Lyme Disease Education and Support Groups of Maryland
WE SUPPORT DR. JONES IN HIS FIGHT TO CONTINUE TO
TREAT CHILDREN WHO ARE SUFFERING FROM
CHRONIC LYME AND TICK BORNE DISEASES
This excellent summary of the case against Dr. Charles R. Jones was written by a dedicated patient advocate, Kris Newby. Kris is an award-winning screenwriter, science writer and is also the Senior Producer of the spectacular film, Under Our Skin.
Under Our Skin- http://www.underourskin.com/index.html
Posted by: Kris Newby
Last week the Connecticut Medical Examining Board (CMEB) voted to discipline Dr. Charles Ray Jones, the 80-year-old pediatrician featured in UNDER OUR SKIN, for technical violations in the way he diagnosed and treated three children suspected of having tick-borne diseases.
The medical board’s final decision, which will be signed in March, specifies that Jones pay a $10,000 fine and finance four years of supervised probation by a licensed pediatrician. This is on top of another $10,000 fine and two years of probation specified in a 2007 ruling, which is currently in appeal.
Jones supporters question the fairness of the proceedings against this pediatric Lyme specialist, who has treated more than 10,000 children with tick-borne diseases over the course of his career. Dr. Jones’ lawyer, Elliott Pollack, believes that the undue harshness of the sentence is related to the heated controversy surrounding his use of long-term antibiotics in treating children with persistent Lyme disease.
The medical board, on the other hand, says that the most recent charges are not related to Lyme disease. The panel chairman, Dr. Richard Bridburg, elaborated: “For us, at least, this issue was perhaps because of the size and busyness of Dr. Jones’ practice, we thought that he takes shortcuts.” (Source: Hartford Courant)
While no one disputes that Dr. Jones took “short cuts,” a review of all CT Physician Disciplinary Actions 2009 rendered by the CT medical board raises questions about fairness of his punishment for these procedural issues.
Last year the medical board punished 43 physicians for serious charges such as substance abuse, sexual misconduct, mental illness, and negligence; not one of these physicians received a fine larger than $5,000. And only one other physician, accused of drug abuse, received a longer supervised probation period than Dr. Jones – though this drug-addict doctor did not receive the additional $20,000 in fines levied on Dr. Jones.
None of Dr. Jones’ treatments resulted in patient harm and his medical decisions were motivated by his desire to begin the treatment of these very sick children as soon as possible. The cases under investigation were:
Case 1: Dr. Jones ordered tick-borne disease blood tests for two siblings he hadn’t physically examined, in advance of an appointment, based on a phone interview with the children’s grandmother.
Case 2: Dr. Jones prescribed antimicrobial drugs over the phone for a child who had tested positive for Babesiosis, a serious tick-borne disease similar to malaria, before a physical exam. This was after interviewing the mother and a referring health care provider, and learning that the child had a history of a tick bite and a physician-observed Lyme rash.
Irrespective of whether the punishment fits the “crime,” the medical board’s six-year investigation into Dr. Jones has sent a headline-grabbing message to every pediatrician in Connecticut – If you treat children with Lyme disease with more than four weeks of antibiotics, you may lose your medical license and be treated as a pariah among your peers. So, with Connecticut Lyme cases skyrocketing up 118% from 2006 to 2008, and the state desperately needing every Lyme specialist it can get, the children of Connecticut are the ones receiving a potential life sentence of suffering, if they acquire one or more tick-borne diseases.
Whether they admit it or not, the Connecticut medical board has turned their hearing rooms into a virtual battlefield for the two standards of care in Lyme disease: the academics at IDSA (with “one-size-fits-all” antibiotic limits) v. the ILADS community-based physicians (who treat until the child is well). With the board’s expert witness list drawing from IDSA-friendly Yale and UConn, it’s no secret where the CT board’s loyalties lie. Given that the IDSA Lyme guidelines are under legal scrutiny by the Attorney General Blumenthal of CT, it’s time that the citizens of Connecticut ask their medical board, “Is justice being served here?”
To watch an interview with Dr. Jones, click here.
For the history of the Dr. Jones legal battle, click here.
To read a new statement by Dr. Jones, click here.
CONTACT: Rally/State: Maggie Shaw, Newtown Lyme Disease Task Force 203-470-5406 National: Pat Smith, Lyme Disease Association, Inc. 888-366-6611 Lymeliter@aol.com
PRESS RELEASE- For Immediate Release
Is the Connecticut DPH Helping Patients?
Hartford, CT February 12, 2010 −At a time when all eyes are focused on the economy, no one seems to be watching as the Department of Public Health (DPH) dwindles away tax payer’s dollars attempting to persecute a pediatrician for making children better.
DPH investigations and legal actions, prompted by supporters of the guidelines of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), have forced Dr. Charles R. Jones of New Haven to defend himself against charges that have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. In addition, there is a significant outstanding balance in his legal defense fund.
The complaints filed against Dr. Jones were not due to children being harmed, in fact, they all have improved significantly as a result of his treatment. Yet, the DPH continues to monitor Jones and gathers children’s medical files from his office shelves to try to find evidence that will justify any charges that many say are designed to bankrupt him and force him into surrendering his medical license. After almost 6 years as a target of the DPH, Jones is still licensed to treat, has a full patient load with a long waiting list, and works six days a week to help as many sick and disabled children as possible.
Dr. Jones, who recently celebrated his 80th birthday at the Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport with over one hundred of his “children” in attendance, took an unprecedented stand against the flawed Infectious Diseases Society of America’s (IDSA) Lyme disease treatment guidelines long before Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal launched an investigation which uncovered multiple undisclosed conflicts of interest by IDSA panelists who developed the guidelines. For years, Jones has refused to allow the thousands of children with Lyme and tick-borne diseases, who have been coming to him from around the world for help, to suffer from lack of adequate treatment.
“We must send a clear message to health departments across the country that we will not be bullied, or allow our right to medical treatment to be trampled,” stated Jones in a recent letter to patients and health care providers. His “children” and their parents are grateful that he helped so many of them return to a normal life after years of suffering.
Although the State has indicated the most recent charges are not about Lyme, it hired two Connecticut-based “Lyme specialists” to testify against him. Dr. L. Zemel, one of the “experts,” testimony was thrown out, with the panel characterizing him as clearly biased against physicians who treat chronic Lyme and against many of the labs that they use. This characterization comes as no surprise to Lyme patients and their families who have been subject to the same type of bias by many IDSA guidelines’ followers, leading to curtailed treatment, disabling disease, tremendous pain, and inability to function in society.
As Dr. Jones’ legal fees continue to snowball, someone needs to investigate how much the State is spending to harass a good doctor who is saving lives and what other doctors, who pose real threats to patients, are slipping through the cracks while this spurious investigation is permitted to continue.
CT volunteer Lyme disease support groups are holding a rally for Dr. Jones prior to his next scheduled DPH hearing on February 16, 2010 at 11:00 AM in front of the DPH building on Capitol Avenue. For more information and inclement weather advisories on the rally please visit www.LymeRights.org
MAKE YOUR VOICES HEARD
RALLY FOR THE RIGHT TO BE TREATED!
STOP THE PERSECUTION OF DOCTORS TREATING LYME DISEASE!
*The Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) is bowing to pressure from the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and members of the American Lyme Disease Foundation (ALDF) concerning the treatment of Lyme disease.
*Doctors treating Lyme disease are targeted by the IDSA and prosecuted by the CT DPH for not following the IDSA Lyme disease guidelines These “cost-effective” guidelines are notorious for their inability to successfully address Lyme disease, cater to the IDSA’s agenda and the insurance industry, and have been proven by the CT Attorney General Blumenthal to have been developed in a process that was “riddled with conflicts of interest.”
*YOUR tax dollars are being used by the DPH to prosecute doctors in order to advance the financial agendas of the IDSA and the insurance industry.
*Dr. Charles R. Jones of New Haven, CT is the world’s leading tick borne disease pediatrician and has successfully treated over 10,000 children with Lyme disease. He has been repeatedly harassed and targeted by the DPH and brought up on multiple unsubstantiated charges over the past 5 years because he refuses to stop treating the children in his care.
*Dr. Jones legal defense cost concerned citizens, patients and the parents of sick children close to ¾ million dollars to date. The DPH is continuing their efforts to financially destroy him or force him to turn over his license.
*None of the charges against Dr. Jones were initiated as a result of any harm that was done to any of the children in his care, in fact, they are all much better after being treated by him.
*Dr. Jones is standing up to repeated harassment and prosecution by the CT DPH and the IDSA saying this is not acceptable. He feels doctors should have the ability to retain the right to treat patients as they deem necessary and patients have a right to be treated.
*Dr. Jones is doing exactly what you would want him to do for you and your children. Having celebrated his 80th birthday, he does not need to take this abuse. He fights the injustice to all because he cares about his children!
LYME DISEASE
WHAT STARTS IN CONNECTICUT- STOPS IN CONNECTICUT!
February 10, 2010
At a time when budget deficits are screaming to be addressed and Lyme disease is raging out-of-control, no one seems to be watching as the CT Department of Public Health squanders tax payer dollars prosecuting a pediatrician for making children better.
Dr. Charles R. Jones of New Haven has had to defend himself against repeated charges to the tune of close to 3/4 of a million dollars. None of the complaints filed against him were because children were being harmed, in fact, they all improved significantly as a result of his treatment.
After five years of this witch hunt, Dr. Jones is still licensed to treat, has a full patient load with a long waiting list and continues to work six days a week to help as many sick children as possible.
Bottom line- how much of your money is spent harassing Lyme treating doctors? Why is DPH breaking the law and ignoring the recent bill passed protecting Lyme treating doctors (HB6200)?
Join the rally for Dr. Jones on February 16, 2010 at 11:00 AM in front of the DPH building on Capitol Avenue in Hartford and attend his next hearing at 1:30 PM. For more information: www.LymeRights.org
Dr. Charles R. Jones- 2008
LETTER IN SUPPORT OF DR. JONES
Dr. Dennis G. O'Neill, Chairman, CT Medical Examining Board
410 Capitol Avenue, MS #13 PHO
P. O. Box 340308
Hartford, CT 06134-0308
Dear Dr. O'Neill and Board members:
I am writing to request that you consider the following information before you take any further action in the Medical Board case against Dr. Charles Ray Jones.
As a long time volunteer patient advocate, the question I have been asked the most has always been, “Where can I find a doctor who knows anything about Lyme disease?” Back in the “old days” I didn’t have anyone who could handle the chronically ill and severely disabled children who were in need of a proper diagnosis and treatment. Had it been acceptable protocol I would have referred them to veterinarians because they were the only ones who had any knowledge about tick borne diseases at the time. To my hearts dismay, after years of trying to find doctors who would take time to learn even the basics or ones who actually cared about people in general, I only had a list of physicians that patients should NOT go to, as these so-called professionals were uneducated and/or unwilling to even try to learn about Lyme or lift a finger to help.
Then along came Dr. Jones. He was truly a blessing to so many families. I know of no one in the medical field who has done more to assist children and their parents than this wonderful doctor. I often tell people, “If I had to crawl on my hands and knees to take my child to Dr. Jones in Connecticut, I would.” I have seen him work long days, endless nights and even weekends to be able to help as many children as possible. I have never heard of him turning away a sick child, even if they couldn’t pay. I have personally sent thousands of sick children to him over the years and never once have I regretted it. The best part is these children got better under his care.
If Dr. Jones was not competent or was doing anything questionable that might harm children I would have heard about it from the parents and would have never referred anyone there again. I want you to know after all these years I have never had a complaint about Dr. Jones or his wonderful, hard working staff. Not only is his warm compassion and dedication to “his children” unsurpassed, but also, his skill in treating the ones with tick borne diseases is extraordinary, actually genius. There has never been a doctor like Dr. Jones and there will never be another. He has success where so many others have failed. I consider him to be what is right with the world.
Before you make any negative decisions in his case, please remember that it may temporarily pleasure some misguided people if you do, but it is ultimately your name on that decision and you who will be held responsible for perpetuating the suffering of countless children and their families. Please end this nightmare and let Dr. Jones go back to doing what he does best, which is taking care of and loving these precious children.
Sincerely,
Lucy Barnes, Director
Lyme Disease Education and Support Groups of Maryland