NY HMOs attack physician over alternative treatment

kelley kwalker2 at gte.net
Wed Nov 1 11:40:02 PST 2000


[this is from a good friend of mine regarding the attack on a physician in Syracuse. it's "local news" but illustrative of several things we've talked about here.]

Jennifer Daniels is an wonderful human being. This kind of harassment is a travesty. Jennifer Daniels and I are both members of a Syracuse based organization called ReconsiDer: Forum on Drug Policy that works for drug policy reforms. Inspired by people like Jennifer, my wife and I bought a duplex in an inner city neighborhood filled with crack houses and heroin dealers and converted the downstairs into office space for the non-profit corporation we established to work on many of the same community issues with which Jennifer struggles. Like Jennifer, we have paid dearly for integrating our scholarship and professional work into our way of life. (Of course, we've also been rewarded richly in ways that folks practicing Freierian pedagogy are.) Luckily for my wife and I, our careers are not subject to the whims of bureaucrats who have the power to yank our licenses for expressing our political beliefs and using our scholarship and professional connections to improve the lives of people living in distressed communities. We live in Albany now and can't make this event, but I urge everyone who can to learn more about this "investigation" and fight to defend free speech in the trenches where it can really make a difference, not just in the ivory tower.

To supplement the information provided by Assata in a way that might be relevant to academicians, let me point out that Jennifer received her undergraduate degree from Harvard University, her M.D. from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of Business (while enrolled in her M.D. program). Jennifer could have done anything with her life. She could easily be living in a mansion now. Instead, upon completing her schooling, she returned to the South Side of Syracuse (which has for years been known for its drug traffic and drug trade related violence) determined to help reclaim the area. Among her many activities, she has built her medical office on a block that had been vacant for 20 years. She also built a home for herself and her three children on three city lots located two blocks from her office, where she and her children cultivate an extensive vegetable garden to help bring life to a decaying concrete jungle.

- Mike Roona (mroona at social-capital.org)

<snip irrelevant stuff abt meeting>

Dr. Daniels and the OPMC

Dr. Daniels' practice has come under the harassment and scrutiny of the

state Office of Professional Medical Conduct (OPMC) due to an unfounded

complaint. This involved a diabetic patient who was advised to try to use

exercise and dietary changes as an alternative to insulin. The patient

followed this advice and got well. Subsequent to this the patient stopped

following the advice and became ill. Despite OPMC having been given charts

that showed that the treatment given this patient had been effective,

further investigation and a comprehensive audit of her office charts have

been authorized. In the course of this investigation Dr. Daniels has

incurred several thousands of dollars in legal fees.

Analysis

This is not an isolated case. The state is leading an attack on

alternative health care that potentially threatens the current system of

health care management, in particular HMOs. Dr. Gant will speak to you in

a few moments about the attack against him. He was forced to turn over his

patient files to the OPMC.

Unfortunately we are living in times in which wellness is a for-profit

commodity. Our health care system does not promote wellness in the most efficient ways possible. Cost effectiveness is what is prioritized. So

health insurance companies and HMOs finally determine treatment for

illness by saying what treatments they'll pay for and those they will not

support. The priority of pharmaceutical companies is the bottom line and

not holistic health. This state of affairs means that a maverick like Dr.

Jennifer Daniels, who integrates her way of life with her profession,

presents a threat. She has been courageous. She limits her involvement

with health insurance companies and medicaid in order that she can have

more control over the treatments she prescribes and in order that she can

have the time needed with her patients to get to know them, follow up on

their compliance to treatment and otherwise advise them. This would be

impossible if she were an HMO doctor seeing patients. HMOs pay doctors so

little anymore for office visits that they have to cram in as many patient

appointments as possible, seeing them every 10 minutes just in order to

make ends meet.

To conclude, Dr. Daniels has been there when we needed her. Now it is our

turn to reciprocate. She should not have to fight this alone. This meeting

is one of many different initiatives on her behalf. We thank the religious

community, media, her patients and others who have found ways to support

Dr. Daniels during these challenging times.

What we can do to help

Dr. Daniels has asked that we write letters to the health department,

assembly-members and Governor George Pataki in order to provide support.

There are examples of sample letters as well as addresses to which to

write these letters on her website: www.drjenniferdaniels.com.



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