Doctor accused of fraud and misdiagnosing patients to fund 'opulent lifestyle'

[Aristus]

8. I'll be the first to admit that doctors, or any medical providers, including PA's (like me)

and ARNP's, should not be treated like gods.

However, if I read your intention correctly, then you issued some misinformation regarding prescriptions. There are medications specifically designed to treat symptoms, such as the sneezing and itchy eyes that accompany seasonal allergies, and other medications that are designed to treat the underlying problem; for example: hypertension, or chronically high blood pressure. Some B/P meds are more effective than others, and different classifications have different side effects; but all of them are intended to lower your blood pressure to safe levels, thereby avoiding conditions such as stroke or chronic kidney disease (high blood pressure is very tough on the kidneys.)

Life-long treatment with such medications is usually up to the patient, since medical treatment should be accompanied by lifestyle changes. If a patient refuses to lose weight or exercise or quit smoking, he or she is looking at life-long medication use to mitigate the effects of these poor choices.

I treat my patients as conservatively as possible, with as few medications as necessary, at the lowest effective dose. For patients with chronic illnesses such as high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, or high cholesterol, I encourage them to work toward a plan that requires no medications at all, only exercise and proper nutrition. Until that state is reached, I monitor my patients regularly for side effects, adverse effects of the medications themselves, and of course, progress toward conservative treatment.

Please do not go around stating that all medications are just for show, and do not treat illnesses effectively.

Having said that, this doctor is among those responsible for creating the impression that all medical providers are charlatans, fleecing their patients in order to fund a lavish lifestyle.

I guarantee you that someone will reply below with an accusation that I abuse my own patients for profit, and then relax on my yacht, in my mansion, or even on my own private island. This is untrue. And it is untrue of the vast majority of medical providers out there.