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If you follow this blog at all, you know that we have been following the story of Wisconsin doctors who were caught on video writing sick notes to teachers protesting Governor Walker's budget. My last post on the issue was on March 12. The nub of my incredulity is here.
At that time it was noted that the Wisconsin Department of Regulation and Licensing had identified 11 individuals with whom they requested a response explaining the actions of that day. Based on these reports, (excuses) a decision would be made by the DRL as to whether a formal investigation would be launched.
Today we have word from the DRL and the Medical Examining Board 8 of 11 individuals will be investigated to determine if any "violations of law occurred and whether disciplinary actions should be pursued."
Medical Excuses Issued at Capitol Rallies
The Department of Regulation and Licensing (DRL) and the Medical Examining Board (MEB) have opened investigations involving eight individuals who allegedly wrote medical excuses for individuals attending rallies at the Capitol in February.
Based on information provided by various complainants, DRL identified 11 people who were asked to provide an explanation to the department about their activities at the Capitol. Based on the complaints and the information received by DRL, a screening panel consisting of three members of the MEB has decided to open investigations on eight individuals. Investigations were not opened as to the other three individuals because the panel concluded no violations had occurred.
A more extensive fact-finding process will now occur on the cases which have been opened to determine if any violations of law occurred. Recommendations will be made at the end of each investigation as to whether disciplinary action should be pursued.
The DRL and MEB are charged with licensing qualified, competent physicians and enforcing discipline against physicians whose practice is substandard.
The Journal Sentinel has more.
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I'll contribute to any legal effort to put these "doctors" in prison for the rest of their lives.
ReplyDeleteHere, here. Although the rest of their lives seems a bit onerous.....
ReplyDeleteHow much you wanna bet that if any of them is found guilty some other doctor will write a note excusing them from punishment for medical reasons?
ReplyDeleteI suspect psychosis would be a reasonable defense!
ReplyDeleteIf these doctors were willing to "cheat" by writing fake sick notes---sometimes while being recorded by video cameras---would they be willing to write fake prescriptions, sometimes for people they hardly know or have not examined properly? Would they be willing to submit false information to Medicare, to break the rules? Can they ever be trusted again? Unethical or dishonorable behavior by even a few can reflect poorly on the entire medical profession. It begs the question that if some were so willing to step over the line in this instance, how do we know that many more wouldn't be willing to do the same or even worse under other circumstances? The doctors who abused the trust society places in them did a disservice to the practice of medicine and their colleagues in the profession.
ReplyDeleteCan't trust a whore. Who would risk their children with these swine?
ReplyDeleteIndeed Anon. They sold out their profession for political expediency.
ReplyDeleteAnon. Be nice. These are Family Practice docs and residents, not pediatricians!
ReplyDeleteHere in Colorado (and many more states, I presume) doctors routinely write fake prescriptions for medical marijuana. There is a "legal" pot store on every block in Denver, and Craigslist is full of ads for "legal" pot.
ReplyDeleteI'm not trying to excuse these dirtbags that put their political tendencies in front of their Hippocratic Oath (Obamacare Death Panels anyone?), I'm just saying that Leftard doctors have hardly disgraced themselves with this puny infraction when they've done far worse things that have gone unpunished.
It is just more exposure of the self-righteous left. They are nothing more than religious fanatics that will further their cause with any and all means--they are on the side of god--there god--which is themselves, their unions, their political party, and their endless sanctimonious, hypocritical pontificating.
ReplyDeleteI predict nothing will happen - not even a letter in their personnel file. Scum protects it's own.
ReplyDeleteIt all comes down to integrity. There is a tacit arrangement between physicians and our society - the physicians get to say which things are medically necessary and which are not. In return we ask that they make these judgements on medical facts alone, without political or financial influence.
ReplyDeleteThis case attracted so much attention because it was a public breach of that type of trust. As a physician I was sad to see it, but not surprised.
They'll graduate to writing phony physical exam results enabling the able-bodied to receive disability benefits from social security.
ReplyDeleteAll the doctors in question are affiliated with the U of W medical school in Madison The medical school is currently conducting a sham investigation. Wrist slaps will be handed out quietly in due course. This will only add to their hero status at the medical school.
ReplyDeleteAnyone planning to visit Wisconsin this summer?
ReplyDeleteLook up "illness" in the unabridged dictionary, and synonyms for all those words. "Illness" means anything from "on life support with terminal cancer" to "worried about someone else catching that big fish in your favorite trout stream..."
ReplyDeleteThese doctors don't need to serve jail time. They just need to lose their license to practice medicine in the United States. If the AMA has any legitimate role in enforcing standards for their profession, they will move heaven and earth to make examples of these "doctors." If not, they should have no official role.
ReplyDeleteThe national regulating authority for family doctors is the American Academy of Family Physicians.
ReplyDeleteAren't physicians licensed by states? I think it would be inaccurate to describe the American Academy of Family Physicians as a regulatory authority. They are the Board that certifies Family Physicians as having the requisite knowledge base to practice in that specialty, but they are not regulatory, that would be in Wisconsin the DRL and the MEB, wouldn't it?
ReplyDeleteRE: "Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteCan't trust a whore. Who would risk their children with these swine?"
I think Anonymous is giving 'whores' an undeserved bad name.
I was on a US Navy ship in the Mediterranean in the 70's. My wife and 6 mo. old son 'followed' the ship for two months. They frequently found themselves on the same train as the 'whores' heading to the next port we were scheduled to be in. My wife initially found that distasteful. But shortly learned that the 'whores' were the 1st to know of changes in ship's movement plans (I don't know how) and would advise the 'wives' as to actual port and arrival times as they changed. The 'whores' (european) LOVED children, and lovingly cared for my 6 mo. old which gave my wife much relief from having to care for him during those 'between port' train trips. (they also helped point my wife and son to 'suitable' lodging for a young foreign mother and son)
My wife, and I, are two who would and did 'risk our child' with 'whores'.
We WOULD NOT however, want to risk our children, or ourselves, with those 'doctors without ethics'.
The importance of this issue isn't what happened in Madison. What is important is that we are training a new generation of doctors to lie and falsify documents. This is going to seriously affect obamacare, and here's how.
ReplyDeleteObamacare is designed around rationing. The reason that health records have to be centrally computerized is so that the Federal government can make the decision as to what drugs are "cost effective" for which patients. Meaning that the government computer algorithm is going to be designed to allocate expensive drugs to the people who will "benefit the most" from them -- meaning people who are expected to live the longest.
So let's say you need Pricystat. It's a new drug. Very expensive. Very effective. The government is only going to allow the very healthiest people to get the most expensive drugs. So let's say you are on Pricystat, and it is working for you. You go in to see your doctor, and your doctor finds some unrelated medical condition. Your doctor knows that if he dutifully enters your newly discovered medical condition into the government database, the government computers are going to immediately disqualify you from receiving Pricystat.
So your doctor falsifies your computer records. He doesn't enter your real condition into the computer. Instead, he enters in some other condition that will still allow you to get the drugs you need, but won't trigger the computer to cut you off the drugs you do need.
Result -- Doctors keeping double books on their patients. The "official" computer records, which show the population getting healthier and healthier under Obamacare -- a miracle -- and the actual paper records, which contain all of the illnesses that have to be concealed from the government health computers in order to keep the drugs flowing for the actual illnesses.
This requires doctors just like the Madison doctors -- doctors who are ready and willing to commit perjury and falsify records to benefit their patients.
Don't expect the honest doctors to stay in the profession long. Their patients will be cut off from life-saving medications. A punishment for their physician's integrity.
Just another way in which Obamacare is going to completely turn the medical industry upside down.
Diggs, they are not "prescriptions" for medical marijuana, they are recommendations for a medical permit from the state. And though many are for bogus reasons, thousands (like mine) are for patients with legitimate medical uses who would otherwise have to suffer with ineffective and dangerous prescription drugs as their only legal option. Besides which, even the bogus ones are not harming anyone, and are not even close to comparable with giving someone an excuse to leave work in order to put political pressure on their employers with no risk to themselves. You need to reconsider your priorities.
ReplyDeleteGrichens and anon:
ReplyDeleteThe disciplinary action comes from the state licensing board which has sole responsibility for regulation of licensees. The AMA & AAFP(Am Academy of FP) are trade organizations voluntarily joined (or not) which have no involvement in disciplining non-members. The ABFP (Am BOARD of FP) grants board-certification status, which is jeopardized by state disciplinary action.
Typical state boards are Governor's appointees including physicians, surgeons, public (non-medical) members and usually an attorney.
I expect some sort of reprimand will be the outcome.
For enlightening discussions of modern medical ethics see http://covertrationingblog.com/medical-ethics/progressive-medical-ethics and other posts by DrRich.
Specific to the WI docs:
http://covertrationingblog.com/medical-ethics/were-the-wisconsin-doctors-engaging-in-civil-disobedience
http://covertrationingblog.com/medical-ethics/further-observations-on-lying-doctors