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The Center for Peer Review Justice, New Orleans, LA (2025)

06/28/2023

From The Center for Peer Review Justice
www.PeerReviewJustice.org
THE PHYSICIAN'S BILL OF RIGHTS

Senator Milkovich on Hearing on SB 187: Licensees' Bill of Rights. By Senator John Milkovich.

Senator Milkovich: "Over the last decade, Licensing Boards have leveled false accusations against professionals, extorted exorbitant fines, rigged administrative proceedings, misused Board proceedings to destroy competitors, and engaged in patent conflicts of interest.

Senate Bill 187, by State Senator John Milkovich, seeks to ensure Due Process for Louisiana's professional licensees in licensure and disciplinary proceedings–– and seeks to curb abuses by Licensing Boards. Senate Bill 187 will be heard by the Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday, May 1st, at 9:30 a.m. in the State Capitol. Licencees are encouraged to attend and make their voices heard. Persons who wish to testify, or have questions, should call 318-425-1957.

Senator Milkovich: "Licensing Boards in Louisiana have perpetrated a series of abuses against professional licensees: the fabrication of complaints and evidence; the exploitation of Board powers by Board Members to destroy professional competitors; coercing physicians who use neither drugs nor alcohol into drug rehab; the refusal to disclose to licensees copies of their case files; anonymous complaints; the denial of an explanation to licensees of the charges against them; a racket in which a disciplinary officer files false charges against professionals and then refers the professionals to her boyfriend, a lawyer, who collects a large fee; shakedowns for large fees that professionals are forced to pay, in order to practice their profession; rigged proceedings; and the Board's practice of functioning as judge, jury and prosecutor.

Notes Senator Milkovich, "Professionals, small business owners, and technical specialists spend their entire careers learning their skills and mastering their professions. Louisiana Physicians, who are among the groups targeted by abusive Boards, are among the most thoroughly educated, highly skilled and selfless professionals in the world–– and are some of the best physicians in America. Our doctors work long hours, fight with the HMOs and ERISSA plans to get paid, and grapple with endless red tape imposed by state and federal agencies. We owe them gratitude-- not grief.”

Continues Milkovich, "Doctors, Dentists and all other licensed professionals in Louisiana are entitled to just and transparent proceedings. None of them deserve to have their careers destroyed by corrupt practices or rigged proceedings. We understand that there must be a sound disciplinary process to protect the public. However, the goal of Board proceedings for licensees should be impartiality, fairness and integrity-- not intimidation, falsification, and inequity."

Senator Milkovich said, Under SB 187, professional licensees would be entitled to a clear statement of the charges against them; the identity of the accuser; a fair investigation; an independent judge; the prohibition of secret communications between the Investigator and the Board; receipt of their complete file; a fair hearing; full discovery; legal counsel; and meaningful judicial review.

Concludes Milkovich, "Licensing Boards exercise governmental power over professionals. However, there are few checks and balances on their power. Some Boards are out of control, run rough-shod over professionals, and abuse their power. It is time to require that Boards respect the Rule of Law; obey the Constitution; and treat licensees fairly.
--
John Milkovich
Louisiana Senate
656 Jordan Street
Shreveport, LA 71101
(318) 425-1957
johnmilkovichforsenate@gmail.com

06/15/2023

DOES THE GOVERNMENT KNOW WHAT IT IS DOING TO PHYSICIANS?
Don R. Read, MD, Past President TMA

Physicians spend almost twice as much time each day typing on computers and filling out paperwork as they do seeing patients. That astonishing conclusion comes from research published this week in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Just think about that. How would you feel if you spent two hours documenting every hour of work that you do? How would your boss feel about it? You’d be depressed and frustrated; your boss would probably be angry as hell.

Patients should be up in arms over this report. Taxpayers should be up in arms. Physicians already are up in arms because we already knew this was true — and we know it’s just going to get worse.
We know it’s going to get worse because we know what’s causing it in the first place.

And that’s what’s missing in this study. Why? Why do physicians spend just 27 percent of their time “on direct clinical face time with patients” and 49.2 percent on electronic health records (EHRs) and “desk work”? From my nearly 50 years in medicine and thousands of conversations I’ve had with my colleagues, I can guarantee you it’s not a willing choice.

But again, the question is “why.” Why is this happening? Part of it has to do with EHR systems that appear to have been designed by someone who never set foot in a physician’s exam room. They’re clunky, not intuitive, and don’t fit the flow of how we examine, diagnose, and interact with our patients.

But the bigger issue is why we have to enter all of this data into a computer system in the first place. It comes back to an alphabet soup of government regulations that definitely were written by someone who’s never been in the exam room with a patient. The Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS), Meaningful Use (MU), and the Value-Based Payment Modifier (VBM) program all aim to “capture” the quality of care we’re providing and score us on the cost of that care. MU — the worst-named government program ever — actually cuts our Medicare payments if we don’t use an EHR.

A study published in Health Affairs earlier this year estimates the cost in physician time to comply with just one of those programs, PQRS, exceeds $50,000 per primary care physician per year. That’s a lot of money; but it’s also a lot of our time. That’s time the government has stolen from our patients.

And — as I mentioned earlier — it’s only going to get worse. The Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), part of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA), begins in January. MIPS is supposed to replace PQRS, MU, and VBM. But, as I wrote in this space in June, the new program looks to be far more costly, complex, and confusing than the costly, complex, and confusing programs it is replacing.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) estimates MACRA will add $128 million a year in compliance costs above the costs of complying with the programs it is replacing. Texas Medical Association analysis finds that “official” number woefully low.
And all of that brings us to one more, even bigger question: Does the government know what it’s doing to physicians?

We went to medical school and dedicated our lives to helping people heal and stay healthy, not to become data entry operators. But that’s what we have become, and that’s taking a toll on physicians, our patients, and the entire health care system. Physicians are burned out and unhappy, patients have less time with their doctors, and everyone has to pay more to get less care.

I’ve been a patient — a seriously ill patient — and I owe my life to the physicians who helped me recover from West Nile virus encephalitis. Like every patient, I don’t want a burned-out, unhappy doctor who’s enslaved by his computer. I want a bright-eyed, engaged, and satisfied physician who has the time and energy to put me — and my health — first.

More articles at The Center for Peer Review Justice
www.PeerReviewJustice.org
Legal@peerReview.org
The Sham Peer Review Hotline: 504-621-1670

The National Practitioner Data Bank, Health Care Quality Improvement Act,, HCQiA, State Medical Board Abuse, Physicians Health Programs ( PHP) etc.

01/01/2020

www.PeerReviewJustice.org

12/31/2019

Fighting Hospital Sham Peer Review

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