Post by Sidney on Mar 10, 2007 1:00:23 GMT -5
Ticked Off
" Lyme Inc." (Mar. 12) unfairly linked my investigation into the Infectious Diseases Society of America's (IDSA) Lyme disease guidelines to disciplinary proceedings against a small group of Lyme disease specialists. These cases played no role in my decision to launch this investigation. Your implication that the true purpose of my investigation is to shield doctors from sanction was untrue and irresponsible.
My investigation seeks to assure that all scientific and medical facts were and are considered in their formulation. My office launched the investigation after receiving complaints from medical experts and patients alleging that the IDSA excluded or ignored certain information, resulting in flawed guidelines.
I have a legal obligation to investigate these serious allegations, including possible antitrust violations that would arise if insurers or others improperly influenced the process by excluding competing views and information for their economic benefit. Lyme disease is a persistent and prevalent medical problem in Connecticut. My office has a duty to ensure that the thousands of state residents stricken with this sometimes crippling disease receive the most medically effective treatment.
Richard Blumenthal
Connecticut Attorney General
Hartford, Conn.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
National Capital Lyme Disease Association
natcaplyme@natcaplyme.org
www.natcaplyme.org
Phone & fax: 703-821-8833
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Any information provided is for the reader’s own evaluation and is not offered as and should not be considered medical advice. A licensed physician should always be consulted when considering medical decisions and nothing herein may be used in place of advice from your personal physician or other healthcare professional. Links to other sites are provided for ease of research only. Information on those sites is the product of the website author and represents the opinion of those who publish the sites and does not necessarily reflect the opinion or judgment of the National Capital Lyme Disease Association
" Lyme Inc." (Mar. 12) unfairly linked my investigation into the Infectious Diseases Society of America's (IDSA) Lyme disease guidelines to disciplinary proceedings against a small group of Lyme disease specialists. These cases played no role in my decision to launch this investigation. Your implication that the true purpose of my investigation is to shield doctors from sanction was untrue and irresponsible.
My investigation seeks to assure that all scientific and medical facts were and are considered in their formulation. My office launched the investigation after receiving complaints from medical experts and patients alleging that the IDSA excluded or ignored certain information, resulting in flawed guidelines.
I have a legal obligation to investigate these serious allegations, including possible antitrust violations that would arise if insurers or others improperly influenced the process by excluding competing views and information for their economic benefit. Lyme disease is a persistent and prevalent medical problem in Connecticut. My office has a duty to ensure that the thousands of state residents stricken with this sometimes crippling disease receive the most medically effective treatment.
Richard Blumenthal
Connecticut Attorney General
Hartford, Conn.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
National Capital Lyme Disease Association
natcaplyme@natcaplyme.org
www.natcaplyme.org
Phone & fax: 703-821-8833
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Any information provided is for the reader’s own evaluation and is not offered as and should not be considered medical advice. A licensed physician should always be consulted when considering medical decisions and nothing herein may be used in place of advice from your personal physician or other healthcare professional. Links to other sites are provided for ease of research only. Information on those sites is the product of the website author and represents the opinion of those who publish the sites and does not necessarily reflect the opinion or judgment of the National Capital Lyme Disease Association