State officials agreed Wednesday to take official disciplinary action against physicians who were responsible for writing sick notes for demonstrators at the state Capitol last spring.
The state Medical Examining Board voted to discipline nine physicians for issuing medical excuses to individuals who used them to miss work or school to participate in protests. Seven of the nine were given formal reprimands for “deficiencies in record keeping,” according to a statement from the Department of Safety and Professional Services.
The reprimand requires the seven to pay costs as well as take remedial courses in medical record keeping, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, and leaves a mark on their permanent record.
Six of the seven formally disciplined are physicians in UW-Madison’s Department of Family Medicine, along with the two reprimanded physicians.
Amidst Capitol protests against Gov. Scott Walker’s collective bargaining legislation, doctors in white lab coats were videotaped issuing sick notes around the Capitol Square for teachers and others who were missing work to demonstrate.
The physicians’ process of examining and recording the information of individuals was irregular, according to the MED, and was a determining element of the final verdict.
“There was no way to determine what kind of evaluation was actually made of an individual before these physicians issued their medical excuses,” Dr. Sujatha Kailas, Medical Examining Board chair, said in the release.
The other two investigated physicians were put on notice, implying disciplinary action if similar behavior occurs in the future.
Independent of the MEB investigation and ruling, the UW-Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health conducted its own investigation of 22 of its physicians who were reported to have issued sick notes.
According to a department statement released last April, the review both implicated and vindicated several of the individuals. Those physicians that were found to have been involved were disciplined based on the extent of their individual involvement in the issuing of sick notes.
Regulations allow for the physicians to formally appeal the university’s decisions.
“Discipline has been administered but the final decision isn’t in, and probably won’t be until the end of the year,” UW-Madison Health Spokesperson Lisa Brunette said.
