Pubdate: Sun, 10 Aug 2003 Source: Macon Telegraph (GA) Copyright: 2003 The Macon Telegraph Publishing Company Contact: http://www.macontelegraph.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/667 Author: Andy Peters SOME CRITICAL OF TIMELINE IN GREEN CASE ATLANTA - As details emerge from the case of Houston County physician Spurgeon Green Jr., some Middle Georgians are wondering why it took the state so long to suspend Green's right to practice medicine. Green was charged July 22 with felony murder in connection with the April death of Jesup resident David Barbari. His state medical license was suspended three days later, July 25. But Green, a pain specialist, had been under suspicion by Houston County law enforcement officials as early as 2001. And according to state documents, seven patients have died since 2000 while under the care of Green as a result of overdosing on drugs he prescribed. "Why did they wait until after he was charged with murder to take away his license?" said Macon resident Gilbert Held, who filed an official complaint in 2001 with the Composite State Board of Medical Examiners regarding medical treatment of his wife. Green was not involved in that complaint, but Held is critical of how the state board responded. "This is really terrible the way they operate." Macon attorney O. Hale Almand Jr., who is representing Green, said Green did not prescribe any medications in an improper manner. Almand said doctors cannot control whether a patient abuses prescribed drugs and subsequently overdoses. Also, about 30 people, including a couple dozen of Green's patients, turned out to support the doctor at his bond hearing July 30. Many said they trust Green and don't believe he has done anything wrong. But others say that if the state had evidence that questioned Green's practices, the state should have acted faster. "It is simply unacceptable to allow a doctor to kill four, five or six patients before the licensing folks begin to do their job," said Macon attorney Carl Reynolds. "The (medical board) ought to stop worrying about protecting their doctor colleagues and start protecting the patients of this state." Not just Georgia, but many states act too slowly in stripping the medical licenses of physicians who harm their patients, according to the Washington-based watchdog group Public Citizen. "A chronic problem around the country is that there is a dangerously long period of time between an initial, second or third complaint and the time some action is taken," said Sidney Wolfe, director of medical research for Public Citizen. "Medical boards in too many cases are very, very slow. They're more concerned about protecting the reputations of doctors than doing their job," Wolfe said. There is evidence that some Georgia officials were investigating Green before the death of Barbari. In January, agents with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, as well as the Houston County Sheriff's Office and Houston County District Attorney's Office, raided Green's Warner Robins home and Perry office. Houston County sheriff's Capt. Harry Enckler said his office had been investigating Green's practice since 2001. But the state medical-licensing board won't say if they had received complaints about Green. "We can't confirm or deny that we would have had complaints prior to the suspension of Green's license," said LaSharn Hughes, interim executive director of the board. Despite the law enforcement investigation of Green's practice, the Composite State Board of Medical Examiners may simply have been unaware of the situation. Since 1992, the board levied no disciplinary action against Green, according to state documents. "It's understandable if this is the first time they've heard something about this doctor," Wolfe said. "For someone who has severe, intractable pain, it's cruel not to medicate them adequately. Giving enough pain meds to someone who's suffering is a good idea." Or, it could be a matter of incompetence on the state's end, said Held, who said the state board lost records related to a problem his wife had with treatment in Macon. He wants the governor's office or the General Assembly to have closer oversight of the Composite State Board of Medical Examiners. "Too much gets lost and they apparently have a see-no-evil, hear-no-evil attitude," Held said. "If you go into a hospital for a broken pinkie, and they cut off your thumb, if you want to sue the doctor who did that, you'd have to get another doctor to testify for you. And most doctors are very unwilling to testify against another doctor." - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin