The Salt Lake Tribune
Utah Medical Association letter to the editor vs AAPS survey AAPS Website>>
Utah Physicians Not Chilled
Sunday, June 24, 2001
BY VAL B. JOHNSON
In its lead editorial June 11 ("Put Patients First"), The
Tribune uses a plea from a relatively small Arizona-based
physician organization that the state should not prosecute
Robert Weitzel a second time as the basis of its conclusion
that "the medical profession is more concerned with protecting
its members than providing competent care to patients."
First of all, the Tribune should never have recognized the
Association of American Physicians & Surgeons as being
representative of the medical profession. The AAPS speaks for
no one but its members. The great majority of physician
organizations, including the over 600,000-member American -AMA says 300K
Medical Association, as well as the Utah Medical Association,
recognize the state's legitimate interest in regulating the
practice of medicine via the licensure process, and in those
rare instances of alleged criminal conduct, even via the
criminal courts.
Whether or not the Weitzel case rises to the level of
criminality, the courts will decide. In the meantime, The
Tribune should note that the Utah Medical Association has
consistently urged its members not to be dissuaded from
practicing responsible pain control. And so far, we have seen
absolutely no evidence that Utah physicians are doing anything
other than putting their patients first.
If there is any "chilling effect," it has come from
uninformed or incomplete reports, warning that the Weitzel
case marks the beginning of a deliberate persecution of
physicians that may eventually result in patients having to
endure unrelieved, intractable pain.
The Utah Medical Association, however, has never held this
opinion and has tried to educate all interested parties that
there is no evidence of a state-sanctioned witch hunt against
physicians who legitimately use narcotics to treat pain.
This educational effort, however, is made more difficult
when the media fail to do their homework. I'm certain The
Tribune can do better.
_________
Dr. Val B. Johnson is the president of the Utah Medical
Association.
BUT: Here are preliminary results of an AAPS survey:
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jane M. Orient, MD"
To: "Dr. Richard Willner"
Sent: Friday, July 27, 2001 2:57 AM
Subject: FW: Robert Weitzel MD - survey partial results
> n=30
>
> 1. Because of the Weitzel case, I will be more reluctant to prescribe
> narcotics to patients who are elderly or extremely ill.
> agree = 19 (63%)
> disagree = 7 (23%)
> not sure = 2 (7%)
>
> 2. Regulating the practice of medicine is a legitimate function of the
> criminal court system.
> agree = 3 (10%)
> disagree = 23 (77%)
> not sure = 2 (7%)
>
> 3. Regulating the practice of medicine is a legitimate function of the
> licensing board.
> agree = 23 (77%)
> disagree = 6 (20%)
> not sure = 1 (3%)
>
> 4. I think Dr. Weitzel's decisions were properly before a criminal court.
> agree = 4 (13%)
> disagree = 18 (60%)
> not sure = 5 (17%)
>
> I have read the charts at weitzelcharts.com 7 (23%)
> have not = 10 (33%)
>
> 5. I approve of the UMA's position in this case.
> agree = 10 (33%)
> disagree = 17 (52%)
> not sure = 4 (13%)
It seems that the UMA is way off base here. Have they objective evidence?
Evidently not...
<<Back to Home Page