Comments on: TMB Schedules Additional Meetings

By: Dr. John Hall

Dr. John Hall — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 22:28:21 +0000

I was a practicing physician in San Antonio. After answering to anonymous allegations at a local hospital my priveleges were returned. Despite a good local outcome the TMB still decided to investigate me as to possible violations of the Texas Medical Practice Act. I’ve been subjected to three psych evaluations, a medical exam and a neurologic exam. I’v had my liscence suspended now for six months awaiting another ISC. One was supposedly scheduled for Jult 17th, but the board couldn’t come with a panel so it was postponed until possibly October. It seems as though the board is on a witch-hunt. I will be at the San Antonio meeting!!!!

By: Dr. Anonymous 2

Dr. Anonymous 2 — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 05:17:20 +0000

I was an expert Board reviewer. I had no idea what they were like. I thought I could help innocent physicians. When I disagreed with Mari Robinson, I was “counseled” about needing to “conform” to the decision that had been made about the physician in question. I was told that the Board didn’t need experts like me. When I said there wasn’t enough evidence for Mari’s allegations, the Board flunkies said they would go into the patient’s travel, medical, and pharmacy records until they “found what they needed.” The patient never even made the complaint and, in fact, wrote a number of letters and affidavits in support of the doctor. Obviously, I’m terrified about releasing my identity, and I’ll never do another review, but when I retire …..

By: Patrick Shaughnessy

Patrick Shaughnessy — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 14:39:16 +0000

The Town Hall meetings that the Texas Medical Board is conducting at locations around the state this summer are intended to collect input and feedback into the way medical professionals are regulated in Texas, both from medical professionals themselves and the public. While TMB will continue to vigorously protect patients, Board members believe there may be ways to perform this duty that would be less burdensome for doctors. We are open to any suggestions.

As comments are collected at the Town Hall meetings, they are projected onto a screen visible to everyone in the room. This is to allow participants to see how their comments are recorded and to allow those making the comments to make any changes so that the recorded notes will accurately reflect their thoughts.

TMB wants this to be a transparent process, and the comments collected are public documents that are available to everyone. Because of that, TMB has created a page on its website (http://www.tmb.state.tx.us/townhall/meetings2008.php) that contains a list of cities in which the Town Hall meetings will be, or have been, conducted. If you click on a city in which a meeting has already occurred it will take you to the document listing the suggestions and comments that were recorded at that meeting. These suggestions have not been edited or altered since they were typed at the meetings and projected onto the screen.

I call special attention to the suggestions from the Fort Worth Town Hall meeting (http://www.tmb.state.tx.us/townhall/2008/FtWorth_07-01-08.htm). None of the comments listed in this story were made or recorded.

Patrick Shaughnessy
Community Relations Coordinator
Texas Medical Board

By: A Mouse

A Mouse — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 02:03:26 +0000

I had the pleasure of actually being exonerated by the board. I underwent a bad faith or sham peer review at my hospital and as a result was invited to discuss my situation with the board. After 18 months of waiting to discuss my case I was finally informed of a date and given the state’s report and findings a mere 5 to 7 days prior to having to present. Fortunately I had very competant help in provoding professional opionions.

The anonymous medical reviewer made statements about my care that were inflammatory and revealed a FRIGHTENINGLY ignorant understanding of the physiology of medicine. It appears that the board experts should be reviewed!!!! In my particular case, if the board expert is practicing the way he said I should be practicing then I am sure that the citizens of Texas are suffering at the hands of these self-proclaimed experts.

In several months I will be leaving Texas to practice at a major medical school and be putting this all behind me.

If the board REALLY wanted to improve medicine in Texas they would have investigated the bad faith peer review I suffered and reviewed the incompetant, lying physicians who initiated the sham peer review in the first place!!!!!!!!!!!!

By: Dr Anonymous

Dr Anonymous — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 20:46:34 +0000

The Board has definitely changed over the years.When have you heard that the Board has requested medical records from a patient,and after
thorough review by the boards experts,the case was dropped.To my amasement the Board requested the same medical records again!!!
When have you heard
that during an Informal Hearing the Board MEmber and ONLY MD
was asleep,while the ATTORNEY of the Board Mr Heiser was asking me questions.
When have you heard that the Board Members take the opinions of their Experts into cosidera-
tion and dismiss opinions of three specialists in the fields,which have
much better qualifications than the Experts of the Board.

By: Robert B. Thorne, M.D.

Robert B. Thorne, M.D. — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 17:28:35 +0000

It’s all about Big Pharma, the AMA, and the government “controlling” medicine and not tolerating anything less (just as they’re “controlling” the country and making this clear to anyone who is not totally deceived and unaware). It’s not the definition of a “free” country when you need “permission” from the government, and a license to do anything and everything including getting married, owning a dog, etc. We live in a country that has rapidly become a fascist dictatorship, and the average moron believes we’re “free”. Cicero, Rome’s poet laureate basically wrote (in Latin):

The masses
Are asses

I now understand why he was Rome’s poet laureate, not only because of his profound insight into the “human condition”, but also because he was able to make it rhyme, in English, 2000 years into the future.

By: Jaime Durand

Jaime Durand — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 02:17:04 +0000

Dear Jane,

I am very concerned over the capacity of physicians to have the TMB suspend their inquisitorial activities until the system of “justice” they apply is reviewed and improved under a new insight and inspiring light.

The TMB has no right to destroy physician’s lives. Especially when no harm has been caused to the public. This they do by distorting reality into a bureaucratic “legalese”.

Is the mission of the TMB to kill doctors to save the public from “our poor training or stupidity”? Certainly the TMB believe doctors are criminals and that they must be hunted down, punished and have them displayed naked on the streets to be scorned by society. They play the terror game with us very much successfully.

The governor has to be approached directly as he is the person with full powers over the TMB. The members of the TMB are just peons of the big players and they play the part but they have no power over the action as they are obliged to carry on the orders from above.

How do we approach the governor?

How do we approach the senators?

They are the responsible party for the way the TMB runs.

Should doctors and patients pay the governor a visit… or sit in front of his house until he allows us to fix this nightmare we endure.

By: Michael D. Williams, D.O.

Michael D. Williams, D.O. — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 22:51:55 +0000

I have gotten some good feed back from various state reps and senators but much more must be done. Talk is cheep and meanwhile Good Doctors all over Texas are being run out of practice and their lives destroyed. At the current rate of action it will most likely be too late for me and others like me, but this is about much more than just me. I am a good doctor, not perfect but I care deeply for my patients and give 110% as many of us do. We all sacrificed a lot of our lives and our families’ lives to EARN the privilege of being call Doc. I probably need to document more but my records or for me not anyone else. I can read my writing fine. The TMB is trying to apply ridged legal standards to the Art of medicine. No two patients or treatments are exactly alike; we practice an Art not science and defiantly not LAW! Just because 1 or 2 of the board’s paid doctor assassins’ disagree with diagnosis or treatment does not make them right. Who are they to say want is stand of care? It is easy to take pot shots at a bunch of hard working, deeply caring and old fashion Family doctors. We have little or no funds to fight or pay excessive fees for minor infractions the truly warrant no action at all. We still hand write our notes the way we were taught by our older wiser trainers and care more about taking care of patients like family than a number. My eyes are on my patient not a computer when they visit me.

I was planning a Big meeting open to everyone on June 25, 2008 with retired state representative Ray Allen, now a lobbyist in Austin. We had a meeting room at Charlton Methodist hospital but it had to be canceled because the hospital has threatened not once but twice to fire the docs that get involved and they pulled our meeting room. I had hoped to pool some support and money to hire the lobbyist and his team to get something done in Austin. They had previously helped the Dentist with similar board problems. I have tried to get the AOA, TOMA, TMA and other medical organizations to help to at least spread the word or give us a web page on there site to post and receive feed back. None will get involved.

I have lost more than half of my income. BCBS, Cigna and others dropped me when the TMB action became public. I have damaged no one. I refuse to be bullied by the TMB. One mentally unstable patient, who as far as I know is still in jail on drug and attempted murder of her Ex husband charges, caused this whole mess.

I received last week the notice of the board filing a SOAH hearing via fax on Monday July 30, 2008 with no date of hearing. The TMB is trying to take my license. I want to take this to court and take this case back to the very beginning but I fear I am against a stacked deck. NONE of this should have ever happened if they had not inappropriately attacked me over the initial frivolous complaint. I have never harmed anyone, Never done any IV anesthesia as they continue to insist and only because of the Boards actions have all the rest of the charges occurred. I have been set up and they are creating a monster that I can not stop. They have damaged me massively over nothing!

If the TMB takes my license then I will have to find other work. I can’t believe they can do this to me after 21 years in practice and so many years of school and so many happy patients over a single complaint. But at the Fort Worth town hall meeting I saw I was not alone once again.

I want to form a national organization of physicians and their patients to combat this nation wide problem. If you agree please contact me. If we can get Doctors and their patients to stand together we will be able to command much power.

Running out of rope,
Michael Williams, D.O.
513 Straus Rd suite A
Cedar Hill, TX 75104

mdwilliamdo@msn.com
Office 972-299-6045

By: Joann Ochotorena

Joann Ochotorena — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:26:06 +0000

I attended the July 2nd, meeting in Fort Worth . I am not a doctor nor in the medical profession. I have worked in the oil & gas industry for 30 years and decided to attend this meeting only for confirmation of what I believed to be true about the TMB was correct. Not to my surprise the TMB only confirmed what I already suspected. In my life I had not seen a state appointed agency that the only thing I can compare its tactics to is Hitler. It appears the doctors are presumed guilty and have to prove their innocence. The
state Representative that attended the meeting in Fort Worth asked; Why is it that a doctor being disciplined for a “standard of care violation” (determined by the board) is found guilty even if there are “8” other well known published physicians (not just physicians but ones you will find quoted in medical journals) in agreement with the standard of care that the doctor being disciplined gave? Mari Robinson, director of enforcement for the Board, answered with a well rehearsed answer to most of the questions, because the board determined “standard of care” was violated. As I stated before, I am not a doctor nor presume to know the medical profession but when did medicine become “standard” and no longer an art or science? What exactly is “Standard of Care” and who has the paten on determining what Standard of Care is? One more item I would like to address is the frivolous complaints of the person checking the charts for TMB. Hand writing? Not enough history for a patient the physician has seen for 20+ years? Well, I have to say the doctors that are just now coming out of medical school starting practice are definitely covering themselves with the computerized system for fear of the TMB. I went to one of those physicians that the TMB is forcing to do such tactics and this doctor typed on his computer with his back to me during 75-80% of time during my office visit. As we talked or rather I talked and he covered himself by typing as many notes as he could in this system. Another scenario; In July, 2007 I had C4-C5 fusion, later after reviewing my chart by the physician who performed surgery on me there were items on the system generated report in my file that were not discussed with me by the physician. Just because it is in my file (what the TMB pushes) does not make it correct. The system printed report covered everything possible in regard to my surgery that a physician should (or was suppose to) review with his patient prior to surgery. Again, because it is in the file does not make it correct but physicians have been pushed and beaten like a broken horse by the TMB they fear leaving anything out that the TMB may see fit to discipline them with standard of care violations they are losing the once so called bedside manner/human compassion and becoming almost mechanical.

Hopefully for the sake of physicians, the patients and the public, our representatives will step forward and make the necessary changes to discipline the Texas Medical (Nazi like dictator ship) Board.

Joann

By: David Oliver, M.D.

David Oliver, M.D. — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:21:58 +0000

The Texas Medical Board is an example of pure, abusive power. Board members should be disciplined and disciplined severely. The total breakdown of any semblance of proper, legal and fair order is disgusting. Texas is a great state. It has contributed to tort reform. Patients and physicians alike deserve something better than this.