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Although each state has a State Board of Medical Examiners that is supposed to protect the public from problem doctors, a recent report in the Dallas Morning News showed that in Texas, the State Board has 'refused, in the last five years, to revoke the license of a single doctor for committing medical errors' and 'since January of last year, has failed to investigate the deaths of more than 1,000 patients.'
The article goes on to describe several cases of obvious malpractice in which patients, including several children, died and after which doctors continued to be able to practice, even after they had their privileges revoked by several hospitals.
Even though one of the main doctors featured in this story didn't have his medical license revoked, a little research would have helped patients find that he his license had been restricted in 1994 for '3 YRS UNDER CERTAIN TERMS AND CONDITIONS AS OUTLINED IN ORDER, DUE TO PROFESSIONAL FAILURE TO PRACTICE MEDICINE IN AN ACCEPTABLE MANNER CONSISTENT WITH PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE' and that in 2000 he was 'PLACED ON PROBATION UNDER CERTAIN TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR FIVE YEARS. ACTION DUE TO UNPROFESSIONAL CONDUCT, FAILURE TO KEEP DRUG RECORDS, PRESCRIBING OR DISPENSING TO HABITUAL USER, NON-THERAPEUTIC PRESCRIBING OR TREATMENT, ADMINISTERING DANGEROUS DRUGS IN AN IMPROPER MANNER, VIOLATION OF BOARD RULES, AND PRACTICE INCONSISTENT WITH PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE'.
How do you know if your doctor has been disciplined by a state medical board? If you live in Texas, California, New York, Florida or Massachusetts, you can go to their web site and search online.
The Massachusetts web site seems to be the most complete, with information on Malpractice Claims and Hospital Disciplinary Actions. Since a doctor losing privileges at a hospital is a big red flag that there is something wrong, it would be helpful if that was included in more reports.
Although it doesn't mean that you won't have problems with a doctor if they don't have any disciplinary actions listed in their profile, you might think twice about using a doctor if you see statements like the ones listed above...
What can you do if you don't live in one of the above states? You can still visit or contact your state's medical board to verify that your doctor has a license and you can see if he or she is board certified.
You can also visit the Administrators In Medicine site and use their free Doc Finder service to see if a state board (19 states are included) has taken action against your doctor. In most cases, if your doctor has not been disciplined, the report will simply say 'Board Actions: No information on file.' If your doctor has been disciplined, it will say 'Board Actions: Contact Board.'
Another resource is the Federation of State Medical Boards, where for $9.95, you can order a 'Disciplinary Search Report outlining the disciplinary actions that have been taken against' your doctor.
Questionable Doctors is another resource where you can find information about whether or not your doctor has been disciplined by a state medical board in California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont. The service requires a $10 subscription fee for 3 months.
How can you protect your child from bad medical care? The best thing is to find a doctor that you know and trust and go to him or her for most of your medical care. If you must go to an ER or see a specialist, ask your doctor for a referral, so that you are more likely to go to someone that your own doctor trusts. Or just check in with your own doctor after going to the emergency room or seeing another doctor, especially if your child isn't quickly getting better.
Other things you can do:
- Verify that your doctor is board certified. After a free registration, you can search for your doctor in the American Board of Medical Specialties database.
- Find a doctor that has privileges at your local hospital and perhaps a regional medical center or Children's Hospital. If your doctor doesn't have privileges, find out why. Did your doctor lose his or her privileges? Having privileges at the hospital that you are most likely to go to will also help to make sure that your child will be cared for by your own doctor if he is hospitalized.
Once you see a doctor, how do you make sure mistakes aren't made?
The best way is to ask a lot of questions, such as:
- What is wrong with your child? Is there a specific diagnosis? Your doctor might not always be able to give you a specific diagnosis, but he or she should at least be able to tell you what it isn't, especially eliminating more serious illnesses.
- If a medication is prescribed, what is it for? What is the dosage? What are the side effects?
- When should your child begin to feel better? It is especially important to know when you should see improvement if you are given a vague diagnosis, such as it is just a virus, muscle strain or a stomach bug. If your doctor tells you that your child should be better in 3-4 days and he isn't or if he is getting worse before that, then go back for a recheck.
- What are some signs that you should look for that may show he is getting worse? What should you do if he gets worse?
You should also speak up if you think a mistake has been made. Double check with your Pediatrician or the Pharmacist if you think a prescription was written wrong. Question the nurse if you think they are giving your child the wrong vaccine or wrong medication.
Most importantly, trust your instincts and tell your doctor about your concerns if you think something isn't right.
Are you worried because no testing was done? In many cases there aren't any specific 'magic' tests that will tell your doctor what is wrong with your child. I think many parents have expectations that are too high when it comes to medical technology.
In other cases, testing might not be indicated. Is your child vomiting and you are worried because an xray wasn't done? Ask your doctor about it. You might find that your child didn't have any 'red flags' which might indicate that he had a serious problem that required an xray or other tests. For vomiting, these red flags might include severe abdominal pain, a headache, weight loss, etc.
The other very important way to find or prevent an error is to go back to your doctor if your child isn't getting better or is worsening. If your doctor still doesn't know what is wrong with your child, then it might be time for a second opinion from a specialist.
Remember that it isn't always possible to diagnosis a child's problem in a single visit. It sometimes takes time, especially seeing how a child's symptoms evolve over time, to decide what tests to do or what treatments to try. Unless your child is seriously ill, jumping in and doing a lot of tests isn't always appropriate or helpful for your child.
Another important point to keep in mind is that after working hard and spending time building up a practice, most doctors don't pick up and move and start over without a good reason. Although I am sure there are many legitimate reasons to do so, a doctor that moves around a lot should raise some red flags and you might be a little more aggressive about looking into his or her medical background.
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