UW Health investigates doctors who wrote sick notes for protesters

Madistan dot com ^ | 2-21-11 | DAVID WAHLBERG

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UW Health is investigating doctors who wrote medical notes last weekend excusing protesters at the Capitol from work, and the Wisconsin Medical Society has criticized their actions.

“These UW Health physicians were acting on their own and without the knowledge or approval of UW Health,” UW Health said in a statement. “These charges are very serious.”

The UW School of Medicine and Public Health and the UW Medical Foundation, the university’s doctor group, are investigating.

“The investigation will identify which UW Health physicians were involved and whether their behavior constituted violations of medical ethics or University of Wisconsin and UW Health policies and work rules,” the statement said.

“The investigation and any potential future action will follow the established procedures of the University of Wisconsin. Any future disciplinary action taken will be considered a personnel matter, and in accord with University of Wisconsin policies, will not be open to public discussion.”

The Wisconsin Medical Society, the state’s doctor group, said in a statement that it “does not condone these actions under any circumstances.”

“The physician-patient relationship is a cornerstone for providing high quality health care,” the medical society said. “Important elements of that relationship, such as conducting proper medical evaluations of patients, should not be taken lightly.”

The Wisconsin Medical Examining Board has received information about the events, the medical society said.

Dr. Lou Sanner, a family medicine physician at UW Health, told the Associated Press he was one of the doctors involved. He said wrote notes for protesters who were suffering from stress.

“Some people think it’s a nod-and-wink thing, but it’s not,” he told the Associated Press.

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ping Wisconsin doctors writing sick slips: License numbers have been traced to Univ. of Wisc. Medical Center.