Statement from Dean Robert Golden, MD, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health

I recieved the folling letter in the comments section of my previous post, "The Scrubbing has Begun".

It was posted by an anonymous reader, so I cannot account for its veracity, but it seems appropriate to post it here in it's entirety. I will have more to say when if the letter is authenticated.

A letter from UW's Dean of the School of Medicine and Public Health

In view of extensive media coverage of physicians reportedly writing medical excuses for state workers, we want to share with you the following statement released to the media this morning.

Statement from Dean Robert Golden, MD, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health

Feb. 23, 2011

The faculty and staff of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health appreciate and share the many concerns raised regarding the reports of ‘medical excuse’ notes provided by doctors to protestors at the Capitol on Saturday, February 19. Apparently the group of doctors included a small number of UW physicians who were acting completely on their own, without the knowledge or approval of the School.

The School has launched a formal investigation of the UW physicians involved to determine if work rules and/or professional ethics have been violated, to recommend institutional responses to any such violations, and to recommend potential processes to prevent the recurrence of any similar violations in the future. I have directed the investigation committee to complete their work and report back to me their findings and recommendations as soon as possible. As always, we will follow the established personnel policies of the University of Wisconsin.

We are very concerned that some recent reports have incorrectly linked to these activities in question a few UW physicians whom we know were not involved. Among the physicians wrongly accused are Dr. Anne Eglash and Dr. Valerie Gilchrist, chair of the Department of Family Medicine. Neither Dr. Eglash nor Dr. Gilchrist was involved in any way with these activities. Neither was present at the Capitol during the time frame of these events. We urge blogs and social network sites which have incorrectly linked these physicians to these activities to take responsible action.

Of greatest concern are the threats of violence that have been received by at least one of the physicians allegedly involved in the ‘excuse note’ writing. Threats of violence are never appropriate, are always taken very seriously, and will be reported to appropriate law enforcement agencies.

We are fully committed to investigating thoroughly these allegations, and we will take appropriate action based on our findings. We urge the public to support due process and to join us in condemning any violent responses to this situation.

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