Re: [at-l] The Zebra Chasers

This is an issue that should be discussed in medical journals. The fact 
that it is being discussed in the media should cast doubt on their 
credibility.

I am no managed care sponsor or proponent. We all have a stake in overuse 
of antibiotics. This action helps promote bacteria to become less sensitive 
to antibiotics. I expect that the current technology of antibiotics will be 
viewed as "good old days" within our lifetimes. This is one of the reasons 
antibiotic use in meat production is to be reduced.

If Dr. Burrascano has special knowledge unique from all other schools of 
medicine, he has a duty to present such information to journals as well as 
government regulatory boards. If he is perpetuating a fraud on his patients 
and their insurers, he needs to deal with those consequences, also. I 
regret that he is giving Dr. Cutler an opportunity to get good press.

OrangeBug

At 06:47 AM 11/10/2000 -0500, David F. Addleton wrote:
>Dr. Burrascano's supporters said that medical boards, which decide whether 
>to revoke or suspend medical licenses, have sided inappropriately with one 
>side in an argument that should be fought in medical journals and at 
>conferences.
>They also assert that insurance companies and doctors who work as their 
>consultants have financial stakes in the outcome of the dispute. The 
>General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, is looking 
>into that issue at the request of representatives from areas where Lyme 
>disease is widespread.
>Speaking at the rally, Michael Schoppmann, a lawyer from Lake Success, 
>N.Y., said he had represented more than 40 doctors in board hearings in 
>New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
>"If a doctor begins to treat patients with Lyme disease in any significant 
>percentage of their total practice," Mr. Schoppmann said, "they are 
>guaranteed to face investigations — either private or governmental or both 
>— by managed care, insurance companies and state licensing agencies. The 
>treatment of Lyme disease and its financial implications are the insurance 
>industry's worst nightmare. No one dies from Lyme disease, no one is 
>cured, and many patients require years of expensive treatment."
>Dr. Charles M. Cutler, chief medical officer of the American Association 
>of Health Plans, a national trade association of managed care 
>organizations, said overuse of antibiotics could harm patients.

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