Lähettäjä: Soijuv Lähetetty: 12.5.2006 19:58
Amerikassa pidetään kesäkuun alussa mielenilmaisu jonka tavoitteena on
1. kertoa borrelioosista ja sen aiheuttamasta terveyskriisistä kansalliselle terveydelle
2. suojella borrelioosiin sairastuneiden oikeuksia
3. tukea borrelioosipotilaita hoitavia lääkäreitä (osa lääkäreistä on joutunut vakuutusyhtiöiden yms vainoamiksi koska he hoitavat borrelioosiin sairastuneita normaalikäytäntöä pidemmillä antribioottihoidoilla)
Tapahtumaan osallistuvia kehotetaan pukeutumaan limetin vihreään asusteeseen (borrelioosi/lyme merkitsee englannin kielessä myös limettiä/vaalean vihreää).
Time to Take a Stand
L y m e R i g h t s R a l l y
Friday, June 2nd
1 - 3 PM
State Capitol Building ~ Hartford, CT
* support Dr. Jones, Dr. Jemsek
and all our Lyme literate physicians
* Protect the rights of Lyme patients
* Gain recognition for this Public Health Crisis
Special Guest speakers
Dr Joseph Burrascano
Pat Smith, Pres., Lyme Disease Assoc. inc.
This is a national call to action
For All Patients, Lyme families,
Medical proffessionals, Government officials
Children invited to tell their personal Lyme stories.
Wear ?lyme? green to show support
Please RSVP TO lancaster60@aol.com
Or call 203-270-3301 to register A child for a talk.
MIELENILMAISU
Valvojat: Jatta1001, Borrelioosiyhdistys, Bb
MIELENILMAISU
Viimeksi muokannut Bb, Pe Maalis 06, 2009 23:02. Yhteensä muokattu 1 kertaa.
Lähettäjä: Soijuv Lähetetty: 15.5.2006 9:20
Massachussetissa potilasjärjestöt ovat vieneet borrelioosin hoitoa koskevan asian oikeuden käsiteltäväksi. Muutamat republikaanit ovat esittäneet että pitkät antibioottihoidot on sallittava ja lääkäreille annettava oikeus määrätä pitkiä antibioottihoitoja. Borrelioosiin sairastuneet kertoivat että he olivat vuosien ajan saaneet virheellisiä diagnooseja ja virheellisiä hoitoja. Borrelioosia kunnolla tuntevia lääkäreitä on lisäksi vähän.
May 4, 2006
Bill aims to end flap over Lyme disease
By ROBIN LORD
STAFF WRITER
A disagreement among Massachusetts doctors and Lyme disease patients over how to treat the disease is now in the hands of the Legislature.
Rep. Shirley Gomes, R-Harwich, filed a bill this week that would protect doctors who prescribe long-term antibiotics for the tick-borne disease, a treatment popular among patients but controversial in the medical community and insurance industry.
Lyme disease in its early stages causes flulike symptoms and, if left untreated, may cause a variety of neurological and arthritic conditions. Nantucket has the highest Lyme disease rate in the country and rates are also high on Martha's Vineyard and the Cape. Ten percent of all cases in the state last year were in Barnstable County.
Sufferers have told her for 12 years that they have been misdiagnosed, mistreated and forced to turn to doctors in other states, particularly for long-term antibiotic treatment, Gomes said.
Lyme disease activists are praising the bill, which is still in preliminary stages. But, others say medical protocol should be left to medical experts and not politicians.
The bill, co-sponsored by the Harwich Republican and 34 other legislators, would prevent the state Board of Registration in Medicine from disciplining doctors who prescribe long-term antibiotic treatment for Lyme patients. The board is the state licensing board for physicians.
''Long-term antibiotic treatment'' is defined in the bill as greater than four weeks.
The bill also seeks a cost analysis of reimbursements for Lyme disease treatment by insurance companies, which have been reluctant to pay for long-term antibiotic treatment. Gomes wanted to include a provision, as Rhode Island did last year, that would mandate insurance companies to pay for it, but was told the provision would kill the bill immediately, she said.
Controversy exists within the medical community over how Lyme disease is diagnosed and treated.
Some physicians, including members of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, say there is no clinical proof that Lyme disease can become chronic and be cured with long-term antibiotics.
Other doctors, including members of the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society, say there is no clear blood test to properly diagnose the disease, and therefore clinical symptoms must be considered. The group claims that chronic Lyme is real and improves with long-term antibiotic therapy.
Gomes said she knew of no doctors who have been disciplined by the state medical board for their treatment of Lyme disease. Doctors in other states have been disciplined, she said, and she believes Massachusetts doctors are afraid to treat the disease aggressively.
Board of Registration spokesman Russell Aims said no one at the office could remember any doctor who had been brought before the board for the way they treated Lyme disease patients. He said the board has not yet taken a stance on the bill.
State Department of Public Health spokeswoman Donna Rheaume said her department will not be taking a position.
The political arena is the wrong place to develop medical practice, said Dr. Alan M. Harvey, president of the Massachusetts Medical Society.
''Medical knowledge changes quickly and legislation doesn't (respond as quickly),'' he said.
Harvey suggested a better focus of the bill would be on better clinical education for physicians and greater public awareness of the disease.
But, Patricia Smith, president of the Lyme Disease Association, a patient advocacy group, said while legislation should be a last resort for medical disagreements, it is necessary in this case.
There is a ''huge shortage'' of doctors who are fully literate about the disease, she said.
Robin Lord can be reached at rlord@capecodonline.com
(Published: May 4, 2006)
Massachussetissa potilasjärjestöt ovat vieneet borrelioosin hoitoa koskevan asian oikeuden käsiteltäväksi. Muutamat republikaanit ovat esittäneet että pitkät antibioottihoidot on sallittava ja lääkäreille annettava oikeus määrätä pitkiä antibioottihoitoja. Borrelioosiin sairastuneet kertoivat että he olivat vuosien ajan saaneet virheellisiä diagnooseja ja virheellisiä hoitoja. Borrelioosia kunnolla tuntevia lääkäreitä on lisäksi vähän.
May 4, 2006
Bill aims to end flap over Lyme disease
By ROBIN LORD
STAFF WRITER
A disagreement among Massachusetts doctors and Lyme disease patients over how to treat the disease is now in the hands of the Legislature.
Rep. Shirley Gomes, R-Harwich, filed a bill this week that would protect doctors who prescribe long-term antibiotics for the tick-borne disease, a treatment popular among patients but controversial in the medical community and insurance industry.
Lyme disease in its early stages causes flulike symptoms and, if left untreated, may cause a variety of neurological and arthritic conditions. Nantucket has the highest Lyme disease rate in the country and rates are also high on Martha's Vineyard and the Cape. Ten percent of all cases in the state last year were in Barnstable County.
Sufferers have told her for 12 years that they have been misdiagnosed, mistreated and forced to turn to doctors in other states, particularly for long-term antibiotic treatment, Gomes said.
Lyme disease activists are praising the bill, which is still in preliminary stages. But, others say medical protocol should be left to medical experts and not politicians.
The bill, co-sponsored by the Harwich Republican and 34 other legislators, would prevent the state Board of Registration in Medicine from disciplining doctors who prescribe long-term antibiotic treatment for Lyme patients. The board is the state licensing board for physicians.
''Long-term antibiotic treatment'' is defined in the bill as greater than four weeks.
The bill also seeks a cost analysis of reimbursements for Lyme disease treatment by insurance companies, which have been reluctant to pay for long-term antibiotic treatment. Gomes wanted to include a provision, as Rhode Island did last year, that would mandate insurance companies to pay for it, but was told the provision would kill the bill immediately, she said.
Controversy exists within the medical community over how Lyme disease is diagnosed and treated.
Some physicians, including members of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, say there is no clinical proof that Lyme disease can become chronic and be cured with long-term antibiotics.
Other doctors, including members of the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society, say there is no clear blood test to properly diagnose the disease, and therefore clinical symptoms must be considered. The group claims that chronic Lyme is real and improves with long-term antibiotic therapy.
Gomes said she knew of no doctors who have been disciplined by the state medical board for their treatment of Lyme disease. Doctors in other states have been disciplined, she said, and she believes Massachusetts doctors are afraid to treat the disease aggressively.
Board of Registration spokesman Russell Aims said no one at the office could remember any doctor who had been brought before the board for the way they treated Lyme disease patients. He said the board has not yet taken a stance on the bill.
State Department of Public Health spokeswoman Donna Rheaume said her department will not be taking a position.
The political arena is the wrong place to develop medical practice, said Dr. Alan M. Harvey, president of the Massachusetts Medical Society.
''Medical knowledge changes quickly and legislation doesn't (respond as quickly),'' he said.
Harvey suggested a better focus of the bill would be on better clinical education for physicians and greater public awareness of the disease.
But, Patricia Smith, president of the Lyme Disease Association, a patient advocacy group, said while legislation should be a last resort for medical disagreements, it is necessary in this case.
There is a ''huge shortage'' of doctors who are fully literate about the disease, she said.
Robin Lord can be reached at rlord@capecodonline.com
(Published: May 4, 2006)