Posted on 08/30/2005 5:14:06 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - The state is investigating a doctor accused of telling a patient she was so obese she might only be attractive to black men and advising another to shoot herself following brain surgery.
"Let's face it, if your husband were to die tomorrow, who would want you?" the state Board of Medicine says Dr. Terry Bennett told the overweight patient in June 2004.
"Well, men might want you, but not the types you want to want you. Might even be a black guy," it quoted him as saying, based on the woman's complaint.
The board said it also is taking a second look at a 2001 allegation - deemed unfounded at the time - that Bennett told a woman recovering from brain surgery to buy a pistol and shoot herself to end her suffering.
Bennett made national news last week when the complaint from the obese woman became public without any mention of the racial comment. But Senior Assistant Attorney General Richard Head, who leads the state Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau, said Tuesday the woman complained about the racial remark, not about being lectured.
In a telephone interview Tuesday from Rochester, Bennett denied any wrongdoing and defended his message to her, saying he has read polls that say black men prefer overweight women.
Bennett added that he is angry the board is reconsidering the 2001 complaint.
"That patient is currently in a nursing home completely demented, tied to a chair drooling on herself and doesn't recognize anybody," said Bennett, 67. "She was in pretty nearly that condition at the time she filed that complaint."
Bennett's lawyer, Charles Douglas, said his client is being attacked by the board, which, by its own rules, does not discipline doctors for bedside manner.
"If a patient does not like the message, go to another doctor," Douglas said.
Head said the 2001 complaint is being considered as part of a review of Bennett's overall adherence to medical ethics. The state Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau investigates complaints against doctors, though the board decides how to act on them.
Head said privacy laws prevent him from disclosing the women's names.
The board can fine, reprimand or suspend doctors. It also can revoke doctors' licenses or require them to attend classes or treatment. A hearing is planned Dec. 7.
Earlier this year, Bennett rejected an effort by the board to resolve the latest complaint. The board wanted him to admit he had made a mistake and to attend a class on medical ethics, which he called "touchy-feely school."
Bennett previously was cited by the board in 1995 when, as part of a settlement to avoid discipline, he admitted lying on his 1992 and 1993 medical license renewal applications about being denied hospital privileges. He was fined $1,000.
This must be a mistake. The dateline says Concord, New Hampshire which in New England. Such racist attitudes could only occur in reactionary parts of the country like the south.
In my opinion those types of comments, if true, totally change the situation. While I have no problem with a doctor being blunt in describing the health conditions an obese patient might be facing, making comments like those quoted in the article are not acceptable.
I heard the guy on a talk show. He is an arrogant prig. He did not say, morbid obesity will kill you and here are options you can do to prevent it.
He said your husband is obese and will die before you will. No one else will want you because of your weight.
On the talk show he said it was just telling the patient something she did not want to hear.
WHAT IN THE WORLD IS HE DOING ON A TALK SHOW TALKING ABOUT HIS PATIENT?
DK
just damn ping
Sir-Mix-Alot is not a poll.
LOL!
What talk show was he on?
MM
You other brothers can deny.....
I want too see a picture of this women.
...But Senior Assistant Attorney General Richard Head,...
Call me Dick.
Many many people have a very difficult time managing ctheir weight. I think doctors need to take this issue seriously, but compassionately....otherwise overweight people will simply stop going to the doctor all together. No one wants to be harassed/humiliated over something they already know to be true. They know they're fat. There is a difference between telling someone you're obese and you're gonna die and saying something like, I see you're having trouble managing your weight. Let's talk about it and see what we can come up with to help you. Being supportive and encouraging gets alot more done than being a jerk.
IIRC he was on KVI John Carlson. A local show.
DK
Why? Is you Black?
It is interesting to finally get a more thorough story. The first headlines and stories implied that the Doctor had only told the woman she was obese. Which would be well within the standard of care between a doctor and patient. This new information puts the woman's suit in a new perspective. Not that I agree it is the best way to go, but it does show the issue as more than whiney patient resenting medical advice.
I want her picture published so the public will be outraged
and see the dr was doing his job.
Thats a bit out of my frequency range! LOL
I hope they fried him on air though!
MM
This story's been reported up here, but I never heard that before. It puts a whole new twist on it.
read polls that say black men prefer overweight women
Some men like women with rully, rully, big butts. I guess you're one of them.
Some men like women with rully, rully, big butts. I guess you're one of them.
*I'm a woman actually.
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