When Is a Doctor Not Really a Doctor?

If you're waiting for a punchline, I'm sorry to disappoint you.

Instead I'm going to tell the tale of a man, Paul Phillips, who went to the Mayo Clinic in 2001 to see an ophthalmologist for a problem with his vision. Things went horribly wrong, and now he is blind in the eye that was giving him trouble.

These things happen, right? Yes. They do. But they have a better chance of happening when the person dressed up as a doctor, who works at the Mayo Clinic, who pretends to examine the patient as a doctor would..... turns out not to be a doctor at all. In fact, he has no medical training whatsoever.

How can that happen?

This is not the tale of physician extenders. Physician extenders are very well trained medical professionals. You know them as physician assistants and nurse practitioners, and for many medical problems, their care is equal to the care a physician can provide. Paul would have probably done quite well had he been treated by either.

No. Instead Paul Phillips was examined -- and misdiagnosed -- by a man named Paul Hughes who had been working in the ophthalmology department at the Mayo Clinic, treating patients, despite the fact that he had no college degree, and had even spent more than six years in prison for forgery and cocaine possession.

I had trouble believing it all, too! But I found the information in a very well researched article in the Phoenix New Times. Lawsuits have been filed and lost by the Mayo Clinic. Hughes and the doctor who hired him, Dr. John Creasman were both dismissed by the Mayo Clinic -- but not until after the lawsuit had been lost.

What is the lesson to be learned from this horrible story? The lesson is that we need to do everything we can to learn about our doctors before we trust them to take care of us. In this case, Paul Phillips made an appointment with a specific ophthalmologist at the Mayo Clinic. But when he got there, they switched him to Paul Hughes. Paul could have / should have insisted he see the doctor he asked for. At least that guy was a real doctor!

It may be a bit strange to ask if the person you are seeing is really a doctor. But if you know the doctor's name ahead of time, you can most certainly learn more about that doctor before your appointment. If they switch you to someone new at the office, then either insist you see the doctor you made your appointment with, or look for evidence in the office of the doctor's credentials -- diplomas, board certificates and others. You can double check after you get home that the doctor has the background you expect.

It's too late for Paul Phillips. He can no longer play golf, drive his car, nothing that requires his eyesight. He can't be faulted. When he went to the Mayo Clinic, and was attended by a man dressed up in a tie, and looking quite professional, knowing he had made an appointment with a doctor.... of course he thought Paul Hughes was a doctor!

But if a relatively savvy patient can be fooled at the Mayo Clinic.... well, then.... who else can be fooled?
..............................................
Photo © Microsoft Image Gallery