Comments and a Dilemma

Some Comments and a Dilemma
Regarding UVL_RX

First A Statement of Policy from OIRF

The OIRF Instrumentation Policy

Occidental Institute Research Foundation is a non-profit research organization. The instrumentation recommendations of this organization are based on thorough testing to determine efficacy, quality, pricing, availability, service and support. All instrumentation is sold at or below German factory (export) prices to assist our Affiliates in obtaining the best product for their needs at the best possible price. Longtime OIRF supporters consider us as the “Consumer Reports” of German Biological Medicine. Training and educational materials on all currently recommended instrumentation are available through OIRF.

As a non-profit research organization, we are here to educate and inform our “members” / supporters, and to make instrumentation recommendations based on our years of research. Then, as a fund raising activity, we can assist you with a purchase that will work best in your practice for the most reasonable price.

From our Mission Statement:

“Biological Medicine” –  a phrase coined by Occidental Institute during the early 1980’s – was intended to be a general and inclusive term that incorporated many non-allopathic or natural diagnostic and therapeutic methods. There is no single product, personality, method or approach within Biological Medicine that will allow you to help all of your patients, with all of their health challenges, all of the time. It is for this reason that we see a constantly changing and developing range of methods coming available to practitioners worldwide.

The Dilemma

The UVL_RX device comes highly recommended by two of our honored OIRF Advisors. As you can see from the preceding article Dr. Michael Galitzer has extensive experience with this device and has lectured on its effectiveness and application. Additionally Dr. Simon Yu is successfully working with two of them in his practice! Other OIRF directors and advisors have investigated purchase and application within their practices.

In the nearly two years that OIRF has been aware of the UVL_RX instrumentation, we have attempted to work out a cooperation with this company and have even recommended them to some of our German suppliers/colleagues as they sought to expand their international market into Germany and Europe. However, I must admit that after all this time I have recognized a sort of challenge to our own OIRF policy – almost an ethical issue for me personally – in regard to granting the coveted OIRF recommendation for this device.

As you can see in the quotes above from our “Instrumentation Policy” statement and also from our “Mission Statement”, OIRF is tied financially not just to the sale of educational materials and programs, but also to the sale of instrumentation. We are a privately and independently funded non-profit organization. That means there is no government or medical/pharmaceutical funding to support OIRF or our work and research in this field which we named Biological Medicine – and thus no interference or influence from them either.

Always in the past our OIRF recommendations were based on a series of criteria, questions and standards:

• Thorough testing and practical application to determine efficacy
  • Sturm had a virtual museum of equipment and “toys” attesting to the vast amounts of invested funding and his hours of research and testing – today we have an elite Board of Directors and Advisors who fulfill much of that task and consideration. With so many devices out there that are simply “bells and whistles and flashing lights” how do you as a practitioner determine what works and what doesn’t? So we need answers to questions like:
  • Does it work?
  • Does the device actually do what is claimed for it?
  • What is the premise or concept of the method?
  • Does the technology actually do the job? (Like for example the filter mechanism of the MORA devices – and yes, the filter really does works!)
• Quality
  • Consider the OIRF recommendations of MORA/Med-Tronik where we have devices that are still in successful and effective everyday practice that were manufactured more than 30 years ago! (Most people’s car cannot boast that kind of quality.)
  • Is there another similar device available that will do the job better?
  • Has the device met any existing standards of the method (i.e. for EAV devices has it met the electrical/technical standards to produce comparable, accurate and reliable readings?)
• Pricing
  • Is the pricing for the device fair?
  • Is there another similar device available at a better price?
  • Is OIRF able to arrange discounts or benefits for purchase by our members?
  • Is the price appropriate for the technology, research and development?
  • Is there a reasonable (or an excessive) “profit” and marketing budget built into the purchase price?
• Availability
  • Where is the device manufactured?
  • Can the device be imported into the USA and/or Canada easily?
  • Is leasing or credit card payment available?
  • Does the manufacturer have product available for prompt delivery?
• Service
  • Does the manufacturer have a proper warranty and repair policy?
  • Does the manufacturer have full repair and service facilities and staff?
  • Is pricing of repairs and service reasonable?
  • Are repairs and service available within reasonable time frames?
• Support
  • Is training available?
  • Are there sufficient operating and training manuals available?
  • Does the manufacturer offer standard or extended warranties?

And of course recently we have had to add:

• Registration
  • Is the device already registered with Health Canada? The US FDA?
  • And more likely, can the device be registered with HC and FDA?
  • Does the device meet all the ISO and certification standards of the country of origin?

And with the development of legitimate, new and effective devices from many other countries (including the USA, Canada, Australia, Austria and so many others):

• Country of Origin or Manufacture
  • Where was the initial research or method developed?
  • Does the method have roots or application in other countries or development?
• Method of development
  • Is this device new research and development?
  • Is this research based on other existing devices or methods?
  • What is the primary premise or concept of the method?
  • Is this device a copy of existing legitimate devices?

And so on and so on . . . I have been involved with the field of Biological Medicine since 1970 even before OIRF first opened its doors as an acupuncture “school”, and I must admit that at times I feel like I have seen it all! But at the very least I have a really good overview and experience of what’s available now and what is being developed. When juggling all of those factors mentioned above along with so many others, the decision to grant the OIRF recommendation for a device or method is never just a straightforward choice of whether or not OIRF will be paid a commission on sales.

Granted, the income received from the sale of our recommended instrumentation is our primary source of funding. In spite of that, we have always maintained a strict policy of neutrality in determining which device will receive that recommendation over or instead of another device. Our longstanding and highly respected reputation has been built on that policy.

One of the primary examples of that is the longstanding loyalty of OIRF to Med-Tronik and MORA over the many “knock off” devices like BICOM, Holimed, IMEDIS, and so on. Each and all of those companies were more than willing to work with OIRF and offer us an appropriate (or sometimes even better) commission structure on sales. But, for us the determining factor was never the money and thus we have stayed true to our non-profit and research corporate status and reputation.

And this is where my “ethical” dilemma arose in terms of the UVL_RX Company.

Pros: This is a great device even though developed and made in the USA rather than our usual German recommendations. It comes highly recommended by at least two of our trusted Advisors for effectiveness and ease of application. UVL_RX is again a light therapy and we know from BioPhoton (light) Therapy and Color Therapy (standard and also According to Gruba) that the application of such methods is highly effective. They have completed several excellent studies on effectiveness and are now fully registered with the US FDA. Used in conjunction with other OIRF recommended methods such as BioPhotons, Color, MORA Beauty (specialized stress programs) and Ionized Oxygen which are all known to rapidly affect stress and resulting inflammation, we can readily see positive practice application.

Cons: On the other hand the device is somewhat expensive [similar in price to a loaded MORA Nova without the versatility]. But this too is understandable in view of the company’s investments into funding, research, development, FDA registration and now some impressive commercial marketing. So far we have been unable to directly determine quality, service and support issues, although neither of our advisors has reported any negative incidents to us.

And this is where my dilemma arises on a personal level. UVL_RX has understandably launched a large international marketing program for this device. Although we have never asked them for a sales commission or referral fee, in recent communications the UVL_RX Company has offered to sponsor one or two issues of “The Bridge” newsletter in return for our recommendation and promotion of this product. In many ways this is a very fair and generous offer, and we are grateful to them for this indication of support and respect.

However compared to their huge international marketing plans, our “little” organization can only offer them a limited number of quality sales rather than any kind of promised volume. I like and could easily recommend UVL_RX, but in the end it simply and very sadly has come down to the dollars. Promotion and marketing of this product to meet their needs would have to be done in a commercial and somewhat aggressive manner. Although two OIRF Advisors are working with this device, we are unable to offer educational support or purchase assistance which at this time is all done through UVL_RX and sales reps.

In comparison with our MORA devices, we can offer you full support and assistance from placement of order through application in your practice. In terms of the commercial aspects, even our Med-Tronik devices (once registered with Health Canada) will become a commercial product and all sales and marketing will have to be spun off into our sister (profit) corporation Praxis2Practice Therapeutic Systems.

And so, I have included the preceding article by Dr. Galitzer in our newsletter as a part of our ongoing research and publication of important quality information and innovation. If you are in a position as a practitioner to do injections (or have appropriate staff), if you are interested in (or are already using) UBI, and if you can see an application for this method in your practice then UVL_RX is an excellent answer. Should you decide to place an order please let UVL_RX know that you heard about them from OIRF. Their contact information is provided following this commentary.

At this time however OIRF will not be extending our full device recommendation for UVL_RX nor will we be accepting any commissions, fees or other financial support. Dr. Galitzer also receives no remuneration from UVL_RX. As in all things related to technology, the field of Biological Medicine is expanding exponentially and in many ways it is as yet essentially unregulated in regard to claims, efficacy, technical reliability and methodology. In this and all practice device purchases, do your homework (or ask Carolyn), always be discerning modern consumers and remember that it is our patients who are the ultimate “end-users” of these methods.

s/Carolyn
Carolyn L. Winsor
Managing Director

Please follow this link to see the introductory article: UVLrx, by Dr. Michael Galitzer
Please follow this link to see linked article: Cautionary Comments, by Dr. Ted Cole

A Director’s Commentary for OIRF Supporters
From THE BRIDGE Newsletter of OIRF
Published April 2016

© Copyright 2016, Carolyn Winsor, OIRF, BC Canada