Jan 24, 2008 4:56 pm US/Pacific
Call Kurtis: Diversion Summit
How to Handle Substance Abusing Doctors
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) ―
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Call Kurtis, CBS 13, KOVR, Kurtis Ming
The national spotlight was on a summit in Sacramento. The focus was how California plans to handle doctors who abuse alcohol and drugs. A two and a half year long 'Call Kurtis' investigation revealed how the medical board allowed doctors to secretly enroll into a program that failed to protect the public.
Patients and doctors groups are at odds. Patient, Tina Minsasian testified, that she wants to know why the doctor's lives and livelihood are more important than patients. Several Sacramento area patients claim they suffered at the hands of a doctor with an alcohol addiction.
They're demanding the medical board tells the public, when it knows a doctor has a substance abuse problem.
Another patient, Judy McDonald testified she certainly would never have willfully chosen her doctor, if she had been aware of the problem. But she testified, she wasn't given that information; of course it was a secret.
For 27 years, instead of punishing doctors with drug and alcohol problems, several had drunk driving arrests; the medical board has allowed them to secretly enroll in its substance abuse diversion program.
A program which protected the doctors privacy, but multiple audits over the years, show it failed to protect patients.
Last summer, the medical board voted to get rid of the controversial program, by July of this year.
Joseph Dunn with the California Medical Association testified,
Walking away is not the answer, correcting the problem is". One by one, doctors, and doctor backed lobbying groups from across the country testified. They feel patient safety is now more at risk. One doctor says California's Diversion program helped her.
Shannon Chavez said, "Abolishing the program without replacing a formal confidential program closely monitoring safe patients care leads to this disease going underground."
She and others suggest a new better run program. Many feel it should operate independently of the medical board.
James Hay of the California Medical Association says strong monitoring; along with confidential treatment afford the most protection for the patients of California.
But fearing it would repeat history, Minasian claims doing the same thing over and over and over expecting different results is insanity. Patient advocates say the medical board is supposed to protect the public and should not back any program that protects substance abusing doctors.
Patient advocate, Janet Mitchell called Disneyland to see if you can operate the Dumbo ride if you are having a problem with alcohol or drugs. They said, "heavens no."
Mitchell testified, "I want to plead to you, no more secrets, because secrets kill".
The current program is set to end July 1, 2008. After that, doctors could face punishment if the state learns they have a substance abuse problem.
Disclosure: Tina Minasian is now a Call Kurtis volunteer. She joined the team in the summer of 2007 after being profiled in Kurtis' original investigation in 2005 and 2006.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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