Saturday, August 20, 2005
Letter to Charleston Gazette regarding unfairness of Texas investigation (never printed by the Gazette)
Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons
The Official Peer-Reviewed Journal of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons
Lawrence R. Huntoon, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.A.N.
Editor-in-Chief
P.O. Box 39
Lake View, NY 14085
(716) 627-7759
Editor@jpands.org
July 13, 2005
James H. Haught
Editor
The Charleston Gazette
1001 Virginia St. E.
Charleston, WV 25301
Dear Editor:
I am writing regarding an article your newspaper published on July 8, 2005 (State licenses doctor after trouble in Texas).
The West Virginia Board of Osteopathy should be commended for their actions with regard to Dr. Roland Chalifoux. Unlike other medical boards that may simply defer to the judgment of other state medical boards, the West Virginia Board of Osteopathy displayed courage and integrity in performing their own thorough investigation of the Texas State Board of Medical Examiner’s actions against Dr. Chalifoux. Likewise, the Chairman of the neurosurgery department at West Virginia University, Dr. Julian Bailes, should be commended for his due diligence in investigating the actions taken by the Texas medical board against Dr. Chalifoux and for his courage and integrity in offering a supervised “refresher course” for Dr. Chalifoux at the University. As a result of their courage and professionalism, the public was not arbitrarily and wrongfully deprived of the services of a highly trained and compassionate neurosurgeon.
In your article, you quote the president of the Texas medical board as saying that Dr. Chalifoux “…is a continuing threat and would endanger the public and we did not feel that he would be able to safely practice medicine again.” As Dr. Chalifoux has successfully completed six months in a well-respected university neurosurgery program and has been given an unrestricted medical license by the WV Board of Osteopathy, the Texas medical board’s dire predictions have obviously been proven wrong. Moreover, the fact that a respected board of osteopathy in West Virginia has granted Dr. Chalifoux an unrestricted license to practice medicine, knowing all the facts of the cases in Texas, speaks for itself with regard to their view of the justification for the Texas medical board’s actions. Unfortunately, not all medical boards are objective, unbiased and focused solely on serving the interest of the public. In this regard, the West Virginia Board of Osteopathy is a shining example of the way a medical board should function.
Lawrence R. Huntoon, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.A.N.
Chairman
AAPS Sham Peer Review Committee
The Official Peer-Reviewed Journal of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons
Lawrence R. Huntoon, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.A.N.
Editor-in-Chief
P.O. Box 39
Lake View, NY 14085
(716) 627-7759
Editor@jpands.org
July 13, 2005
James H. Haught
Editor
The Charleston Gazette
1001 Virginia St. E.
Charleston, WV 25301
Dear Editor:
I am writing regarding an article your newspaper published on July 8, 2005 (State licenses doctor after trouble in Texas).
The West Virginia Board of Osteopathy should be commended for their actions with regard to Dr. Roland Chalifoux. Unlike other medical boards that may simply defer to the judgment of other state medical boards, the West Virginia Board of Osteopathy displayed courage and integrity in performing their own thorough investigation of the Texas State Board of Medical Examiner’s actions against Dr. Chalifoux. Likewise, the Chairman of the neurosurgery department at West Virginia University, Dr. Julian Bailes, should be commended for his due diligence in investigating the actions taken by the Texas medical board against Dr. Chalifoux and for his courage and integrity in offering a supervised “refresher course” for Dr. Chalifoux at the University. As a result of their courage and professionalism, the public was not arbitrarily and wrongfully deprived of the services of a highly trained and compassionate neurosurgeon.
In your article, you quote the president of the Texas medical board as saying that Dr. Chalifoux “…is a continuing threat and would endanger the public and we did not feel that he would be able to safely practice medicine again.” As Dr. Chalifoux has successfully completed six months in a well-respected university neurosurgery program and has been given an unrestricted medical license by the WV Board of Osteopathy, the Texas medical board’s dire predictions have obviously been proven wrong. Moreover, the fact that a respected board of osteopathy in West Virginia has granted Dr. Chalifoux an unrestricted license to practice medicine, knowing all the facts of the cases in Texas, speaks for itself with regard to their view of the justification for the Texas medical board’s actions. Unfortunately, not all medical boards are objective, unbiased and focused solely on serving the interest of the public. In this regard, the West Virginia Board of Osteopathy is a shining example of the way a medical board should function.
Lawrence R. Huntoon, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.A.N.
Chairman
AAPS Sham Peer Review Committee
// posted by texas shammed @ 7:33 PM 
