As they own the clinic, I respect their right to make this decision, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. I have done nothing wrong, and it has been a humiliating experience for me personally, as I've never been fired from any job for any reason. Mostly though, I deeply regret the inconvenience and disruption in care that this sudden change is having on my patients, whom I care for greatly and who have looked to me for guidance and support. I appreciate the outpouring of support that has been offered to me. Unfortunately, the messages communicated through the clinic about the reasons for my sudden departure were varied and inaccurate. Patients have been prevented from having access to my contact information. I have worked with the hospital to try to establish reasonable measures to provided accurate contact information to my patients, but they have declined my requests. This entry is my attempt to set the record straight, and this blog has been established so that patients can stay in contact with me.
First, I want to say that, while these events are unfortunate and unwarranted, I maintain respect for Littleton Adventist Hospital, and I will always appreciate the opportunity given to me to open such a fine clinic in such a wonderful location. Dr. Lisa Walker, MD is an excellent physician and friend, and she will continue to provide care for my patients at CFM. For those of my patients who are currently in a transition period in their health, Dr. Walker will do her best to follow the treatment plans we had previously laid out.
Many of my patients are aware of my alternative views and writing activities in regards to mental health reform, about the serious problems created by our society's over-reliance on prescription drugs to treat mild mood and thought disturbances. I contribute a blog on the website of Robert Whitaker, author of the highly acclaimed book "Anatomy of an Epidemic: Magic Bullets, Psychiatric Drugs, and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness." The website is www.madinamerica.com. When I started writing for Robert, I realized that my views and activities in this area would place me outside of the mainstream medical thought, and that expressing such views would potentially open me up to repercussions.
I am currently working on a important book that relates to these issues. It is the biography of an amazing person that I have met, a woman who has overcome years of mistreatment in the mental health system to become one of the leading advocates for reform in Colorado. To give you the brief version: she had been labeled as schizophrenic during her college years while abusing various substances. This diagnosis eventually led to her being placed on twelve (Twelve! Can you believe that?) powerful psychiatric drugs,but instead of getting better, she got worse. Much worse. She became homeless, violent, and hopeless. One day, she developed a toothache, and that led to her being unable to swallow her pills for four days. On day five, she says she awoke as if from a coma, like Lazurus from the dead, newly in possession of her mind and faculties. That was ten years ago, and that awakening was the start of her remarkable transformation into the warm, intelligent, funny, ambitious woman that she is today. She recently told me, "I feel like I'm getting smarter everyday! How many women can say that at my age?"
It is a powerful human interest story, and a perfect example of how a person's humanity can be reclaimed when they are removed from the toxic effects of unwarranted prescription drugs and dehumanizing labels. Her story is one that needs to be told, and I am fortunate that she has asked me to write it. In order to do so, I needed create some time in my schedule to devote to the project. My plan was to work two days a week from June through August, allowing me to continue to provide care for my patients. I went to my employer at Littleton Adventist Hospital in early February, and asked if they could support me in these plans. They said yes. A meeting was scheduled for March 15th.
In the intervening weeks, I got a call from a different administrator saying that the corporation had received an unspecified complaint regarding my alternative views. He said, “We have become aware of your blog and are concerned that your methods fall outside of the standard of care and that they may adversely affect patient safety. We need to make sure that our physicians are representing the hospital well.”
I responded by saying, “I am not promoting any new or unproven therapies, procedures, or drugs. I am not forcing med withdrawal on anybody. I am merely communicating to patients the potential harm of long-term drug therapy, and if they so desire, I am helping them to wean off. If I am able to prescribe the medications, then I should be able to take them away, right?" Then I continued, and said, "But this question begs a follow-up question: you are questioning the safety of my methods, but what are the known risks of continuing patients on long-term psychiatric drugs, especially patients on multiple medications? What research could we bring to bear on the question of the safety and efficacy of long-term psych med treatment?”
At the end of this conversation, I agreed to submit to an Investigational Review Board through the hospital where I would be given a chance to explain and defend my methods. I was excited about this prospect, because I knew that the evidence would support my position.
I heard nothing more about the blog over the next four weeks, although I heard more evidence that administrators at the highest level of the corporation were continuing to raise questions about it. I had some other confrontations with administrators about the management of our clinic. I was concerned with the business side of things, including problems with computer systems and serious billing errors. It was impeding our ability to provide a satisfactory experience for patients and their families, and I felt it reflected poorly on me as a doctor.
I believe that it is because of these confrontations and mostly because of my "non-standard" practices and high profile writing that the hospital decided to abruptly give me "termination without cause" on March 15th. My spidey sense was up the day before the meeting, and so asked for clarification about the agenda. This is what I was told by hospital administrators less than 24 hours before I was terminated: "We will be discussing how a new contract would work, any expectations you have, as well as ours." This was clearly deceitful, as they must have known at that moment that I was to be terminated the next day. Why they chose to lie to me and treat me so disparagingly, I will never know.
But that is in the past now. I am getting my feet under me, and I hope to establish a practice again soon. I have an important book to write. Mental health reform is a cause that I believe deeply in, and to take a bullet for it is an honor. I hope that this entry provides some clarity for patients wondering what happened and why.
Please stay tuned to this blog over the following months for updates on my future practice plans. Future entries on this site will be forward-looking, focusing on healthy lifestyle habits and wellness.
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