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teelbee · #1 08-27-2005, 03:52 AM

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9077164/

A New Hampshire doctor told his patient she was obese, so she filed a complaint against him. The State Attorney General sided with her and ordered the Dr. Bennet to take a medical education course and say that he'd "made a mistake".

Eh??? The NH Attorney General is making judgements related to medical assessment and advice? Now, that just can't be right!

Well one of the interesting things about this article is Dr. Bennet's position on consuming carbs:

Quote:

BENNETT: Well, let me explain the exercise part, because it is interesting. If you eat a teaspoon of sugar, you have got to brisk walk a mile-and-a-half to burn it off. If you didn't eat it and you brisk walk, you burn off a teaspoon of fat.

So, your weight is really starch-in-your-diet dependent. And Atkins, in so far as he carried that concept, is right. If you eliminate all the junk, all the stuff that Atkins was trying to peddle and simply look at the two fuels we begin ? starches, fats ? you don't eat starches, you burn fats, you can't eat them fast enough. You burn you. We call that losing weight.

Maggie · #2 08-27-2005, 10:51 AM

This is completely insane and this AG sounds like a moron.

What are doctors supposed to do? Discuss all weight related illness as if it were not related to weight?

I'm dumbfounded!

Rob · #3 08-27-2005, 11:59 AM

Sounds like a case of kill the messenger.

It's funny that this women is from New Hampshire. The state motto is "Live Free Or Die". She's made her choice.

cheftrina · #4 08-27-2005, 08:31 PM

I agree; this is asinine. When your DOCTOR isn't allowed to tell you when there is something wrong for fear of hurting your feelings, what have you won? What term would have been more PC...gravitationally challenged?
Sheesh.

sdanorth · #5 08-28-2005, 03:58 AM

The implications of this are downright frightening. If doctors stop telling patients they need to lose weight for fear of repercussions, the obesity rate is going to explode - worse than it already has. People who may have stepped up and done something about it, on the advice of the doc, won't. They may not know/realize/care, and without the doctor, not think it's worth bothering to do anything about it. Some people need the doc to tell them it's time to make a change. Those people are going to be doomed.

Stacie

teelbee · #6 08-29-2005, 02:16 PM

Stacie, I agree - it's chilling to think doctors might avoid talking to patients about ~any~ area of health care.

But the fact that a non-medical institution handed down the sanction is even scarier to me.

I don't recall that the article said anything about a medical review board being involved in the judgement - just the state's legal system.

Frankly, I didn't know that there were any laws on the books that determine what a doctor can or cannot do other than practice medicine without a license. I thought medical practice issues were handled by the AMA or similar medical bodies.

bkloots · #7 08-31-2005, 12:04 PM

In today's KC STAR, there's a further report on this incident.

Evidently, the doctor also said the woman was so obese "she might be attractive only to black men"--based on polls he'd read that say black men prefer overweight women. He had previously been reported for allegedly advising a patient to "shoot herself" to end her suffering following brain surgery.

As usual--there's more to this story than we can find out from the newspaper reports.

I had an OB/GYN who told me he didn't advise, let alone lecture, his patients about obesity unless they asked for it, because he didn't want to risk offending and losing them as patients. Can't win.

CushieButterfield · #8 08-31-2005, 03:26 PM

I remember the firs titme I heard myself referred to as morbidly obese when I was a teen and I thought that was just the worst term ever. Did I do anything about it back then? No, of course not, well I tried at various times but did not succeed.

I ahve been offended by doctors but I know they are right when they say that I am at risk. Just because I don't have diabetes now doesn't mean it won't develop if I don't get my wieght under control.

If the doctor did make the additional insensitive remarks as you said Barb then he should be chastised because that's just downright stupid. But to advise not to tell people they are obese is wrong as well. I know the words can hurt but if they are true then what?

cheftrina · #9 08-31-2005, 05:29 PM

Barb...whoa. As you said, there is always more to the story. Then, of course, the doctor needs to be disciplined for saying horrible things like that; it sounds as if he has some sort of mental problem (or is just plain mean).
I wonder, though, how many doctors will think twice before mentioning obesity to their patients, or not mention it at all, because of that news story? I know that a lot of patients don't bring it up because it's too embarassing or painful for them; if the doctor won't, then it just goes undiscussed. A shame.

bkloots · #10 08-31-2005, 07:07 PM

When I asked for help, my doc prescribed phen/fen, which was widely in use at the time--the only time in my life I ever resorted to a diet pill. He apologized for having to write the word "obesity" on the prescription!

It had the most remarkable appetite-suppressing effect! Good thing I quit that in a hurry. And I think the doc (whom I no longer see for other reasons) was really worried when the bad news on phen/fen finally broke. He promptly prescribed a "routine" treadmill stress test, along with a colonoscopy and a bone scan. I think he was making sure my heart was okay, although he never quite explained why he ordered the test other than a baseline screening for my age group. Appropriate enough.

Docs are people. But of course, the idiot in the news article seems to have special problems!

Maggie · #11 08-31-2005, 09:28 PM

Ok. So, clearly, the doctor is a moron, too.

Dragon · #12 09-03-2005, 12:32 AM

I wonder why the media picked up on the 'obesity' side in the first report rather than the personal vilification and racism in the whole comment?

huskersfan869 · #13 09-08-2005, 11:47 PM

Because that is probably what the woman was complaining about initially...AND IMHO...this is something all too many people don't want to hear. I know I was shocked to say the least when that showed up in one of my medical reports though I knew it was true I never thought of complaining about it...though I wanted to...Truth Hurts!

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Dr. in hot water for advising his patient she was obese