Pubdate: Sun, 27 Jul 2003 Source: Clarion-Ledger, The (MS) Copyright: 2003 The Clarion-Ledger Contact: http://www.clarionledger.com/about/letters.html Website: http://www.clarionledger.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/805 Author: Wilson Boyd DOCTORS' VIOLATIONS ON INTERNET Watchdog group adds names for Mississippi patients to check out Dr. Lloyd Gordon of Brandon is a nationally recognized physician specializing in the treatment of addiction. He's a delegate to the American Medical Association and a director of the American Society of Addiction Medicine. And he's also a "questionable doctor," according to the watchdog group Public Citizen. The Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit maintains a Web site listing, "Questionable Doctors," that lists physicians who have either violated Medicare policies, been in trouble with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency or disciplined by their state board of medical licensure. Public Citizen this month added Mississippi doctors - 240 of them - to its Web listing for the first time. Many of them, including Gordon, are currently practicing. "All too often, state medical boards are more concerned about protecting the reputations of doctors than doing their job, which is to protect unsuspecting patients from doctors who may be incompetent or negligent," Dr. Sidney Wolfe, director of Public Citizen's Health Research Group, said in a news release. "Too often, Mississippi lets serious and sometimes repeat offenders off the hook." Mississippi has over 8,000 licensed doctors, and about 5,800 actively practice, according to the state Board of Medical Licensure. Gordon, who acknowledges past problems with drug and alcohol addiction, joins other critics of the listing who say the Web site unfairly targets physicians who have been cleared of charges or who years ago were disciplined or underwent treatment. "There are a bunch of Mississippi doctors who have not been identified (and) are using, abusing drugs or alcohol," Gordon said. "Which is more dangerous?" The number of Mississippi physicians admitting substance abuse problems has increased 300 percent in five years. That's due in part to a 1998 rule change that allows doctors who disclose addictions avoid getting citations in their public records the first time problems arise. "I think most doctors get the help they need," said Dr. W. Joseph Burnett, executive officer of the Mississippi Board of Medical Licensure. He emphasized that the total number of doctors with substance abuse problems remains low. "We're talking about less than one percent" of physicians licensed to practice in the state, Burnett said. Of nearly a dozen Mississippi physicians on Public Citizen's "Questionable Doctors" list contacted by The Clarion-Ledger , Gordon is the only one who agreed to speak publicly. In 1989, Gordon underwent treatment for drug and alcohol addiction. He was disciplined by the Mississippi Board of Medical Licensure, put on probation and monitored for five years, ending in 1994. If all doctors who had substance abuse problems lost their licenses permanently or had their practices threatened, other doctors who need treatment would not seek it, Gordon said. "Do I think I should have continued to practice? Yes," Gordon said. Lumping together every doctor who has been disciplined could lead to the public being misinformed. "Some doctors are disciplined because of failure to pay child support," Burnett said. "That's not exactly like someone who was addicted to a narcotic." The board has a procedure for treating doctors who have a substance abuse problem, Burnett said. Restrictions are placed on the physician's license that spell out the conditions the doctor must meet to return to practicing medicine. The order usually includes professional treatment and random drug testing for five years. "If they keep clean, the order is removed," although the disciplinary action remains as a public record, Burnett said. All disciplinary actions taken by the state board are available for free on its Web site, Burnett said. "It's appropriate for the public to have access to the information," he said. An advantage to Public Citizen's Web site over state agency Web sites is the cross-referencing of state and federal information on physicians. Some may have had disciplinary action taken in more than one state, said Public Citizen spokeswoman Shannon Little. "Roughly 90 percent of the offenses (listed in a report) are serious," Wolfe said. A doctor is removed from the Public Citizen list if his violations are more than 10 years old, Wolfe said. The state Board of Medical Licensure also lists if a physician has been disciplined by federal authorities because the board will discipline the physician as well, Burnett said. - --- MAP posted-by: Josh