Friday, June 23, 2006

How to Spot a Phony Medical Doctor

Article about a fake doctor caught in Texas. Essentially, people trust doctors who seem to be good listeners: The Make-Believe Doctors: "In an unkind cut, the report stated that the people of Groveton should have known that Reid Brown was not a doctor because he did too many things wrong. For example, he made house calls for five dollars and charged only three dollars for an office visit. He approved of Medicare and would drive for miles to visit a patient, often without fee if the patient was poor. Besides, his handwriting was legible.
What were the secrets of Freddie Brant's success as an impersonator? They were many, but the main ones were his readiness to refer any potentially complicated case to nearby towns, a personality which inspired confidence, and a willingness to take time to listen to his patients."

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

The "fake" Reid Brant was a better doctor than the real one could have ever have been. If you are so knowlegable about Freddie Brant, than you would have learned about the life he saved while he worked at Terrell Mental Hospital while he was still pretending to be "Reid Brown". Apparently he did NOT help the people of Groveton, Texas out of greed. He was aquitted of the charges , how many other "fakes" have had the love of the community behind them ?

Anonymous said...

I am from Groveton and was in Jr. High when this occurred. I am glad Groveton judged our doctor from their heart and not by the book. He served the people and the people respected his knowledge. Why condemn a community for accepting a person at face value. He was a success in diagnosing many illnesses. He served our community very well. We went years without medical services but now we have a PA. He too serves our community with the same type devotion our "so called fake Doctor" showed. I would like to see the magazine article featuring this event in Groveton history; however, I have not been able to find any other information on the event. If any one knows the issue name and date, I would appreciate you posting this on this page. Thanks... from Groveton and proud of it!

Anonymous said...

The magazine is newsweek:volume 70 issue 19-26.I am also Fred's daughter(the youngest)and I'm very proud of what a wonderful father I had! He pasted away Oct.30 2006 at 83 years old!!He is missed and loved very much!

Anonymous said...

Thank you, I haven't looked back here in a long time, sorry to hear about your loss, our community is still a great place to live. His name came up this morning at the hardware store. One of the men there was telling about how he nearly died when he was a teenager. Your dad saved his life and to this day is appreciated.