Dr. Death, the sequel For years, the moniker of "Dr. Death" was unmistakably associated with Jack Kevorkian, who in his infamous decade-long run of assisted suicides sent at least 101 people to their graves, according to most sources. Some tally up as many as 130… But apparently, there's another doctor out there whose numbers rival these - and he's not even TRYING to kill anyone. According to a recent series of investigative reports by the Associated Press, an Indian-born and educated M.D. named Jayant Patel has been on a 20-year reign of medical terror that includes such illustrious highlights as: Citations and a $5000 fine and 3 years probation for negligence by the New York state medical board during his post-graduation residency in 1984. By 1989, he'd fled medical scandals in the Big Apple to set up shop in Oregon. A ban on his authorization to perform certain surgeries by his employer, Kaiser-Permanente, in 1998, plus a requirement that he seek a second medical opinion in complicated cases.
Suspension of his medical license by the state of Oregon Board of Medical Examiners in 2000, followed by a revocation of his license to practice medicine in New York in 2001 under allegations of repeated "gross negligence." Falsification of disciplinary history and employment credentials that allowed Patel to set up shop in Queensland, Australia…
The AP stories reveals that since starting to practice down under in 2003, the new Dr. Death (so dubbed by the Aussie media) has been linked to the deaths of at least 87 of the 1202 patients he was documented as having treated - more than 7%. Several dozen other cases of alleged malpractice are currently under investigation, some by homicide detectives. Over 100 lawsuits or criminal complaints have been filed against Patel for malpractice or negligence. How many folks Patel killed, injured, or sickened while practicing here in the states is not yet known - and it may never be. Currently, his whereabouts are unknown… Of course, this is an extreme example of medicine gone wrong, but it definitely shows how far quacks can go - and how many innocent folks they can harm - in a health-care system as bloated, disorganized and patient-hostile as our modern one is. It also shows how big we could lose in the "doctor lottery" we enter every time we go under the knife. **************************************************** Crime and furnish-ment When it comes to the foibles of our medical system, I can swallow a lot - but I can hardly even believe what I've just read in an Associated Press special report from last week. I hope you're sitting down, because what you're about to read might just knock you down otherwise. As it turns out, in addition to paying for a bloated, limp-wristed criminal justice system that turns many sex offenders loose with the equivalent of a spank on the bottom or a short stay in some cushy country-club of a prison hospital, you're also PAYING FOR THEIR VIAGRA. You read that right - your tax dollars are furnishing convicted sex criminals with the very drugs which give them the urge and, uh, resolve to commit their crimes of choice! According to the AP story, 788 sex offenders in 14 states have received prescription impotence drugs paid for by the tax-funded federal Medicaid program. How could this happen, you're asking? Easy. In 1998, the Clinton administration issued a directive mandating that all drugs approved by the FDA (except those for fertility, weight loss or cosmetic purposes) be paid for by Medicaid for those eligible. And since criminal background checks aren't required as a prerequisite for going to the doctor's office, anyone with an erectile issue and a low income could conceivably qualify - convicted sex offenders included. There's no way of knowing if the availability of these impotence drugs has led to any recidivism among these felons, but I'm sure it could have easily happened - or still could happen… And I sure hope your loved one isn't the first (next) victim. Disturbed, perturbed, and a little unnerved, William Campbell Douglass II, MD
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