Response from the NH Board of Medicine in the Dr. Bennett case
“Dr. Cynthia S. Cooper, a member of the Board of Medicine handling the dispute who has recused herself because Bennett has referred patients to her Dover practice, said she sticks to national guidelines when telling patients they are obese and need to lose weight.
‘We never try to belittle patients or ridicule patients because of their weight,’ she said. ‘I think no matter what advice you give patients you have to try to communicate in an appropriate way.’
Cooper said she doesn’t think doctors will hold back on what they tell patients.
‘It may cause doctors to think of how they can approach sensitive topics … however the advice should be the same,’ she said.
She added that doctors are obligated to tell their patients to lose weight if that person needs to.
‘I can tell you the Board of Medicine does not discipline physicians for telling patients to lose weight, or they’d be disciplining most of us,’ Cooper said.”
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{ 4 comments }
How the physician tells the patient the truth should be between the physician and the patient. There are no established standards of communication since there is no standardized patient in terms of education, personality, morality and and motivation to participate in treatment. And there are no standardized physicians. If the physician’s approach to telling the truth is unacceptable to the patient, the patient should leave. The physician should not be persecuted or prosecuted for what he or she said. I am afraid that if other state boards take on the same issue of how communication for the benefit of the patient is handled, there will be a chilling effect and physicians will avoid necessary communication.
While I agree there are some physicians who should be educated and penalized because of gross unprofessional behavior. The case of Dr. Bennett, at least based on what has been published, does not fall into that category. ..Maurice.
I’m not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV. I am a patient of nearly 60 years. I expect my doctors to (1) listen to what I say about my symptoms, how I’m feeling, and even what I think, the operative word being “think” and not “know”; and (2) tell me what they know, think, have a hunch about, want to do about what I’ve said and anything they determine on examination. If I ever become obese, I expect to have heard, already, that I needed to lose weight. In fact, I am 10 lbs. heavier than I want to be, although I think I’m still okay on the charts. My doctor and I have already had a conversation about my weight and how to keep from getting fat.
IMO, the woman who is suing Dr. Bennett is swimming in the river of denial and victimization. The medical board is collectively nuts for dignifying her complaint.
I don’t think she’s suing. I’m not a lawyer but I don’t think even in our screwed up tort system Mark Lanier would be able to squeeze any money out of this. No tort occured.
Anonymous: I stand corrected, and I appreciate it. She has not, as far as I know, filed suit; she has filed a complaint that an attorney general has dignified with an “investigation” of some sort. Shameful, both of them.
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