I do not practice medicine in California.
I do not diagnose, I do not treat, or prescribe.

My work in California is about writing,
creating products and services for women,
and exposing medical abuses.

I lost my medical license in California in 1996.
I can reapply for my CA license as of 9/1999.

While the CMB is the agency which revoked my license, I do not hold them accountable. The CMB is composed of legal staff and investigators who rely solely on information given to them from my peers and foes in the medical community and from organizations such as the Quackbusters.

BMQA and CMA

Dr. Hufnagel was married to a prominate investment banker lawyer who was involved in a variety of stock schemes. He kept his business and sexual activities hidden from her. She was negligent in staying married to him despite his poor treatment of her, theft of her money and signs of perversion. She spent her time working for women's issues and failed to take care of her own life.

She reported all suspected criminal activities to the proper authorities when she learned of Robert Schuster's activities with his various business partners. She did this before her divorce. She found the activities of wealthy powerful men to swindle the public disgusting.

She is writing a book on this Taboo in the Hypatia Media section of this site. As a result of her coming forward on these issues a series of unfortunate events which the authorities failed to see the links went on for some five years. During this time she was raided by the CMB who broke into her home caused significant damage and damaged her life by taking her evidence files and computers.

The CMB however is a regulatory agency. They respond to charges be they legitimate or not. In 1999 (prior to the CMB's raid of Dr. Hufnagel's home) the California Medical Board ordered Dr. Hufnagel to remove the initials "M.D." from her name and sanctioned her $500 for having used the title "M.D." publicly. The title MD is a title she earned upon graduation from medical school, and is not something the CMB or anyone can take. This should have been understood by the CMB prior to their action, but some one was able to persuade them to take this action upon her.

While resolving this matter with the CMB, the CMB agent suggested that to provide full informed disclosure that a link should be provided from her website to the CMB. This was done as suggested by the CMB. To get direct information use this link to the CMB.

We are posting here also the National Physician's Data Base concerning Dr. Hufangel's reporting with response from Dr. Hufnagel for your review. (click here)

For the supporters of Hufnagel the actions of the CMB were extreme and should of been corrected early on. Had Hufnagel the funds to fight legally things would have been different. Also the agents should of had sense enough to stop the raid once they saw they had been duped by some one or someone's with the ridiculous claim she was operating out of her kitchen. This action caused great harm to Hufnagel. It also was a black cloud on the CMB as well.

Over time council for the CMB and an agent of the CMB made significant steps to try and heal this situation. We are all working towards this effort as well.

The revocation of Dr. Hufnagel's medical license was not with the CMB but the BMQA.

Years ago the Board was completely different in it formations and activities. It was the BMQA who revoked Dr. Hufnagel not the CMB. Since that time the Director of the BMQA was fired for his unfair policies and many reforms took place in the CMB. Based on these reforms a request for reinstatement under Reversible error is being submitted to the CMB.

The full story of these difficult years can be found in Taboo a book about her marriage and Behind the Ivory Towers a look into the structure of the medical community. See Hypatia Media for all books and publications.

TIME LINE OF HISTORICAL EVENTS

Dr. Vikki Hufnagel, M.D. filed the first sexual harassment case in Los Angeles against a hospital. She charged Dr. M. Wade and Cedars Sinai Medical Center (CSMC) with sexual harassment and other abuses.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reviewed the case and determined it had merit. Dr. Hufnagel charged Dr.Wade with rape and claimed that Dr. Wade informed her he was having sex with some of his patients. He also stated he claimed to be intimate with Cybil Sherpard.

Dr. Hufnagel charged she was thrown off staff when she refused to marry Dr. Wade. Wade testified to asking her to marry him and to having sex with her. This is in the deposition documents. Records that CSMC tried to seal from the public. As of this date, Hufnagel has never had a hearing on this matter, despite the Superior Court order to Cedars to complete the administrative hearings years ago.

She was told by Gloria Alread at the time, that sexual harassment was not an issue for the courts, and that an attorney would go up against CSMC. Dr.Hufnagel could not find proper representation, nor could she afford to battle the Ivory Towers of CSMC.

As a result of her removal from CSMC, a CMB hearing took place. The final outcome of that hearing found that Dr. Hufnagel practiced medicine above the community standard; she had done no wrong. The chairman of the committee also found that she had been professionally and personally attacked by Dr. Wade. The CMB officer stated that the CMB would protect Hufnagel from further actions by Dr. Wade. No action was ever taken against Dr. Wade.

Dr. Hufnagel also reported several GYNS for rape or having sex with patients. The CMB never investigated these cases. Instead, the CMB appointed Dr. Wade to head its Ethics Committee.

Senator Diane Watson contacted Dr. Hufnagel and asked her to investigate hysterectomy abuses. The end result was a government document that exposed these abuses: "Hysterectomies in the United States 1965-84" Vital and Health Statistics, 1987, Series 13, No.92, DHHS Pub. 87-1753.

She then wrote and had passed the nation’s first informed consent law for
hysterectomy (CA SB835). Dr. Hufnagel is the only ob/gyn physician, ever in the history of the United States, to write such laws for consumer protection and she did so in California, New York and Texas. This law has never been enforced and is not made known to female patients facing a hysterectomy.

During the Senate hearings, Dr. Lauren White, CMA and John Whitlow, ACOG threatened Dr. Hufnagel that they would have her medical license lifted (removed) for her exposing the abuse of hysterectomy (She had written "No More Hysterectomies," worked on informed consent laws, testified in court cases, and so on.). Dr. White physically pushed Hufnagel and screamed at her how he was working with Wade to destroy her career. This was witnessed by Carole Beck and Trica Aude who provided declarations to the CMB about the incident.

Many threats and break-ins to her offices took place during this time period. The CMB then filed charges against Dr.Hufnagel. The main charge was that she refused to perform a hysterectomy. The hearings went on over two years and cost many hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees causing severe hardship. At the end of these hearings, Judge Robert Neher found that Dr. Hufnagel had not harmed anyone. Judge Neher gave Dr. Hufnagel probation.

The CMB, without meeting and without the transcripts and files to review, refused Judge Neher’s findings and revoked Hufnagel’s medical license. This is proven because the clerk documented the date of the transcripts being completed and the revocation occurred before this. Also, there was never a recorded meeting to determine the revocation by the committee. This is documented.

The Rama Haggerty Case: The refusal to do a hysterectomy case was also tried in the Superior Court of Santa Monica with Judge Harris. The result was a 12/0 verdict in favor of Dr. Hufnagel. It was evident that Rama Haggerty had lied in the administrative hearings before Judge Neher. Her husband, Patrick, made it clear, that Rama had lied the entire time. The CMB and Judge Neher were both informed of the perjury of Rama Haggerty. Dr. Eugene Parks, the expert witness for the CMB, also committed perjury.

Both the CMB and Superior Court Judge Yaffe refused to take judicial notice of the verdict in Hufnagel’s favor in the Rama Haggerty case. No action was ever taken in response to the obvious perjury by the CMB witnesses. The Administrative Judge for Los Angeles was given proper notice and he took no action. Her ex-spouse, Robert Schuster, handled billing in her practice. Mr. Schuster, an attorney, never had any actions taken against him for wrongdoings he admitted to.

Four other cases in Superior court were dropped under Judge Rothman. In hopes that the "witch hunt" would end, Judge Rothman made a Judicial Record that no wrongdoing was found against Dr. Hufnagel, of any kind, and that these nuisance cases had been removed from the court. The CMB and Judge Yaffee refused to take judicial notice of this action by the court and of Judge Rothman’s statements.

During the Judge Neher hearings, evidence of malpractice and fraud, by other physicians, was documented in the court records and the CMB files. The CMB had evidence that Dr. Lazarus made improper records and billings. Dr. Bernstein perforated a uterus, failed to diagnose or treat, and left a dead fetus in a patient. Dr. Rubenstein admitted to placing a probe into the bowel of a patient and billed for procedures she never did.

The CMB took no action on these admitted abuses that had been uncovered.

Bizarre statements by experts for the CMB were entered into the record as "truth." Dr. Mason stated that women had no physical orgasm, and that sex was totally in a woman’s head. Another female gynecologist stated, "you never cut into a uterus to remove fibroids." Dr. Mason and Dr. Parks claimed that you NEVER repaired a perforated uterus. Dr. Parks stated that , "No one billed globally." These statements were accepted as truths by Judge Neher. These are not truths and have never been truths.

Judge Yaffe had stayed the CMB from revoking Dr. Hufnagel’s medical license. He stated maybe...maybe Dr. Hufnagel did not give Rama all her options. Yet, when Yaffe found that Rama had lied, he took no action. Then, several years later, he signed for revocation reversing his earlier comments without any mention of any reason or fact.

He signed the court document saying that he had reviewed the entire case. He had been instructed to review the entire case. However, it became evident that he had not reviewed the evidence files or the full transcripts. He lied in his court document. He had admitted to only reading the initial transcripts of the CMB experts against Dr. Hufnagel. He never read the cross-examination nor any of the more than 30 volumes. The evidence files and court documents were boxed and had not been opened or looked at by Yaffee. On the order he signed, he had to cross out that he reviewed the entire case because he did not. This is all documented and is in the court record.

This is totally bizarre that a Superior Court Judge crosses out his document because it was false and did not represent the truth. A request for review of this issue, by the Judicial Council, was formally made and no action was ever taken.

At this point, the CMB had changed the appeal laws. Physicians had lost their right to appeal in the State of California. Dr. Hufnagel had top legal counsel Melanie Lomax file an appeal. Lomax later told Hufnagel that she (Lomax) had failed to be aware that the law had changed. Hufnagel paid many thousands of dollars in legal fees to Frank Fresinda who had no idea about the appeal laws changing. Hufnagel had no idea that an appeal did not exist.

During this time period, Dr. Hufnagel had her entire case reviewed by the
United States OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL (OIG). The OIG found that Dr. Hufnagel provided care above the standard of care prevailing in California and throughout the nation. The OIG also found that Hufnagel had not committed any of the wrongdoings alleged against her by the CMB.

It also found that her Female Reconstructive Surgery (FRS) was unique and a skill needed to repair women. The OIG approved her as a private surgeon given permission to operate at any United States military base in the world. Dr. Hufnagel was sent to operate and use FRS to teach at a U.S. military hospital after her California license revocation.

Dr. Hufnagel was asked by Commissioner Conran to testify before the Grace Commission because the issues concerning Dr. Wade, Dr. White and Whitlow were exposed to the Department of Consumer Affairs. The end result was the removal of Wagstaff and his staff from the CMB. The Grace Commission was to review her case under the Department Head of Consumer Affairs head Conran through the investigations by the California Highway Patrol. Commissioner Conran left and the review never took place.

The right to appeal was removed and the case was not heard based on this new law.

In 1998, all of Dr. Hufnagel’s personal things were taken and removed from her home. Her bank accounts disappeared, IRA and retirement plans were gone with Mr. Schuster’s leaving.

Her medical office equipment and office equipment for three large offices all disappeared in 1998. She filed proper police reports but the police made no investigation. In December of 1998, a witness filed a report saying that Mr. Schuster attempted to run over Dr. Hufnagel with his new Mercedes. The witness saw Mr. Schuster do this.

In July 1999, her records and documents, including books she had written for publication, perished in a suspicious fire that was later ruled to be an "arson".

Reapplication process was to take place 9/1999.

After years of harassment in the courts, retiring Judge Schimmer commented to Dr. Hufnagel, "Now I see what you have been through in trying to tell the truth about hysterectomy. What you said years ago now is understood to be true."

The same physicians who years ago testified against Dr. Hufnagel, who denounced her work and her position on hysterectomies, now claim they are doing her surgical work. Now that her work has been proven correct, these physicians now claim they studied with her and supported her.

In a CBS news spot in October of 1986, Dr. Judith Reichman claimed, on camera, that "there were no unnecessary hysterectomies performed..." and that, "hysterectomy had no negative side effects to women." She and other female CSMC physicians contributed to the personal attacks upon Dr. Hufnagel and the attacks on her work.

Prior to her testifying on issues concerning Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Dr. Hufnagel met and conferred with Rabbi Mier. She was active in the Jewish Medical Ethics group. She was the only physician at Cedars who testified and assisted the parents of children who had contracted AIDS from the Cedars blood supply. Anyone can contact Bruce Kasper as to these horrific events. His daughter died from AIDS contaminated blood. CSMC had the highest rate of this infected blood in the nation.

Dr. Rubenstein (CSMC) in the early 1980’s created a blood drive that targeted the West Hollywood gay community. Dr.Hufnagel informed the Infectious Disease Department, that through a patient she admitted, that GRID (now called AIDS) was in the community. Despite this notice, Dr. Rubenstein continued the campaign to have the blood drive centered in West Hollywood. Many parents of the children that died never learned about the CSMC blood drive focus on West Hollywood.

In the mid 1980’s, Dr. Hufnagel was physically attacked at her office, by two men, who stated, that if she testified to help Bruce Kasper, she would be killed. Her office was broken into and the files she kept on AIDS at Cedars were removed. The independent films her production company had in production in 1995 were cleaned out. All the video and video equipment, valued at over $500,000, were removed. This was witnessed. The police failed to charge the individuals seen in the theft with any criminal charges.

The film she had been making, "BAD BLOOD," exposed the AIDS blood contamination at CSMC. The film along with the files and records were all taken.

There is far too much to tell in this long story. The untold story of all the complexities will be told in her book, BEHIND the IVORY TOWERS. Because there are documents in the court, Dr. Hufnagel can reveal the names and actions of the people who attacked her for revealing the abuse of hysterectomy, and the other abuses she uncovered. The story is so complex and convoluted that it is difficult to believe it happened.

Who would believe, that a Superior Court judge would revoke a person's ability to earn a living, and irreparably harm that person's profession, all the while knowing, that he did not review the case as was required of him? And further, who would believe, that when the failure to review was brought to the judge's attention, he would simply cross out the statement on the revocation order declaring that he had done the review, and sign the order anyway?

Similarly, who would believe a federal judge telling Dr. Hufnagel she is smart and does not need an attorney?

She uncovered silicone complications, the use of silicone in Ovabloc, tubal ligation castration, tampons causing toxic shock syndrome, Provera causing heart disease, complications of Premarin, the lack of equity in health care, problems with the Sabin vaccine, problems with the blood supply, and more...

*The Court documents support this outline

*A full text of "Behind the Ivory Towers" perished in the July 1999 arson fire
which destroyed all of Dr. Hufnagel’s files and works.

*The data and opinions singularly expressed in the 1980’s by Dr. Hufnagel,
have been proven to be correct over time. Ironically, many of the physicians, who attacked her in the 1980’s, now tell patients they studied and learned from her, to attract patients to their practices.

*The ACOG opposed SB 835 and Dr. Hufnagel early on. Ultimately, they hired a crisis management public relations (PR) firm to attack Dr. Hufnagel, to silence her speaking out and uncovering abuses that the ACOG covered up. This PR firm orchestrates campaigns to handle crisis issues. They represent companies and organizations such as the ACOG, the AMA, and major hospitals. These attacks against Dr. Hufnagel are currently ongoing.