The recent federal indictment against a local doctor for allegedly dispensing medicine illegally, and the sluggish response of the Kansas Board of Healing Arts to the case, has revived questions about the willingness of the medical profession to police its own.
Nationally, a recent survey of 1,700 doctors by Massachusetts General Hospital gives some cause for concern. Most doctors — 93 percent — agreed that physicians should report all serious medical errors and incompetent colleagues to authorities. But when it came to their own experience, almost half of the doctors said that they had direct knowledge of medical mistakes and bad doctors that they had not reported.
“The vast majority believe in the tenets of professionalism, and the majority of physicians observe those tenets in most respects,†said David Blumenthal, lead author of the report. “There are significant and worrisome departures that need attention from the profession and regulatory authorities.â€
Posted by Randy Scholfield
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22 Comments
I’d really like a whole lot more information on this case before I jump to conclusions. First of all, why someone didn’t notice that this doc was prescribing more meds is beyond me. Docs work with one another, other docs would know if this guy and nurses for that matter, and pharmacists…geez, there would be a whole slew of people looking the other way.
This case really truly bothers me. I’m not convinced that he’s guilty as charged. The government is scaring doctors who want to make appropriate pain control issues with their patients. Instead we have a bunch of docs scared to control pain. As I have seen with numerous others as this case has come to light.
Think about it really hard, if the next time you are in extreme pain and your doc won’t give you anything for it. Think REALLY hard.
But, but, what about all those “confidential medical records”?
Seriously, some of the worst mistakes are made by the very people that Phil Kline goes after.
However, liberals place those MD’s off limits.
The abortionist can do no wrong, in the eyes of the lefties!—-Now, to malpractice, itself, outside of the political cross fire over abortion:Part of the problem is, a doctor will be slow to turn in another doctor precisely because:1.) The whistleblower might get sued.2.) The complaining Doc might NOT have the full medical file.
As far as “industry standards” are concerned, that is also dicey, Some specialties hardly ever find themselves in court. Others, they expect lawsuits as part of the job.
The Malpractice Insurance companies have the best handle on the really bad docs, based on claims.
Those should be given ot the medical boards, where they could be grouped, by specialty.
Problem there is: some mistakes are never noticed, and don’t end up in court.
I suggest the book “Internal Bleeding” by Wachter and Shojania, on malpractice.
Malpractice is usually not criminal.
This case, prosecuted by a Bush appointed US Attorney, IS criminal.
If the doctor is criminally guilty, then I am glad he is being prosecuted.—-I, too, think that doctors should not be worried about heavy pain meds prescribed to terminally patients.
For extreme pain that might not be terminal?
That gets dicey, but Pmama is correct, here.
If the patient is suffering, understands the risk, and is willing to take it —- the pain should be treated.
It all boils down to corruption. The former Insurance Commissioner Governor who appointed the Kansas Board of Healing Arts when she made Governor and Treasure Jenkins and Prager to s(reVV us all with Boyda the Pharmacuetical Chemist with Clinton the health reform secretary with her husband whicjh collectively with HCA and Senator Lott as well as President Bush thru “STASR BONDS” still control “LIFE AND DEATH”!!! Ours, our deaths!!! See http://www.wen2k.com/tell.php?Id=808 It explains how they steal and cover up the thefts of our rights, taxes and freedoms!! Herbert West III, Publisher/Journlist, Impeach Sebelius and start over with Anericans, for America and Kansas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The problem with the willingness of the medical profession to police its own is that they will develop themselves into social circles that borders on oppressive, dictatorial controls suppressing the opposition through terror and censorship.The medical profession already has a long history of unethical practice such as lying in the same bed with pharmaceutical marketing schemes.If given the chance they will certainly go after innocent doctors not conforming to their agendas.
As long as a republican led government doesn’t stop them, the lawyers will police the doctors.
This guy should have had serious consequences long ago. There is a proper and professional way to do pain control and he wasn’t doing it. Greed had to have been his motivating factor, not quality patient care. Get real…86 deaths to patient’s overdosing!?! And all he can do is call them “bad grapes”? He’s a quack if I ever saw one…no other Kansas doctor in the field of pain control has had this many overdoses. It was apparent that many of his patients were also selling their meds on the streets.
“It was apparent that many of his patients were also selling their meds on the streets.”
Exactly.
The doctors can not and should not police their own any more than the attorneys, CPAs, judges & mental health professionals should be allowed to police their own. There is a natural code of silence in an society or professional group. No one wants to acknowledge their peers unthical or illegal actions, lest they may be judged. In other words, don’t let the public know how bad things really are.
Thanks to Sarbannes Oxley, CFOs and auditors can be imprisioned for creating false financial statements. In Wichita doctors & psychologists can sexually abuse patients for years (rember Dr.Arlan Kaufman?) and be protected by slick attorneys and the professional boards. Attorneys must betray their clients on the command of any crooked judge for fear of retaliation.
Rep. Jim Morrison of Colby wants to have investigative hearings next month on the failure of doctors, attorneys, mental health professionals, judges & even state legisltors to police themselves for ethical violations. At a Republican luncheon in Wichita two months ago, Morrison told the audience that he had a stack of documents about compalints against attorneys, psychologists, judges (including an indication of a bribe to a judge) that were 10 inches tall.
Did the Eagle send a reporter? No. Will editor Sherry Chissenhall allow a reporter to conduct a telephone interview with Chairman Jim Morrison? No.
Does the Eagle practice censorship? Yes
The real question should be posed to Randy Brown & Lou Heldman, the newest journalism professors at Wichita State. If Randy & Lou don’t ahve the academic credentials to answer the question, some one should ask L. Kelly’s husband who is a real journalism prfoessor. The question is why the Eagle & KAKE TV refuse to investigate the corruption in the Sedgwick County district courts (civil, family law & juvenile divisons). Is it possible that the Eagle and KAKE are afraid of where the story will lead or that they are afraid they could embarrass Rachel Pirner, the KAKE TV news director and who is on the Kansas Bar Association board of directors, or Randy Brown’s wife – Linda Parks, president of the Kansas Bar Association and Bonnie Bing’s husband, Dick Honeyman, who is also a partner with Parks and Dick Hite who chairs the commission to nominate for Supreme Court & appellate court judges.
Former Eagle publisher & NY Times ombudsman Buzz Merritt should be ashamed of Sherry Chissenball & the Wichita Eagle. In fact the McLatchy Corp. should be ashamed.
Will any body come to the public forum with the Sedgwick County legislative delegaton at the district court house jury room on Thursday 1/3/08 to ask for answers to the real question?
Why is Wichita such a dirty corrupt little town when so many WSU professors are or were married to attorneys, city managers and journalists?
Bill McKean 316 293-6079
“However, liberals place those MD’s off limits.
The abortionist can do no wrong, in the eyes of the lefties!”
Pure BULLSH*T Paul. If there is malpractice then it shuold be pursued, regardless of specialty.
Now, as to the case at hand. It sure LOOKS like both malpractice and even criminal. But, like political-mama I would want to see the details. A high rate of mortality could reflect getting the ’sickest of the sick’ to work with – I don’t know.
A related issue that I saw outlined on 60 Minutes some time ago had to do with DRs getting their licenses yanked in one state and then going to another state and setting up shop. Apparently the states don’t communicate. Heck, if a driver loses his licence in one state that blockes him in others; why not with DRs?
Mary do you know for certain that 86 people died of overdose, or is that what you have heard?
AND just curious, how is it obvious that some were being sold on the streets?
You’re closer to this guy than I am, but from my vantage point, I’m not hearing anything specific, only what is being released.
” high rate of mortality could reflect getting the ’sickest of the sick’ to work with – I don’t know.”
EXACTLY…
Police their own? Absolutely not.
Somehow I think that Dr. Schneider is getting bad rap by the federal government in regard to his osteopathic practice in Haysville.
Although I don’t recall actually talking to him, I do remember seeing him visiting elderly patients in the Haysville Nursing Home. In most cases, elderly nursing home patients must be transported to doctors offices or to hospitals to see doctors.
Of course, Dr. Schneider’s offices were located in Haysville near Seneca and later in his “new” clinic near 71st and Broadway.
I’m not a medical professional but I suspect that people who have bouts of depression, mental problems, drug problems, problems with serious pain DO NEED TO SEE A DOCTOR AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. It’s not a case of “take an aspirin and call us in two weeks and we might be able to see you.” Dr. S appeared to me to be a friendly doctor who tried to take care of business.
I can imagine this is a tough business in the sense that the health care provider CANNOT follow his patients into the streets to see that they take his advice. There must be trust that the patient will follow the advice somehow.
Until there are more institutions to see that these problem patients actually follow the treatment advice, I suspect its anyone’s guess whether the doctor’s advice is followed.
So right now … I lean to the idea the hand of the U.S. justice system is dropping a heavy hammer rather than providing some sophisticated communication among all parties to improve our broken health care delivery system.
I also find it very difficult to believe that 50 some deaths are being blamed on his prescribing practices. If it is true then more than the Kansas Board of Healing Arts was asleep at the switch.
I also notice that the Eagle published a letter today on the editorial page from Larry Wall. Mr. Wall represents some of the people who have sued Schneider. Nothing identified him as such.
A little poison to the jury pool.
What I wonder is how this arrest will affect the medical care that many people require. About 11 years ago a small-town doctor in western Kansas was arrested and accused of attempting to use painkillers to euthanize a cancer patient. It turned out to be a major misunderstanding by a family member that prompted the arrest and subsequent trial.About 4 months later, my father was admitted to the hospital with end-stage cancer, and because of that arrest, his physician absolutely would not allow anything approaching adequate pain relief and my father died screaming in pain.When we force doctors to cover their asses with both hands, they don’t have a hand to treat us with!
So what’s the big deal here? Sounds to me like the same sort of “professional courtesy” every law enforcement officer believes to be his or her due. Why not doctors, too?
Any group that polices itself loses credibility. Unfortunately, there is no other group qualified to police doctors.
BenThis Article, in a Catholic newspaper, interviews Dr. Rice, a Law Professor at Notre Dame:
http://www.priestsforlife.org/articles/malpractice.html
http://www.lifedynamics.com/Abortion_Information/Malpractice/
Abortion malpractice is a booming business for lawyers!
I guess many of his patients had prescriptions for pain killers but tested negative for the drug…which indicates that they were getting the scripts for something other than pain control, most likely making money from them by selling them on the streets, which unfortunately is a common practice.I knew a woman once whose little boy had TB and she sold his meds on the street for money, denying him the medicine he needed for his illness. It’s amazing the depts some people are capable of sinking to. Greed is the root of all evil as far as I’m concerned.The 86 number I heard or read…once the investigation is complete that may not be an accurate number. All I know is that he had many times the overdose rate of any other physician who specializes in pain control.
Mary,I knew a guy about 15yrs ago with a paralytic spine injury who sold his pain meds to buy food and utilities while his SSD application was held up for over a year.
I knew a guy about 15yrs ago with a paralytic spine injury who sold his pain meds to buy food and utilities while his SSD application was held up for over a year.
Posted by: Jed | December 29, 2007 at 04:08 PM
I don’t understand that Jed. He would have qualified for at least $300.00 in food from the State of Kansas per month, more than enough for one individual.
He could have made arrangements for parsed out utility payments with the utility companies to lower his monthly bill.
If you knew this individual, why didn’t you help him figure this out?
Excuse me, Kansas..I’ve never seen ANY disabled person qualify for $300 per month in food stamps!And it takes a REALLY long time to get disability benefits in this state. The most any individual can receive in food stamps is about $100 per month…most only get around $20 depending on what benefits they already have.One of my patients who is mentally retarded and has severe and persistant mental illness gets a little over $700 a month in SSI plus $98 in food stamps..out of that he pays his full rent which is $340 per month. I’d like to see you live on that much!