MacIver News Service | February 15, 2012
[Madison, Wisc…] At its Wednesday morning meeting, the Medical Examining Board did not hear any new cases involving doctors writing fake sick notes for protesters in February 2011.
However, the board has sent letters to 11 doctors newly-identified as potentially being involved in the incident last year, according to the Department of Safety and Professional Services.
Those doctors have not yet responded.
In November, seven doctors were issued reprimands from the Medical Examining Board for improper record keeping, while issuing work excuses to protesters on a street corner. That incident, captured by a MacIver News Service video, led to a flood of complaints to the Department of Regulation and Licensing. As with the current 11 doctors being investigated, the Medical Examining Board examining board sent letters to the doctors.
The MacIver News Service recently acquired these letters from an open records request with Department.
Those letters asked 8 questions:
- Why did you give work excuses at a public demonstation?
- How did you evaluate each person’s request for a work excuse?
- Did you issue or authorize fake work excuses on 2/19/11?
- How many work excuses did you sign?
- Did any of the work excuses contain false information?
- What patient record did you make?
- Was you work the same as an evaluation for time off work you would provide in a clinic setting?
- What information, oral or written, did you provide each person who received a work excuse?
The Board is still waiting for responses from the 11 doctors, and cannot proceed until they are received. A Department of Safety and Professional Services spokesperson told the MacIver News Service, the board expects to take up the cases at next month’s meeting.