individual first. Its affordable health insurance coverage is as innovative as any medical breakthrough I've seen," Schwartz said. "Further, Cinergy Health plans are designed to encourage people to seek care, not delay it such that their condition could worsen. As someone who's been involved in patients' rights for years, I am proud to be associated with this company."

Schwartz received her MD from State University of New York Downstate College of Medicine, graduating cum laude, as a member of the prestigious AOA academic honor society. She served as Director of Emergency Medicine at Westchester County Medical Center (University Hospital of New York Medical College) in Valhalla, NY, a world-renowned trauma center. She has been in private practice, in Internal Medicine, for the last 17 years.

As one of the nation's most widely-recognized experts in the field of bioidentical hormones and an outspoken advocate for patients' rights, Dr. Erika Schwartz has testified before Congress, appeared on CBS News, Larry King Live, The View, The Montel Williams Show, CNN, MSNBC, Oprah Satellite Radio with Dr. Oz and many others. Her affiliations include: Board of Managers at SUNY-Downstate College of Medicine, the American Society for Internal Medicine, National Association of Medical Communicators (AMA), International Coenzyme Q10 Society and the Bioidentical Hormone Initiative.

About Cinergy Health

CINERGY HEALTH, Inc., with headquarters in Florida, is a nationwide provider of innovative and affordable health insurance solutions designed to meet the changing needs of American families. Recognizing the financial challenges for people who cannot afford or qualify for costly major medical insurance plans,

Cinergy Health designs and delivers lower cost alternative health plans that facilitate access to quality healthcare services and enable people to maintain better health. Cinergy Health Preferred Insurance Plans are limited medical benefit plans, which provide first dollar coverage for the predictable medical care people need most frequently. These insurance plans provide coverage starting with a member's very first doctor's visit without a deductible so that s/he doesn't put off important medical care. From doctor visits and diagnostics to maternity and surgery, Cinergy provides essential coverage that's easily within most people's budgets. Further, plan member can choose doctors and hospitals of their choice without being confined to a list.

NEWSWEEK'S ATTACK ON OPRAH WILL NOT HELP THE PUBLIC

This week's Newsweek cover story is a harsh and lengthy attack on Oprah and her ever-expanding health care advocacy choices. The article questions the legitimacy of her choices and points out that some of her doctors and “experts” are far out of the medical mainstream. 

I have never been on the Oprah Show, but last winter I was interviewed by Oprah's main doctor Mehmet Oz on his satellite radio show. Patients and e-mails flooded my office for months. This spring I was quoted in Oprah’s magazine as they interviewed one of my patients about bioidentical hormones. I learned first hand the power of Oprah and the success she brings to everyone she touches.

At times while watching her shows and reading about her choices of experts I wondered about the lack of balance. I even wrote to her producers when I realized by watching her that her thyroid was badly treated and I knew she was not getting good advice.

When she talked about bioidentical hormones I was thrilled. Her choice of experts and spokeswoman for the hormones, Suzanne Somers, left me cold. But it was Oprah who opened the door to bringing bioidenticals to the mainstream so I applauded her effort. When I gave my lecture on bioidentical hormones at Harvard in February 2, 2009, the first slide I showed was the one of Oprah with Suzanne Somers.

I asked the chairman of the department of ob-gyn, Isaac Schiff, MD and the rest of the physicians in the audience, “ How come Suzanne Somers and Oprah are the ones to teach the public about bioidentical hormones? What has the medical profession done with the information of the Women’s Health Initiative study?  Nine years later and women are still suffering and the medical establishment has not stepped up to the plate to help women find safe solutions to menopausal symptoms. Why are bioidentical hormones still controversial?” They had no answers.

Oprah did. She did what no conventional media or conventional medicine has done. She has stepped up to the plate. She has given the public the missing information. Instead of indoctrinating us with the party line, Oprah has opened the door to other options. And the public has spoken. Oprah is their leader, not the American Medical Association.

Granted, Oprah may not have always chosen the best “experts” or figured how to provide a balanced view of their opinions. But then, who does? At least she has had the courage to bring to the public new ways of looking at health and has sparked interest in options that others would like kept under wraps. Don’t let the naysayers stop progress!