A doctor who is licensed to practice medicine in Illinois and Iowa has recently been accused of professional incompetence and misconduct. According to the Chicago Tribune, an Illinois patient reported that the doctor had forced her to perform a sex act. The doctor, who used to work in Joliet, is also accused of performing medical treatments on patients that were not necessary and could have been harmful.
As a result of the charges, the doctor could lose his professional license in Illinois and Iowa. The charges are serious and also very concerning for all patients who trust their doctors with their lives. When patients seek help from medical professionals, they not only expect their doctors to be competent and to provide quality care, but they also expect their doctors to be honest.
According to the Chicago Tribune, the doctor has been treating patients for a unique form of Lyme disease. In fact, the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the American Academy of Neurology do not have any evidence that the type of disease the doctor has been treating patients for even exists.
The Illinois doctor and several other medical professionals believe that a type of Lyme disease that does not show up when medical tests are performed is contributing to some patients’ symptoms of chronic fatigue, back pain and poor concentration.
Some of the doctor’s patients who have been treated for this form of “Lyme disease” have undergone months or years of expensive medical treatment. The treatment involves taking antibiotics for a lengthy period of time, which can be very dangerous for patients. This type of treatment the doctor has been using is not standard practice in the medical community.
Prior to these new accusations, the doctor had been banned from performing surgery by the Iowa medical board.
Source: Chicago Tribune, “‘Lyme-literate’ doctor in Illinois, Iowa faces fresh allegations,” Deborah L. Shelton, Nov. 6, 2012
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