CALIFORNIA PRISON DOCTORS ARE THE DREGS

The state has stripped a Soledad prison doctor's medical license after he failed to diagnose and treat an inmate's spinal injury, resulting in the prisoner's permanent paralysis. An administrative law judge for the state health system found this week that Dr. Isaac Grillo, 72, was a danger to his patients. Grillo, who been practicing at Salinas Valley State Prison, would not comment when reached at his Soledad home Thursday. "I'm not going to talk to anyone," he said.

Grillo was one of three doctors who said they believed inmate Kenneth Holcomb was faking a spinal injury following a June 2000 prison brawl, according to a lawsuit Holcomb filed against the state Department of Corrections. Later, after non-medical officials sent Holcomb to Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital for evaluation, the complaint says, private physicians correctly diagnosed the inmate's injuries and sent him into surgery.

The other two prison doctors involved in the incident also have disciplinary records with the medical board. Dr. David Stuart Clark surrendered his medical license in 2003 to settle a disciplinary action and Dr. David Thor was placed on probation, according to the State Medical Board's Web site.

Grillo's suspension comes as medical care in the state prison system is facing increased scrutiny. In July, a nonprofit prisoner advocacy group issued a report challenging the competence of prison physicians. In September, a judge ordered a complete review of all 261 doctors in the prison system. "The Department of Corrections has been a refuge for doctors who have been unable to provide care in other places," said Alison Hardy, staff attorney at the Prison Law Office, the San Quentin group investigating prison health care. "As a result, there are a lot of prisoners who have been harmed."

Hardy said the Grillo case follows a pattern in the Corrections Department of using doctors practicing outside their specialties. Grillo, a surgeon, was performing internal medicine. Grillo's conduct in the Holcomb case triggered an October 2001 state Medical Board inquiry that resulted in accusations of gross negligence and incompetence. After a two-day examination of Grillo's clinical skills, UC-San Diego professor of medicine Dr. William Norcross concluded that Grillo lacked the knowledge, training and judgment to avoid making potentially serious errors. "The deficiencies documented... if applied to the real-world practice of medicine, would almost certainly have resulted in patient harm, and perhaps even death," Norcross reported.

More here.


***************************

For greatest efficiency, lowest cost and maximum choice, ALL hospitals and health insurance schemes should be privately owned and run -- with government-paid vouchers for the very poor and minimal regulation.

Comments? Email me here. If there are no recent posts here, the mirror site may be more up to date. My Home Page is here or here.

***************************