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Article: Breaking the medical malpractice code of secrecy: at The Burlington Free Press, a reporter persists in unearthing stories that doctors don't want told. (Watchdog).
- Article from:
- Nieman Reports
- Article date:
- June 22, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Harvard University, Nieman Foundation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The story began in February 2001, with a brief news item in a tiny newspaper downstate. The State of Vermont Board of Medical Practice had ruled that a local orthopedic surgeon--despite several complaints against him--was allowed to continue to practice.
At The Burlington Free Press, we'd written about the state's physician oversight panel before. A 1991 editorial slammed the board for allowing an ear, nose and throat doctor to keep his license after he was convicted of having sex with a minor in his examining room. In 1995, an editorial again criticized the board, this time for taking five years to act against a psychiatrist who counseled patients to ...