This proves that we are human after all, no matter what career we choose.

Closer regulation of doctors, who are spinning out of control with ownership and incorporation of hospitals and pharmaceutical companies, may help this. Or not. Especially if it is regulated by the government.

If you look at reports of doctors that are sued for mal-practicing medicine, it is alarming. Unfortunately, like all of our affairs, we deal with such knowledge in hindsight, or reactively, rather than pro actively.

We are really are lazy fat cats here in America. We put way too much faith in a system that does not work and has not worked for decades, asserting that "it can never happen to me."

wow

I think plastic surgery in general seems to attract doctors who are many times unqualified.

Hopefully this is a rare occurrence – as far as the addiction part goes. Is it ? ..... I guess I will find out tonight on AC360.

It is about time for prohibition on drinking, smoking & Govt waste.

I'm not sure how gov regulation would have helped here.... it was elective surgery...

Don't know if the addiction was at fault or if he was simply a bad doctor... there are plenty of bad doctors...

If we have fed controlled medicine... expect more bad doctors... lets face it... they control the VA hospitals and I wouldn't go near one if I could help it.

I myself had breast reconstruction surgery after a mastectomy. I've never been happy with the results but the only failure, thank goodness, is aesthetic. I'm appalled to hear that something so routine can have such horrible results. I felt confident in my choice of plastic surgeon because he was recommended by my cancer surgeon. How in the world did Dr. West continue to get work? Did other doctors, not knowing, continue to refer patients to him? That's an alarming prospect!

I doubt elective surgery would be corrected by the feds... I could be wrong... they run the VA so well and all.

I feel bad for these folks... there are a lot of bad doctors out there... and by the time you find out it could be too late.

Even though the majority of people in medical fields are well qualified, the medical field has many doctors, nurses and other practitioners who shouldn't be in the field of medicine at all. Trying to find the good medical help isn't always easy. If patients have a good general practitioner MD they can trust, it's much easier finding good medical help when a medical specialty is required.

As an RN and friend to a few physicians who have battled addiction, I was unsettled by this article. Implying that a doctor is automatically dangerous or less skilled than his or her peers because of a drug or alcohol problem is both untrue and irrational. It smacks of tabloid fear mongering. The issue of physicians practicing under the influence shouldn't be confused with physicians practicing under treatment.

Any effort encouraging medical professionals (and I include nurses here) to seek treatment should be applauded...and funded. Instilling the fear of persecution, or worse still loss of license and thus livelihood, because of a disease they cannot control, will only serve to encourage the hiding of the problem – putting even more patients at risk.

As a society, we put a huge amount of pressure on medical professionals to be more pure than the general population, above the problems that the unwashed masses face. At the end of the day, we are just folks with jobs – like everyone else. Doctors are human, and the expectation that they be more than that only exacerbates the problem.

It appears from the article that a) maybe Dr. West simply isn't a very talented surgeon to begin with, addiction or not, and b) the issue isn't with the diversion program itself, but the administration of the program – which I'm sure is under the influence of the "good ole' boy network" that plagues most professional institutions.

I am disappointed at CNN for portraying this problem in the way that it did. Perhaps exposing the problems with the diversion program and vilifying the program's administrators would have been more responsible than vilifying the medical professionals who seek treatment for their addictions.

Those doctors should never be allowed to do surgery again! Plus they should pay $ to the people who they have hurt! Sincerely, Judi Smith

I agree that there are many bad doctors out there, but there are many excellent ones too. I work for Board Certified Orthopaedic Surgeons and I deal with legal issues every day with these guys. I can tell you this: there are probably many well documented cases of true malpractice in this country, and the media always focuses on these. What they almost NEVER focus on is the number of bogus malpractice complaints that doctors deal with EVERY DAY in medicine that cost them thousands of dollars in legal defense. I'm not talking about what these women went through, I talking about absolute NONSENSE. And for a doctor to be tried by a jury of his "peers" – it just doesn't happen-unless all jury members are doctors.

Randi, you are alot stronger than I am because if I had to produce a story like that....I would have not only have sympathized, but I would also have cried with them.

If one can be put in jail and/or lose driving privileges for DUI of alcohol/drugs, why can't medical professional who practice while "under the influence" be jailed and/or lose their medical licenses? In my opinion, both groups put the lives of others in danger and should be punished severely.

This is a sad story, and I am sure this won't be the last time we hear of something like this happening.

i have familly that work at a hospital in florida that a doctor was in jail out on work release while working at the hospital doing surgery, he still works at the hospital and is a known drunk, how can they get away with that and why doesnt the hospital tell anyone or stop him, shouldnt patients know about the doctor preforming surgey on them, if people ctually knew the ins and out of some hospitals it would scare them

This is the reason that they should through out Tort Reform in the state of MS.Another reason is that the Docters in this state killed my father back in 1990 and then came back in 2005 and killed my mother and I had know recourse in either case because of Tort Reform.I still have documation to prove it in my mothers case,but my father just before he died said don't worry about it they just made a little mistake,I presonally don't think it was that little.You can beleive that it wasn't a little one.

To Mr. Dog:

Well said and excellently written. I am also disappointed in CNN for this portrayal of physicians. I think it will cause a lot of people to respond with a generalized negative view of medicine and doctors and that simply isn't fair. Maybe CNN should do a segment on the strain that bogus malpractice lawsuits put on our judicial system. Or one about why it's hard to recruit doctors to states in this country with no malpractice cap. It's because we have become a litigious society that believes only monetary compensation will heal all wounds.

Blaming this on the presence of a diversion program is nonsense. These poor souls were not victims because their doctor was in a diversion program, they were victims because that doctor was either incompetent or mentally ill in some other way. The descriptions sound almost like the deliberate outcomes of a criminally deranged mind – and that certainly merits investigation.

If one wants to point fingers at the diversion program for this outrageous example, do so in the context of that program containing inadequate safeguards for assuring its participants are actually clinically competent, and perhaps for inadequate primary monitoring – not due to their insistence on maintaining the doctor-patient's privacy. Those participants who are competent and maintaining their programs do not deserve to have their careers destroyed because of the actions of this plastic surgeon.

Furthermore, once that surgeon failed his program, that fact and his resulting punishment became public information.

This is a sad story that misrepresents a number of issues. Drs are human and have personal issues. Drs need to feel safe for themselves to get help. With proper monitoring, a doctor in recovery, can and should be able to practice medicine.

I have a couple of problems with this article and everyone appears to jumping on the band wagon. if in 2000 he was going to his appointment to treat her and was arrested then he provided no treatment and was not under the influence to even treat her since he was not there for the appointment. how do you sue for negligence when he provided no treatment!

No one is required to tell of his/her convictions or arrests unless on an employment application, so why should this be different for docs?

I have not seen listed in this article where the negiligence has occurred due to their using! sorry for this little reality check! once a person has an addiction either using or in recovery they are always addicted – so the article title is missing leading– which is unfortunate for the addicted person. Makes them seem they should not even hold a job! There are thousands of dr, rn, pharmacists, etc that are in recovery and still practicing.

DeeP1

I'm one of Dr. Brian R. Wests butchered patients..and still living with his nightmare..and will until I am in the grave..this man needs to be put in jail..you can't drink and drive but you can drink and perform surgery..and without any consequence in CA and many other states....in the case of addicted doctors...you're on your own..sadly...

I am a recovering alcoholic, sober now for 14 years. I was lucky. Friends and family intervened when I was in my early '20's before my disease progressed to the point of no return. I work hard every day to stay sober. I am and always will be one drink away from dying. It's the disease. This doctor has this disease. I refuse to work his program. It's not my place to judge him just as it isn't anyone's place to judge my path in recovery. Obviously there are consequences to all addiction. But there is also redemption in recovery. This man deserves the same chance all of us are given by our Higher Power. I know many healthcare professionals who are in recovery and help heal people every day. In fact, because they live this disease of addiction, they know better than anyone what I need to heal my body physically and otherwise. I purposely try to find them for that reason. Christ forgave His torturers and murderers as He was hanging on the cross dying. People in recovery get that resentment is our #1 offender and work to heal those resentments and forgive. Maybe one day everybody else will figure this one out, too.

Dr. West was NEVER impaired while treating patients! He wouldn't have a license today if that were true. The only reason why he has been made the poster boy is because a revengeful patient and her attorney found out that he had a DUI in 1997 and 2000. This patient lost her malpractice suit and her appeals. This patient smoked against doctors orders. She killed her belly button by smoking. She also gained a bunch of weight. If you take a pair of pants to the seamstress to be made smaller and then you gain a bunch of weight and force those pants on, what happens? You bust out of the seams. For over 5 years this revengeful patient has been solicting patients to file complaints and sue this doctor. This lady's attorney went thru Dr. West's life with a fine tooth comb. Every doctor, every nurse, every colleague that ever worked with Dr. West was diposed. They never smelled alcohol on him, they never thought he was impaired, and they all supported Dr. West.

If you were going to have surgery and you smelled alcohol on the doctors breath, would you go ahead with surgery? Of course not! Another lie by Mr. Mikulecky.

In all their depositions everyone testified that they never smelled alcohol on him or thought he was impaired.

"He was not allowed to practice medicine for one year" – another falsehood. Dr. West's license was never suspended and he was never prevented from working for any period of time.

Dr. West never butchered anyone!

As a participant in the Medical Board of California's Diversion Program, your article implies that doctors in the Program can somehow alter the date of their random urine tests. That is NONSENSE! It never happened with anyone I know.

Randi:
Like, Jane from Los Angeles, I'm baffled by how Dr. West continues to get patients. What Doctors are referring patients to him if his track record is so bad? Were there any patients of Dr. West who were happy with his work?

Regardless of whether this "Diversion" program gets cancelled or not, doctors should not be allowed to practice until they have proven they have kicked their alcohol habit. Not sure what that would mean but I would hate for us to get to the point where all doctors have to pass a breathalyzer test prior to performing any surgery. Looking forward to the report.

Jolene, St. Joseph, MI

I agree with Mr_Dog comments. As an 'alcholic' that has saught the AA treatment program to help completely stop my use of alcohol I have nothing but good to say about Alcoholics that are sober and care for their sobriety. Now an alcoholic that is still on the bottle we can call a drunk, and these people simply need to make the choice to stop and get help – active alcoholics should think carefully about their capacity to work in high risk professions. Alcoholics are not only those lying under a bridge with a bottle hidden in a paper bag, they number in the millions out there and there Must be and IS help out there. Read how AA started you may be very surprised at the people.

I'm a weee bit disturbed by the lack of insensitivity that some bloggers have posted here..many seem to get it..a few of you do not...as a medical professional they are held to a higher standard..when you take a human life and place it at risk with your hands..you are MOST accountable...a human body is not disposable as Mr. West treated his patients..he abandoned many without hesitation..lied and manipulated all for greed..was unclean hence the high infection rate...amputees and deaths....and those of us lucky enough to live...we are left spending thousands upon thousands of dollars in hope of a normal future..daily pain and torture without the "hope" of an end to the misery...and to be so insensitive as to suggest that he is the victim..when there are so MANY victims..is insensitive and really the blogger with a heart like this should take a moment and realize that it could easily be anyone...easily..your mother.....your child...your sister..your father...your husband..any one of you...Mr. Brian R. West isn't a rarity..he is an epidemic..and one you should really be alarmed about..

Drivers. Commercial pilots. Lawyers. Doctors.
We can and should a method of testing for alcohol.
Oh wait.. . . we have a method.
The pilots and doctors with an alcohol problem should be required to blow into the machine upon request of the passengers and patients.
When the regulatory agency enables the doctor to deceive the patient, then the agency should bear some of the liability.

Here's the rub: The key is to inform the patient that the patient may want to request a breathalyzer test of the surgeon before surgery. That would chase away patients. The diversion program is obviously designed to avoid notifying the patient of something that they should know.

its a shame how many people are defending this, yes a person can make a mistake, but they should not be aloud to practice medicine while under going treatment, if they are allowed then the patient should be told, where are the right of the patients, they are putting their lives in the hands of the doctors that treat them and should know if the trust they are giving is misguided, nothing is wrong with treatment, but do it and do not practice while doing it, and if it occurs again then they should not be allowed to conduct a surgery, we have a lot of problems with our health care system and this should not be one, when I or anyone goes under the knife I would like to my doctors to have all his faculties and be in the best shape to pre form the surgery and if there is any reason he isn't I would like to be notified

I find Mr Dog and a few other comments perplexing. Would they honestly want a doctor who is an alcoholic or drug addict performing surgeries on them – recovering or not? As for the others who dismiss this as "elective surgery", the women described were fighting breast cancer and having their breasts reconstructed. I find it appalling that there are posters blaming the patient.

If her breast cancer surgery failed, then she may have a legitimate case for malpractice. If the doctor had been treating her under the influence of alcohol, then he should lose his license. Hands down.

However, anybody, even a doctor, has the right to receive confidential treatment for drug or alcohol abuse. If we penalize doctors who seek help, that only increases the risk that doctors will avoid treatment and continue to abuse...even perhaps on the job.

My heart really goes out to this family. It is overall a terrible tragedy. However, I do not believe that a doctor's right to confidential addiction treatment interferes with the rights of the patient.

Can CNN do a story on the wonderful things that the majority of doctors do for society? Can they do a story on the hours required by medical professionals, especially residents (which would be illegal in any other hourly worker?) It seems that the media always focuses on the extremely small percentage of incompetent physicians which undermine all medical professionals. The media is not balanced, and I am extremely disappointed.

There is a small number of incompetent physicians out there, but the majority of GREAT phyicians should not suffer as a result, which they will as a result of this media segment.

Furthermore, the majority of malpractice cases are won in the favor of the physician, even though they do not have a jury of peers. Physicians are so regulated and expected to work for free for the better of society. They have families and children to feed also. Not to mention the insurmountable debt they incur, opportunity cost, etc. as a result of the stringent training requirements.

The doctor portrayed in this segment probably should not be practicing medicine, but my issue is with the way CNN is clearly judging all of medical professionals by this, especially by focusing on this and not the positives. One percent of doctors are in rehab and 99% are not. Wouldn't a more balanced approach be doing 99% of stories on the wonderful things doctors do and 1% on the incompetent physicians in our society? Why does the media do this? Better ratings and more money for CNN?

And lastly, if you put even more regulation, lack of privacy, etc. etc. onto physicians, no one will go into medicine.

Now imagine a society without doctors????

I fail to see why a DUI has anything to do with addiction. Or how it should effect anyones credibility. What happens outside of work should stay outside of work and is nobodies business. Plenty of credible people have been convicted of DUI's and it has had no influence on their career or how well they do there job. Lets get real here.

excuse me...it was not actually cancer surgery. any case, if the surgery was botched than there is probably a legitimate malpractice suit.

"In California, the State Medical Association says there are between 200 and 400 doctors in this Diversion Program on any given day. A nationwide study found about 1 percent of all physicians practicing in the United States are in confidential treatment. That’s about 8,000 doctors!… 8,000 doctors whose patients have no idea they are addicts.

Wouldn’t you want to know?"

I bet there are more doctors who are in denial and/or would never admit to a problem. So then one question becomes – Would the public rather their doctors seek treatment for these issues in some way or would they rather them hide them and end up making a critical or fatal mistake?

I'm not sure out of all of the issues of botched operations and doctors' mistakes that this represents a significant number. (Although I don't know). I'll be watching but it appears as though the biggest problem would be in areas of surgery – in particular – plastic surgery.

I've heard so many plastic surgery horror stories. What percentage of them are addiction related? I'm not saying that its not an issue but really how significant is the issue?

Isn't the issue more about plastic surgeons who practice that really don't have the credentials to be practicing? That seems to be the bigger issue just based on the stories I've heard and articles I've read over the years.

How does this number (8,000) compare to overall malpractice claims and/or events? The percentage might even be thought of as acceptable considering the larger picture or considering all of the data. What do the medical experts say?

Dr. West was clearly a poor surgeon, addict or not, and unfortunately there are physicians that have failed to take their hippocratic oath to heart ...."first, do no harm. " That said, I take my job as a physician very seriously. It is extraordinarily rare that I see a physician who does not try his/her best every day for the patients they treat. All of us went into medicine to help and to heal, and we all sacrificed large sums of money as well as those things priceless and intangible (ie seeing our child's first steps, being at every soccer game), all in the pursuit of making a worthwhile difference to the patients we serve. And despite our best efforts, sometimes we make mistakes. Other times, despite everything, some cannot be healed. I respect the anger, the pain and the disappointment that the patients of Dr. West feel. The system did fail them. But I am at the same time saddened by the sensationalist way this is being portrayed by CNN. As a few people have pointed out , for every true malpractice case or negligent physician, there are many more sued that do not deserve it, and I fear that this story will only fuel that fire. I hope that 360 will attempt to remain true to a precedent of providing fair coverage, and as such, consider an additional story regarding the problems and challenges facing today's physicians, problems that are estimated to leave our country with a shortage of 100-200,000 physicians by 2020.

I had a laparoscopy for infertility and endometriosis by a physician who came wild eyed to my room while I was recovering only to find out later he was in a rehab for cocaine abuse!!!!

This surgeon sounds like a hack. There are hacks in construction, hacks in the Presidential office, hacks are everywhere. Its a fact of life and hopefully you can win some cash out of him and pursuade other people to not use him. Which is how the world treats hacks.
But his DUI's should have no relevance on how he conducts business. Some DUI's are just plain silly as you can get one for drinking just two pints of beer or splitting a bottle of wine with a loved one.
Judge him by his capabilities not his DUI's.

I read a book recently which brought this to light and frankly scared me to death. It is calle Doctor Hyde and can be found online by searching Google. This is about a formerly addicted surgeon in Scottsdale, Arizona and is a must read if you are considering any kind of elective surgery.

I just don't get it. Once they enter the diversion program why aren't they then put on sabatical until they are clean. It's just like me going on short term disability. My work paid for a few weeks. Then the health insurance company paid my salary until I got well and returned to work. What's so hard about that. They should be put on medical health leave themselves, receive some sort of guaranteed salary for a certain period and then have to be declared sober and be supervised for 2 years. Someone needs to sue the whole system not just each doctor, for letting addicted doctors continue to treat patients. They doctors should be off on leave until they either recover or fail to recover and thus face termination.

This whole subject is of great interest to all. I dont think CNN is blaming Dr.s in general but lets face it , there are some pretty bad ones out there and how they stay in practice is beyond me. Remember, it only takes one bad egg to make the rest look bad. And if we have to give so much information for all our medical why cant the Dr.s be set up to do the same. How many people know you can go into the internet and look them up online thru their medical license number....bad thing is it doesnt tell you EVERYTHING that a patient should know...I mean who;s going to admit they have a drinking problem or whatever...I think it is the right of the patient to be aware of all complaints on a DR. so they can base their health on this and make the decision who they want operating on them. We only have one life to live why should it be at the Dr.s call...is he playing God?

I say this half-jokingly – but there are some doctors who would do ten times a better job 'a little buzzed' than the work some other doctors would do on their most sober day.

Obviously those great ones are not going to admit to a problem and most of them probably do not get caught because they still can perform at great levels. They then save the vices for when they are not on call or at work.

Don't you know how many great competent renowned people actually battle so many of these demons in private? Across so many fields.

Obviously anything dealing with anesthesia or surgery is more critical but I don't for one second think that doctors are anywhere near perfect in this sense.

I think patients just need to do their research – especially when choosing surgeons (and especially when choosing plastic surgeons).

I also think that you might have a higher percentage of "screw ups" due to overwhelming doctor fatigue & pressure than due to addiction problems. Its almost similar when you compare it to driving (or operating a plane). The ones with the DUIs and DWIs obviously make the news but how many people are involved in crashes (even fatal crashes) because they were too sleepy behind the wheel.

It's just to put things into perspective. I think I have a greater chance of being screwed over by a surgeon running on very little sleep than one who is under the influence on the job.

I agree with Joe, that book, doctorhyde.net should be required reading for anyone considering plastic surgery – or drugs for that matter! This guy was once in cosmopolitan for Bachelor of the year!!!

Why are these brain dead idiots allowed to be in pratice???Are they above the law or are you that hard up for Drs. that you let these people mess with our lives?????????????????????

Another reason to fear doctors with knives. Someone should speak up if they suspect the surgeon is shaky while operating and doctors, like other people should have to take time off if they have a problem. I think they should be held accountable.

If you google this doctor you will find a site called standingup4truth that tells another side of the story. Diversion is a monitoring program, not rehab. Doctors aren't allowed to work while in "REHAB". Doctors in Diversion are safe. These patients claiming to be butchered because their doctor got a DUI is crazy. If their allegations were true, this doctor would not be operating. Sounds like they found out some dirt on their doctor and tried to blackmail him with it.

Why do they have mandatory drug testing for those who work for the city or Bear Sterns but not for those performing surgery in private practices or in the hospitals? Aren't the medical associations protecting these doctors way too much? Other doctors also refuse to "Rat" out these bad doctors due to fear of becoming black balled. Happens everyday – why do u think there is such a high rate of "Failed Back Surgery!"

Thank you, Mr. Dog for pointing out the difference between those "under the influence" and those "in active recovery." I am an Anderson Cooper fan, HOWEVER, I believe he did not do his homework on this one...... I am terribly disappointed.

As a physician and a recovering addict, I think that at least 99% of the people who watch this program will have no ability to comprehend what truly happens in situations like these. Every situation is different. I wish, sincerely, that Anderson Cooper would report on something he can understand so he doesn't taint the reputation of those who have overcome an illness and now are 100 times better than they were as a physician. So, who really is impairted here? The physician who had a problem 15 years ago and is now completely sober, or the ass who decides to try to make a good story out of something he can't possibly understand? Of course, that is unless you are an addict Mr. Cooper? Are you?

CNN needs to make this more well-known. I also got botched by a drug addict doctor. I would have send my photos. Will be happy to send my photos for the next epidsode. I didn't know. Neither did my girlfriend who also got botched by a doctor who lost his license in NY.

I am shocked that there are people who are defending medical professionals who practice while drunk and/or high on drugs!

Also, where is your compassion for the patients who suffered because of these medical malpractices?!?!

This is amazing! First, I WAS thinking of surgery before my third child is married - a bit of face lift and mneck tuck - yet I don't know how to check out the credentials and qualifications of anyone I might talk with about the possibility. IT IS IMPERATIVE that people know how to check out their professionals– be they surgeons – plumbers - electricians. I have never been about government oversight and judgement - as the qualifiers/inspectors and testgraders can be bought - but I do have a righ5 to guess and second guess whom I might hire for any work that I would like done. How do we get there???

I can't understand why an addict, whether to prescription drugs, illegal drugs or alcohol is allowed to practice medicine, having control over the life and death of other people. Any addict like that should have his or her medical liscence instantly revoked and never again be allowed to work in this profession. This goes for MDs as much as nurses and other practitioners of the health profession. How can one trust an addict with ones health and life. All such information should be made public to all patients prior to them submitting themselves to the care of such individuals. Health care in this country is already borderline negligent, there is no need to increase the risks of patients by allowing addicts to "treat" them.

My periodontist was a drug addict when he did a bone graft on me. I have had problems ever since. I called CNN several times.......I hope this time you will acknowledge my comments.

It's fine to say that doctors are human too, but they have far more responsibility than the average joe. They have the power to heal, and the power to kill.

The Hippocratic Oath trumps a doctor's pride and privacy. If you can't handle the responsibility and be true to the oath and to yourself, then you shouldn't be a doctor.

Having said that, I agree with those who say that a recovering alcoholic, after the initial detox, is not the danger. An active alcoholic surgeon IS a danger and (s)he shouldn't be allowed to practice.

I don't know if Dr. West was intoxicated or not when he performed those surgeries, if he was withdrawing or not, or if he's just not a very talented doctor, so I can't comment on this case specifically. I just wanted to make the point that any doctor practicing under the conditions alleged in this article doesn't deserve a license let alone his / her privacy. Furthermore, regulating and policing agencies should ALSO hold the Hippocratic Oath above all other considerations, and I just don't think they do.

Active alcoholics are so into denial they cannot be trusted to seek the help they need. But the people around them aren't and with doctors that's part of the problem. They know who the alcoholics among them are, but they ascribe to a code of silence. Airline personnel have begun speaking up when a pilot is impaired, getting that pilot out of the cockpit. Now hospital staff need to do the same thing where doctors are concerned. Get them out of the operating room, get them away from patients until they can prove the public is safe in their care. Everyone - including the impaired docs - will benefit that way.

I think it's ludicrous to allow physicians with drug and alcohol addictions to continue to practice medicine. But then again, how many chances to kill people do we give drunk drivers? My mother was killed by a drunk driver who had been arrested five times previously, so I can't say that this story surprises me that much. Whether alcohol is a disease or not doesn't really matter to me. All I know is that my mother is no longer here, because some idiot got behind the wheel drunk.

As someone who is both in recovery and in a monitoring program for impaired physicians, I am extremely dissapointed in what I see.

Alcoholism and drug addiction are TREATABLE DISEASES. Just because we wear a white coat to work doesnt mean we are not susceptible to the disease of addiction. The treatment programs do work, and god willing, we are allowed to return to our profession as rehabilitated physicians. We are sick with an incredibly complex disease that takes time to heal and treat, just like diabetes or cancer.

Yes, it is important that we protect the public from doctors who practice medicine impaired by drugs and alcohol. I would rather have a surgeon who is a recovering alcoholic cut into me than anyone else, at least I know that he is monitored, sober, and much more compassionate for his/her perils with addiction,

What a nightmare of a story – its horrible to think about what happened to these women and others like them.

The diversion program and its confidential nature perhaps should go a step further and bar the doctors from doing surgery until they are cured and have been that way for at least 6 months, and there should be follow up random substance testing as well. If the doctor fails his license should be revoked – after all the first vow the doctors took was to "do no harm".

Annie Kate
Birmingham AL

We need to stop. We need to stop accusing one person of something then generalizing it to everyone else. This practice in the United States whereby one citizen argues the point against one person then acts as if they are the voice of reason on that subject. So, it is true that the doctor had some alcohol addictions and in fact did not remain enrolled properly while serving patients. But to terminate the program because of one failure is wrong. This attitude of Americans to feel betrayed or wronged and therefore one person ruins it for the rest is costing Americans exactly what protects them in the first place. The RIGHTS of doctors are just as important as the rights of patients. People need to realize they go to doctors for help. But they MUST realize those people they trust with their lives are still just PEOPLE. They are not infallible and placing such enormous stress and expectations on anyone is absolutely unjust and incomprehensible. And quite frankly, UnAmerican.

A doctor entering the Diversion program first goes to a certified inpatient rehab program for 3-6 months. Then they are generally held out of work for another 3 months to a full year while submitting four random urine tests a month; going to to Diversion meetings (where they are monitored by an addiction specialist) twice a week and generally attending 4-5 AA or NA meetings a week. They also are seen regularly by a therapist. All of this is paid for by the physician in question. If they are judged to have good sobriety they might then be allowed to go back to work on a restricted schedule with ongoing monitoring and meetings for a total of five years. They have a work site monitor at work who observes them daily at their place of business.
Without a Diversion program no doctor would seek help on their own. Only when their addiction became an obvious problem would they be reported, by others, to the Medical Board. The public is much less safe without a functioning Diversion program.

This is not an isolated problem with surgeons. The rate of addiction in anesthesiologists is incredibly high (the last figure that I read rated them three times more likely to end up in a residential treatment program than other physicians). These doctos are generally addicted to narcotics, primarily fentanyl, which is said to be one hundred times stronger than morphine. Many patients of these physicians never actually meet them to smell their breathe or know anything about them. The patients must rely on them with blind faith.

The case that I know about led a anesthesiologist through at least three rounds of residential rehab and into a training program to become a phychiatrist.

I'm not sure which is more frightening, the actual addiction in the OR or an addict giving advice and perscriptions to people with mental health issues. The patient's problem could actually be less severe than the physician's.

There should be a standard for physicians... ALL physicians... especialy those that hold the lives of their pateints in theis hands. Just as you would not like to have a driver, pilot, or engineer driving or flying under the influence, a physician should not be permitted to practice under the influence... and there should be serious consequences for those that do. There are innocent lives at risk.

As a nurse practitioner, I agree with Mr Dog's post. Healthcare providers are human beings. No one can defend practicing under the influence, but if someone has been clean for a period of time, they should pose no more threat than any other provider.

And, as someone who spent the entire weekend working in an emergency department, it amazes me that there are people on this blog that are angry that one can get a DUI by drinking 2 pints of beer or a half bottle of wine. They need to work a day in the ER if they believe that this is okay. "Regular Joes" do take other people's lives in their hands if they drive a car after drinking any alcohol.

It's amazing that we are so quick to judge. Everyone has a private life, but only as a celebrity and apparently as a doctor is it out there for everyone to judge. Doctors, too, are human, and even more so in some respects have to deal with the stress of their profession. Shame on us for judging.

I have no problems with doctors who are compliant with programs and don't do anything illegal.

Now, if he's under the influence while treating, that's a different story . . .

Doogie, they did do their homework. Like most of the media, they only broadcasted the "shock value" stuff. That's what gets peoples attention. It's the same story, different day. Unlike some of those who have commented, I do my homework before I make judgement. If this doctor smelled of alcohol, why would this lady let him operate on her. If my wife told me her doctor smelled of alcohol, I wouldn't let himor her touch my wife. Not sure this husband is being honest. The Physicians in the Diversion Program are being monitored and tested all the time. These doctors are not practicing medicine until they have succesfully been through rehab and have proven to be safe. This can take months to years. This program should be confidential because it it's not, these doctors will be threatened with blackmale. Doctors have the right to their privacy just like their patients. The Medical Board has a program to make sure these doctors get the help they need and don't allow them to work until they are ready. The Diversion Programs usually last between 3 and 5 years. They have Diversion for Doctors, Nurses, Vets, Dentists, etc. Doctors aren't going to voluntairly go into a program if they are going to be in the same boat as this doctor. Look at the attention he's received for 2 Dui's. If this doctor was truly hurting people, I trust that the Medical Board would have shut him down. No wonder I can't find a doctor. It's not worth going into medicine.

As a member of the medical profession, I see a need for guaranteed confidentiality when it comes to physicians and treatment for addiction. The programs are imperfect and the punishments for relapses should be improved, but to try to "out" the names of physicians who have been treated or are currently being treated for addiction is a blatant violation of privacy rights.

Where do we draw the line when it comes to addiction and its affects on one's profession? According to HIPAA, it is against the law for a physician who learns that his patient, say, a school bus driver, construction crane operator, or airline pilot, is an alcoholic or a coke addict to disclose that information without the patient's consent. Doctors are guaranteed the same rights by the physicians they visit for help with their addictions.

It's terrible what happened to these women, but to claim that the answer is in "outing" these doctors so that patients can avoid them is just plain wrong. The answer is in de-stigmatising mental illness and those who seek treatment for it so that more physicians seek treatment for their problems. Addiction, be it to tobacco, alcohol, or an illegal drug, is a mental illness that requires medical treatment for resolution. Sure, there is anecdotal evidence that some people can get away from their addiction without help, but statistics show that over 70% of smokers, even with nicotine-replacement patches, gum, counseling, and other help, fail at least 5 times before finally beating their addiction.

If a doctor can't beat his or her addiction, then it's time for the government or medical boards to step in and consider revoking that physician's right to practice. To consider physicians guilty and unable to perform their duties due to their addiction until proven innocent flies in the face of the constitutional rights of every person. Such thinking would ruin medical practices, cost the country much needed medical professionals, and force doctors into hiding rather than coming forward for help with their addictions. Would you rather live in a world where your doctor may be an alcoholic, but is secretly seeking treatment behind your back – or a world in which he or she is an alcoholic and has no chance at getting help because doing so would cost them their livelihood and reputation? Treating addiction takes time – and often – many attempts. It's not a one-shot deal (just look at Hollywood for examples).

It's time to stop treating medical doctors as if they are impervious to the problems that effect everyone else. Every mistake is settled with a lawsuit or severe damage to a physician's practice and reputation. In no other profession do you have to be 100% correct, 100% of the time, and always 100% on top of every possible problem that could arise. No other profession is held to such exacting standards. Is there any wonder so many physicians turn to substance abuse for escape from the world created for them by the legal system and ungrateful patients?

I too am a physician and a recovering addict. Complication(s) + addiction does not equal incompetence. If you practice long enough the complication rate of any surgery or procedure, will occur. If it happens to occur with a MD with a history of addiction, it is always viewed negatively even if he is monitored and not under the influence. Random drug screens, and 800 number drug screening programs are not negoitable and a missed test is viewed as a positive test and the consequences are the same as if the test were positive. So I hope this program does justice to programs that help physcians and other medical professionals and lay people alike who find themselves in a fight for their lives with a chronic and life threatening disease called addiction.
I would like to remind everyone, some cancer treatments may not work in all cases but we still treat. Some diabetics are non compliant yet we still manage their care. Addiction is a disease not a choice, recovery is a choice!

There are two completely different issues here. Is this man a good doctor? I don't think this TV special will answer that, as it seems to be a hatchet job.
Was this surgery botched? I doubt it, as she settled. People with good cases usually want it to go to trial.
Doctors in recovery? Of course. They are trying to get better, and these programs help them. Doctors are people too, and deserve some basic level of human respect. The judgment, vindictiveness, and nastiness on this blog is truly shocking. Why not just take every doctor who ever took a drink out and shoot them? A doctor or nurse in recovery is far less likely to show up drunk or hungover than someone drinking "socially". Usually people who have this level of nastiness need to stop drinking or using drugs themselves. Get yourselves to an AA meeting!

This is journalism at its absolute worst. Doctors are human and can suffer from addiction like anyone else, surprise. Infection is a potential complication whenever an incision is made in the skin, and it is not, by default, malpractice. There is nothing in this article that substantiates, in any way, shape or form, that the physicians care was substandard. More information is needed. Innocent until proven guilty? We could let the scales of justice settle before we malign character, but that doesn't make for good ratings, does it?

You forgot to mention there are addicts working in nursing, in hospital administration, in car repair facilities, even in newsrooms. Lets expose and humiliate them too. Or have some compassion for someone trying to work through a serious problem. No one defends doing any kind of work on which others depend while under the influence of drugs or alcohol but why do you like to pick on doctors?

From what I have read, the drug treatment of these doctors grossly lacked in accountablity. When you treat addicts, you absolutely MUST have accountability in there ALL OF THE TIME. That means that there must be random drug screening OFTEN, even if they seem to be doing so well. Addiction is a disease that has so much deceit and lying.

There should also be MANDATORY meetings for these doctors. They should have an paper packet with spaces for dates and times for 12 step or other self help meetings. They should obtain a sponsor. That should be MANDATORY.

These impaired professionals should walk the chalk and follow their treatment program TO THE LETTER. Of course the treatment program should be confidential. However, they should follow every rule, every regulation and be VERY compliant to the stipulations of the program or else they lose their licence. PERIOD.

Addiction is a disease. It needs close monitoring and daily care to keep at bay with the same intensity as severe diabetes. In order to keep it in remission, you have to follow your program. You have to go to meetings. You have to stay compliant with your treatment. You have to stay in therapy. Without this, you will relapse.

When you are a doctor, nurse, or other health professional, relapse means that you endanger others. Therefore you have an extra obligation to make sure you stay in recovery.

the doctors in the program are monitored and clean, it's the ones that aren't in a program that you should worry about. Dr. West was not drinking and working while he was in diversion – they stopped him from working. It was after diversion that he went out of control.

Well said Mr Dog and Debbie Denham! I couldn't have said it better. I think the Doctor should find another career, I don't think he has the skill for this one.....

I'm a young soon to be doctor who is also an addict in recovery. While I don't excuse any physician who is under the influence while he or she tends to a patient, being in recovery is a very uplifting process I feel will make me a better and more compassionate physician. Please CNN show the other side of the story before you create concerns in the minds of the public you claim to serve. There are thousands of addicted doctors out there doing a remarkable job. Are you going to jeopardizes their lives for a few bad apples. Fair and balanced, that's all I ask for.

The article states that there are 8000 physicians currently in treatment for addiction. There are approximately 853,187 physicians practicing in the US today (AMA statistics 2004). Therefore less than 1% of physicians are enrolled in addiction programs, granted there may be other addicted physicians who remain untreated. These numbers don't indicate a major problem to me and such sensationalism just brings unnecessary negative attention to the field of medicine.

Mac, if doctors are merely people and have the right to abuse alcohol and drugs than we have the right to know if our doctor is abusing alcohol and drugs. What is UnAmerican is to not have the right to know if our doctor is abusing drugs and alcohol. As Americans and patients, we should have rights too.

Alcoholism is in fact a disease, not at all unlike diabetes or heart disease and is recognized as such by the American Medical Association. This and all other types of addiction are genetic and very pervasive, skipping generations in the family tree. The effects of the disease touch a very large percentage of our population. Insurance companies provide coverage for the treatment of addiction. These treatment programs are very intense and lengthy requiring the addict to often loose jobs and income in order to start on the road to recovery. There is no way that a person in a treatment program would be working at his/her job.

The top professions most at risk for addiction problems include physicians and clergy because they practice, and are responsible for, the "healing arts". Professional associations provide impairment and treatment services with the wellness programs offered for their members.

A recovering addict is not a practicing addict especially and is monitored closely by these professional associations, with their license in the balance. They are confidential as are all recovery programs.

I have been effected by addiction – alcoholism – four generations back. If you were to study your family tree it will be there, even if it is an aunt or a cousin. Clearly, much more addiction education is needed. Especially before writing such erroneous information. When was the last time you got to a meeting?

If this lady is dying from cancer why is she not focused on living her life to the fullest.Instead of chasing doctors around with malparctice suites?What kind of person suspects someone is drunk and allows them to operate?Its people like this that make good qualified people turn away from medicine which is such a beautiful practice medicine is like art and people like this lady are taking that for granted.Doctors go through so much to get to where they are and than they have to deal with this B/S.CNN I have lost so much respect for your network because of this.You did not even do research about this case before airing it on national television and ruining a good doctors name. This lady should be ashmed.People don't understand how hard it is to get a license to practice medicine and how many rules and regulations you have to follow in order to keep your license and the medical board would not put up with these allegations if they were true. This lady needs to live her life because what she claims she dose not have alot of time left.

If you people had any idea how hard physicians have to work there would never be a single critical comment of doctors.

Imagine an environment where you must work 60-115+ hours a week without error. Many of your decisions will significantly affect another being's well being, and may alter the course of their life.

Don't bother to comment if you don't have a degree, and don't think you have a degree (esp medical) just because you can read the Internet,

Anderson's blog entry said that oftentimes, the doctors in this program can foresee when they will be drug tested. This is one problem.

Like some have said, the problem is not the program and the problem is not having alcoholic/addicted doctors who ARE in recovery work on patients.
It is, for obvious reasons, a problem when doctors who are actively abusing substances work on patients.

While doctors are human and experience sickness and addiction and psychological disorders like the rest of us do, they also have a job that requires them to be more responsible than many of us. For this reason, laws may need to be put into place so that doctors are required to continue to demonstrate their sobriety through drug/alcohol testing even when they have been in recovery for years.

I think hospitals need more over site, there is a lot that goes on there that shouldn't and this is just the tip of the ice berg, most people that work there are good and do a great job, but there are also things that go on that shouldn't

He should be charged with murder. How could they let him practice knowing his condition? and why?

as a nurse, i have worked with physicians in the operating room who are using the medications they are supposed to be giving to the patients. When caught the physicians' hands are slapped, and they continue to practice. The medical association must stop this type of co-dependency. Do not allow them to practice!

It is unfortunate that this has happened. I do not feel that a person's addiction(s) should be public knowledge. I feel this would drastically reduce the rate of individual's seeking assistance. Does the cashier at Wal Mart need to divulge their addictive behaviors...what about the teller at the bank? I realize that a physician has much more responsibility, but it is still THEIR addiction/difficulty/behavior. I have seen horrible results from surgeries and there was no evidence to show that the person was under the influence of anything. Our society has poor quality in every profession, regardless of one's habits/addictions. Another person's addictions/struggles are none of our concern, unless that person CHOOSES to divulge that information.

Transportation workers like railroad engineers and pilots have to be tested, don't they? Surgeons, too, ought to be randomly drug and alcohol tested on a routine basis. The California Medical Association clearly has little control over these doctors. We need national legislation for alcohol and drug testing of surgeons.

George Bush had a DUI 11 yrs before Dr West. Dick Cheney has 2 DUIs under his belt (just like Dr West). People readily excuse them because society was more accepting of DUI back then. Here's the flip side – cops were more accepting of DUI back then too. Dubya and Dick must have been hammered. Probably more than double today's recently lowered limit. Report more on that, as those 2 do their dry drunk through the mideast.

I think it should be looked at more closely at exact cases whether it is prooveable that he was drugged up or drunk during a surgery. Surgery always has risks but I would think other nurses in the operating room would easily be able to tell if he was drunk or under influence during a surgery.

I HAD A DOCTOR OPERATE MY BACK - HE COULD NOT FEEL HIS HANDS AND HAD THEM OPERATED ON THE NEXT DAY AFTER HE PARALYZED ME. HE WAS ON PRIVATE AND STATE DISIBILITY TOO.

I don't understand why All Doctors don't have to have Random drug testing just like all the Comerical Drivers have to do.

I felt the report was very scewed. There are many doctors who have acheived recovery because of such diversion programs. Addiction is a disease such as diabetes and requires chronic maintenance. Unfortunately, most doctors are not trained in the field of addicition, but one who has experienced and succeeded in his sobriety has something to offer his patients that he would not before. The numbers you briefly flashed of 80% success rate is a remarkable number that is not shared in the general population. Here in Colorado monitoring is regulated by a Colorado Physicians Health Program in conjunction with the board of medicine for the safety of both physicians and patients. It is not fair that your viewers get the idea that doctors who suffer from addicition cannot overcome and can actually become better practitioners for their experience. This does not mean that safety mechanisms must be in place. But a more fair and balanced view would have been more honest and encouraging

I am an a surgical oncology nurse that often takes care of patients who have had the tram flap or free flap ( I am assuming this is the surgery the story is commenting about although it was not named specifically.) These surgeries are complicated and results vary. It is unfair to blame post op complications such as infection on a surgeon alone. The surgeon does not operate without a circulating nurse and a scrub tech or nurse etc. Trying to say that the surgeon was not held accountable for sterile technique is an insult to the rest of the operative team. I wonder if his stats were compared to that of other plastic sugeaons in the country if they might not be similar. I am all for holding alll medical personnel accountable for safe practice, but let's be educated and fair before we make these connections.

This was a biased and unbalanced report.

I think its unfortunate that CNN has suggested a cause-effect link between a clearly impaired plastic surgeon and unfavorable patient outcomes. Dr. West appears to done TRAM flap reconstruction for several women. This is a technically demanding procedure that requires a certain 'type' of patient....a woman that is relatively slender and a non-smoker...for optimal surgical outcomes. These patient factors were not discussed in the report.

The complications shown on AC 360 (ventral hernia, dehised abdominal donor site closure) are complications that have a lot to do with patient health, nutrition and body habitus. They could have happened to ANY surgeon...they did not occur JUST because West is a drunk. Why are we condemning a physician? Perhaps the poor outcomes are related to the patient factors listed above.

If West has a drinking problem, and its impairing his judgement, than he should be treated at state expense.

He certainly has done his part in caring for the community if he's doing breast reconstruction, a procedure with dismal insurance reimbursement.

I'm not making excuses for this drunk surgeon. I'm making these points to let people know that they have some respnsibility to claim in their surgical outcomes...stay trim. don't smoke. if you're prescribed antibiotics post-operatively, take them, and recognize that complications happen.

BTW I'm a plastic surgeon.

Having programs as the california diversion is a safeguard for society and a source of treatment for doctors. Alcohol and drug addiction/abuse is a disease process no different than diabetes or heart disease. Some people are more genetically predisposed to addictions. They are often times manifestations of underlying illnesses such as depression and anxiety. Simply dismissing doctors as addicts and revoking their licenses without a confidential outlet for treatment would not be helpful. You would have 100% of these doctors hiding their problems and lose the 80% that could be helped from these programs. Based on this reasoning one would have to revoke licenses of doctors will all types of treatable impairments such as diabetes, epilepsy, heart disease, near-sightedness, etc..

As a physician who has worked in Quality Assurance in the past, incidents like these are unfortunate, but here's the problem. If we make all of these things public, then every interevention witn a physician becomes a legal matter. Unfortunately "proof" in these cases rarely rises to legal standards.
For example, we have had physicians who have lousy results in a series of surgeries. We know that this shows signs of a problem, but if the physician drags in a lawyer, any INDIVIDUAL case could be looked at as a case of "it could have happened to anyone". It is only in the aggregate that a pattern emerges, and a good attorney would shred that case in front of a jury of non-physicians.
Therefore what happens is we get together with the physician and say "OK, we know there is a problem here and if you get help and demonstrate improvement, we'll keep the whole thing off the books". Then if the physician refuses, it gets ugly in front of a judge. No one is trying to cover up here, but both sides know that if we put it on the record, in a court of law, the offending physician could win, patients would continue to get substandard care and everyone would lose.

The Medical Board of California provides public access to view a portion of a physician's professional credentials in addition to disciplinary actions issued by the Board. The web site is http://www.medbd.ca.gov/lookup.html. For example, with regard to Dr. West, one can see that he graduated from UC Irvine (and not Stanford, as was reported) and that two disciplinary actions are disclosed by the Board.

Why is it that ball players (I could care less if they are under the influence) are randomly tested but doctors that I trust with my life are not? Random drug testing should be mandated as a licensing requirement for all medical professionals.

Their "right to privacy" is second to my right to a sane, healthy, drug-free doctor!!!

I can tell you our family physician was going through a divorce in Sarpy Co. Nebraska while my son and his now ex-wife were going through theirs. I was wondering why when I would take my granddaughter into his office to log the abuse on the child from the mother when I would get the child every other weekend, this doctor would get up and leave the room and said "I don't want to hear about this!"

I got an account at Nebraska Online and started checking into the court cases that were logged in to their files online. I found to my horror out about this doctor losing his children into foster care at the same time I am trying to do what is right to get him to log and report the abuses of my granddaughter.

I also learned that this doctor's two daughter had been given an STD which was the same one that the doctor was stated to have had by his wife, who was also an OB/GYN physician here in Sarpy Co. Nebraska. She also alledged that this same doctor who was soon to be her ex-husband had been in rehab for over 8 years and failing miserably. Her words not mine. And the wife stated that the ex was going around writing RXs and cashing them in for Percodan his drug of choice and stealing from the samples closet, for which a nurse had been blamed earlier at the ex's office and here it was most likely him. It's ugly! And to TOP this off, the local CPS in Douglas County, Nebraska said they did a collateral investigation, yet the investigatorsassigned to my granddaughter's case DIDN'T turn these facts up. Nor did they do anything with the witnesses list for our side to protect my granddaughter. The 2 cps investigators did a very poor investigation! and for this my granddaughter still suffers because she was sent back to her abusive mother. I have pictures I can show you and YOU can show on the air. Please help me expose all this mess. The people and Nebraska bneed to know about how CPS even gave these two physicians preferential treatment when both their daughters were removed because the 2 daughters spent 2 years in foster care so there must have been something that CPS found wrong with the OB/GYN mother also. And they the CPS and GAL state that the "children had no family support network at their home". Well, you would think with the father being a family physician and the mother being an OB/GYN doctor that they off all people would know how to make a family support network for their own kids especially! What a load of crap. Tell the truth here. Tell the people of Nebraska about these injustices and that you, CPS don't know what a collateral investigation is whatsoever! Call me CNN, I will show you pictures and let you know the names and where to get your documentation for back up to your stories here. YOU could do a series on this one that would rack the Heartland. And my granddaughter could sure use your help also because the abusive mother now knows this family physicain is like this and still uses him for covering up her abuse to the child because she knows his background yet the doctor doesn't know she knows from our attorneys! Why would anyone in their right mind still use a doctor like this? It is all so sad. Email me and I will send CNN reporters my phone number and we can talk about this.

A surgeon is rarely alone in the operating room, if those that were in the operating room knew that he was intoxicated they should have said something before it got as far as it did. I also believe that doctors should be allowed to get treatment privately but they should not be allowed to practice until they complete it. Maybe West should reread the Hippocratic Oath.

Unfortunately the Medical Board protects their physicians. I know of a physician who is an alcoholic and abuses drugs. But he is able to function at a high level. For how long remains to be seen. The diversion program only works if the physician wants help. There are many who do not seek help and their colleagues turn away.

Anderson,

I am sorry that your story tonight about "Doctors in Rehab" was so incredibly one sided and mis-informative. First, you selected one particularly bad doctor to profile. Unfortunately ther are bad doctors out there, and not all of them have alcohol problems. Second, you did not make a clear distinction between active alcoholics and those physicians in recovery. There is a BIG difference. There are many, many physicians in recovery who are spectacular practitioners. Although there may be occasional cases where these physicians slide back into active alcoholism, the vast majority maintain sobriey for the rest of their lives. The Director of the "Diversion Program" in California was correct- these programs help physicians get help and get back to work under close supervision. If a physician is in recovery, there should be no obligation to disclose this to patients, just as we don't require other professionals to disclose. These recovery progrms also raise awareness of substance abuse in the workplace and provide those around the physician recourse when they suspect a problem.

Doctors literally get away with murder. The hospitals lawyers keep things as quiet as possible and settle out of court and the doctor just pays more for his liability insurance. It is truly disgusting. If they were nurses, they would lose their license, and if the Board of Nursing was gracious enough to allow them to practice again, they would have so many restrictions on their license they would not be able to find a job. I know that because I am a recovering nurse and have been to Treatment with several doctors. Tthe got a slap on the wrist and the nurses get the shaft. Yes, I am a little bitter.

Look everyone messes up, but they have to pay the consequences. I agree doctors like everyone else do have a right to privacy. Doctors in the diversion program should not be allowed to operate while in treatment. Would truck and cabi drivers be allowed to drive while in treatment? Let's be honest their licenses would most likely be suspended anywhere from 90 days to a year. Perhaps, doctors can do consultations and may be towards the end of the program assist in surgery, but considering risk to human life here, I don't believe they should be allowed to do more until they prove they have their problem under control.

While I can understand the emotions on every-side of this issue I think we have to look past blame and make the easy changes that can improve this situation for everyone. Medical professionals, from X-ray techs, RNs, other surgeons, and primary care doctors need to step up when any suspicion of abuse is at hand. The same ideas that let high level corporate execs leave open bar parties in a high-speed powerful car after 5 martinis are putting patients at risk. If the environment can control itself, not only will patients become more safe, but those physicians with addictions will get the help they need. We can all recognize this is a disease and we all need to realize that we cannot sympathize with some people with it and not for others.

I greatly sympathize with the man on CNN this evening who lost his wife in the reconstruction surgery. I had the same surgery that this woman had successfully. It was a very long and complicated surgery that lasted over 10 hours. The incision is hip to hip and I had this done after 2 failed reconstruction attempts. The previous attempt required 3 different surgeries in 36 hours and as a otherwise health 20 year old, left me in the ICU for 2 full days. . To call reconstructions or any surgery "routine" is false.

The risks are immense. I'm just happy that enough dedicated and talented individuals try to solve the impossible by studying medicine and refining their skills as surgeons and researchers that this debate is even possible.

I have no doubt there is a percentage of doctors in state medical association and board approved confidential rehab programs that are a danger to their patients due to continued use of drugs and/or alcohol. As a total number....8000 doctors nationwide was sited for those in such diversion programs. Perhaps 20%, (an 80% success rate was mentioned), will continue to pose a threat to patients...I would hazard to say that those percentages would be reversed if no such programs, (even sloppy ones), did not exist.
Of even greater concern would be the even far greater number of docs still in addiction and living some fantasy that they do not need help...if anything, these types of programs should have far greater support and availability.

I am also a recovering alcoholic, and I am also a Christian and a medical professional. I feel badly for Dr. West whose medical history has been displayed for the whole world to see. I cannot speak for the detailed case, but has anyone heard of HIPAA? If someone wants to call CNN with their medical history, that's one thing, but to display someone else's is another matter.....

Its beyond my wildest dream that such kind of a "doctor" is still practising. Simply can he be pulled to the gallows and let him face the charges?
As a patient, and a client to such a doctor,i would demand the best servcies ever given that am trusting my health –my life on him.

Let the authorities withdraw his license and all on the program should be exposed. then its on my decision to which doctor -out of over 8000 addicts i would like to go to. But if kept secret, we all jeopadize human life.

Sorry and pitty cant reverse what he has done to human but this should ring a wake-up call.

how come nobody on this discussion can spell? maybe those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones...

"we are all human" my ass (sorry for the language)
sure people change and he went to rehab and did all that good stuff
but people lost their lives because of this idiot,
the least they could do is bring him to justice, or atleast they could have suspended his license. this lack of justice just shows how ridiculous our legal system is. my heart goes out to all those who had to put up with this dramatic situation

I'm shocked!!! I WAS HIS PATIENT!
I knew something was not right because I attended a meeting before my surgery for breast cancer information. I spoke briefly with Dr. Debra Johnson and mentioned that Dr. West was my surgeon. She rolled her eyes and you could tell there was a problem (he had been in her practice), but she would not tell me what it was. She just said he was a good surgeon and did not encourage me to find another surgeon! I feel angry at Dr. Johnson about now. She knew but protected him.

I have to wear a partial prothesis even though I have had reconstruction (which can be uncomfortable over the implant) because I don't match in size and I still have a very significant scar after 8 years.

I knew that his life was a mess after the surgery. I once met him in a store after my surgery, but I was still having follow up visits. He started telling me all this very personal (and totally inappropriate) stuff about the women in his life. One had a murder contract out on him, went to jail and he ended up engaged to her jailer!

Just remembered somethin else. Right before my surgery, my friend said he made a very sexual comment that was so embarrassing to her that she never even told me what it was! I don't remember a thing because I was already sedated.

What a poorly researched story!!! You need to mention that the most common reason that a physician's license is revoked is substance abuse. Medical professionals are among the most closely monitored people in America and diversion programs are an important part of that monitoring. I wonder how many people at CNN are substance abusers? I bet it is more than 1%!

Good heavens. Shocking that the US medical system allows things like this to happen.
I am a Canadian vacationing in Florida and hope I don't get sick in the USA. That's scarey.
US talk shows, among other sources I hear in the US about the Canadian healthcare system constantly spout absolute lies about our system. " Free" my butt. Not perfect but a hell of a lot better than the US system. We don't go bankrupt over healthcare like so many unfortunate Americans do. Some media types claim the US healthcare system is the best in the world. Rediculous! Google healthcare systems and see where the US stands.
The Canadian government, not Canadian insurance companies, contol the healthcare system and taxes cover a large part of the costs. Socialistic? Really? Then do independent US insurance companies cover the cost of the US military, police and fire departments, infastructure, etc. No, the government does through taxes. In Canada we consider healthcare ranks with the precxeding.
My wife was an operating room nurse in Canada for over 30 years and I have known many Canadian doctors over the years. I have also heard some pretty scarey stories from US friends about the US healthcare system. I'll take Canada's healthcare system any day. Incidently I am the Canadian version of a conservative so phoey to those in the US who would consider my comments to be "liberal". I'll settle for "common scense"

Don't patients check into a surgeon's background, and why hasn't word of mouth gotten around about this Doctor West? He's been sued any number of times. Isn't there a public record of this?

Mr. Dog,

Well said, couldnt agree with you more. Doctors are human, make mistakes, any program out there to help them should be encouraged rather than keep them in the closet

Why do they have to prove alcohol consumption while operating on a patient? Isn't incompetence enough? They are butchering patients, ruining their health & endagering their lives. Infact the dr. that treated the lady that died from lack of treatment for cancer should have been charged with murder.

Once an addict always an addict! They should have their license revoked. The chances that these people will return to addict behavior is unpredictable so why should they be allowed to continue harming others. It is a known fact that prolonged alcohol and drug usage causes nerve damage. After many years in treatment maybe nerve damage is further contributing to incompetence. A dr. takes an oath & when it's broken that's it.! The people that they are harming do not get a second chance why should they! dr preferiental treatment in society is insane and must end!

what % of airline pilots are allowed to fly commercial flites under the influence of alcohol or illicit drugs? 0! why, because public safety trumps all other issues. As a surgeon, I once experienced working with an anesthesiologist who almost killed my patient only to find out the doc had failed rehab, was working with a suspended license, hidden by the hospital administration. the doc never worked with my patients ever again & shortly afterwards died of an over dose in between cases. every person in the OR should be spot checked periodically without notice. anyone who tests positive should lose their operating room priviliges nationwide for a yr, provide evidence of satisfactory rehab & have permanent spot testing if & when privileges are resumed

I applaud CNN for running this story, however it had absolutely no impact or quality at all. CNN spent 50 minutes on a political puke fest that needs to go away. Everyday 24/7 this is all we get, same sound bites and same stock footage. There is a whole lot more to this Dr. West story than CNN put on the air. I know because my wife was one of his victims and yes I said victims, because that is what he creates. He does nothing for society but make it worse, and the CMA and the Medical Board of California are just as much at fault for there inaction. They are as if not more corrupt than the politicians that CNN spoon feeds to us every night. CNN failed to mention the 100 plus patients that have been victims to Dr. West....the ones that have died..the injured and disfigured child that Dr. West injured...the amputated legs of a prominant business man in CA... the fact that you clean the blood off you after surgery..are left sedated for 9 hours for a 2 hour operation...so thanks CNN but no thanks for the gripping coverage of stories that really matter in peoples lives like how much money politicians spend to be popular. Thank you. Dr. West's alcoholism and his butchered patients were made to look like a kindergarten birthday party.

well this is what i got to say about it
we treat Doctors like God's so they behave like devils
we pay them and they still stiff us and make us think its our fault but its this systems fault for allowing doctors to be under so much pressure of being sued they have to drink or do drugs like us to relieve the stress
will the real God please Stand and forgive us

Simple truth is that this man should not be allowed to work because of his dangerousness. He could very well have poor surgical skill to start with, but given his flagrant lack of judgement and poor insight into his illness, the affect of alcohol can only worsen his already chalanged skills.
Would Dr. West have an other addicted and substance dependent surgeon perform an appendectomy, or a face lift, or a bypass, or a hip replacement ON HIM... OR HIS MOTHER OR FATHER. If the answer is No, then he should haave his licence revoked on the principle of hypocracy. If he says YES , then he should also be commited to a Psychiatric Unit on the principle of indangering the lives of others.

I ponder furthermore, the question of who is responsible for his credentialing and oversight in the hospital / clinic in which he practices, and why did they not take away his priviledges to continue working in that (those) hospitals.
There are plenty of excellent MDs all over the U.S. Weeding off the few bad ones can only but help the profession.

I applaud the comments of the nurse, 'Mr. Dog'. I could not have stated the case better. For the record, I am a recovering physician ( just short of 18 years clean).

It might be worth noting a few facts that could enlighten the general public. Approximately 7-10% of the US population is alcoholic and/or addicted. Less than 1% of that 7-10% ever receives adequate treatment for their disease. The rest will die, most likely, with or as a result of their disease.

Of physicians in the US, the % of alcoholism/addiction is roughly 12% plus, as high as 15% in some studies. That means there are roughly 115,000 impaired physicians in the US (due to drugs/alcohol). A few thousand additional docs are impaired by mental illness, sexual and gambling addictions and senility/cognitive issues! Approximately 10,000 of those will recieve proper treatment. That will leave 100,000 plus impaired physicians out there who are 'unknown' to anybody.

With an average 3000 patient encounters per year per doctor, that makes for ~ 30,000,000 'impaired patient visits' per year !! Scarey huh?

Without physican health programs that absolutely guarantee anonymity, the number of practicing impaired MDs would be much higher. A doctor is much less likely to step forward and ask for help if there is fear of sanctions, loss of income or license and embarrassment. The good MD health programs provide for anonymity IF the physician adheres to the treatment/recovery program outlined for him/her. If the doctor doesn't comply, they will be subject to publuc reporting and possible legal action and, likely, licensure sanctions.

No program that I know of lets doctors practice impaired. They must undergo basic treatment (ie in patient) and then intensive out-patient treatment with strict monitoring, meeting attendance (ie AA or NA) and peer review, etc. When they reach an offical 'non-impaired' staus, even though they are still being 'monitored and treated', they can practice.

The good news is that physican health programs are beginning to fluorish (as opposed to just 10 years ago–my state did not have one until 2002). The bad news is that the most dangerous physicians are the ones out there, impaired but not yet identified. The ones in treatment/recovery should be applauded–they are not the most likely docs to 'injure' you!!

There are, of course, some bad doctors out there, impaired or not ! So please don't condemn the practicing doc in tratment or recovery–give him a high five. Ten of thousands of his colleagues are still hiding their disease and will continue to damge people's lives as a result.

Incidentally, the highest percentage of impaired doctors are fin the specialty of family practice.

Feel free to email me at bclarksc@carol.net. I am more than happy to share my thoughts (and recovery) with anyone !!

Doctors performing surgery in their private practices or in the hospital do not receive mandatory drug testing? Why, when most employees working for the city are required to have mandatory testing. Many doctors are alcoholics, drug addicts and have bad sexual addictions. So sad that doctors are so highly protected rather than the patient. Many other doctors are aware of "Addicted" doctors and refuse to "rat" them out due to fear of becoming blackballed at the expensive of the patient's well-being. Pretty Sad!

As an RN I believe everyone has a right to privacy when fighting a disease. Addiction is a disease. However, having said that, it is clear that there is inadequate oversight in our medical facilities and that what is there is too often defensive to the facility only and not protective of the patient. Depending upon what statistics you read, between 99,000 and 300,000 people die each year in hospitals from medical error. It is no wonder why hospitals and professionals carry so much insurance--consider the actual $ liability if these errors are proven? We need transparentcy, sunlight, and if necessary criminal prosecutions. In the end, hospital administrators, doctors, nurses, and malpractice attorneys should be treated no differently than anyone else. Finally, those of us in the medical world understand the concept of "mandated reporters." If we see something that endangers a patient (done by another professional) we are supposed to be legally bound to report it to the proper authorities. Try contacting your state's Department of Health or Joint Commission of Accreditation for Hospitals to see how many reports are made each year. Virtually none. It is clear that the medical world does not police itself.

Well, I'm so glad to see that the public is becoming more aware of the secret programs protecting the identities of md's in "rehab" "diversion" programs. The auditor on the program tonight said that this program should have been shut down years ago; the audits have been conducted over the last 27 years and the final conclusion is that the program was run incompetently. The auditors have been ignored for years; but now patients are going to the courthouses, checking court files, meeting with other butchered patients and forming alliances across the U.S. Now the Medical Boards will begin to listen – only because it is now no longer a secret. I feel a patient's right supercedes a physician's right, even though he went to college longer than I did. He has a right to get well and not practice medicine while doing so. I don't even want to see an M.D. with a hangover, nor after his 3 martini lunch. I find it quite comical that the reason you keep a doctor's addiction secret is because if you enlighten the public, he will go underground, drink and/or take drugs more and more, will continue to lie about his addiction, and utimately someone in his office will have to disclose to a regulatory agency that the doctor is "ill". Never assume that a regulatory agency is doing their job. It now appears the medical board in Sacramento finally has come up with the ultimate answer to the problem – give the job to another state agency, I'm impressed. Keep up the good work patients and future patients!!!

Just wanted to echo what Doogie, Mr. Dog and some of the other health care providers related in prior posts. As a resident in anesthesiology, I have had extensive exposure on addiction through yearly conferences that are aimed to teach us about substance abuse, what confidential treatment entails, and how to detect the subtle clues that could mean addiction. Take away the confidential diversion programs and you jeopardize patient care, plain and simple.
These programs help empower colleagues with getting the addicted into treatment. With all of the sacrifices that every health care worker has made in the pursuit of his or her career, would they be more likely to turn in a colleague knowing full well that they may be ending someone's career? Or is a physician struggling with alcohol abuse going to voluntarily enter rehab, only to have no chance at continuing their profession when they succeed in achieving sobriety? These programs have an 80% success rate. Plus, if a physician in a high risk field (i.e. surgery, anesthesiology, or any procedure based specialty) fails multiple times in the diversion program, they are no longer allowed to practice in that field. They typically retrain in psychiatry, family medicine, or internal medicine once they do succeed.
Yes, it is awful to see what has happened to these patients. We should put trust in the legal system and state medical boards to fully evaluate for negligence. I cannot comment on who is at fault but the general public has to realize that when it comes to the competency of physicians, there is a very wide spectrum. A bad physician is going to be a bad physician regardless of the presence of addiction. The majority of doctors try their best to care for their patients. Unfortunately human beings are not infallible and they do not all come out of the same mold.
So, if you take a wide variation in ability levels and couple it with the immeasurable complexity and variability of the human body, it is impossible to expect perfect outcomes. This is a misconception that I feel is so widely held by the public. We do not weigh the risks and benefits of surgical procedures, anesthesia, even down to drug interactions and side effects. The medical world constantly throws all of these at every patient but I do not believe many people take these seriously.
Consequently, a bad outcome with no negligence involved could possibly misconstrued when something like a DUI arrest is made known. Just think of what litigation would be like if the public can find out if a physician has ever had problem with drugs or alcohol, no matter how minimal or remote it has been.

In ending, it is the patient's responsibility to make informed decisions about their health care. Part of that is made when choosing who takes care of you. There are tons of resources available that rate how a particular physician compares with their peers with respect to various quality and efficiency measures. Doctors have responsibilities as well as rights but the patients we routinely care for apparently have plenty of rights but no responsibilities or accountability for their own health.

I have a family member that is a victim of malpractice and I can tell you it can affect your whole life.

I'm shocked at how many comments on here seem to side with this doctor!

Flat out if you are doing a job that requires that much dexterity as a doctor you should not be practicing at ALL if you are a substance abuser.

Doctors make a fortune and live the lavish lives they do because of how important their job is. Is it to much to ask that they be sober?

I don't smoke drink or do drugs at all and I'm not a doctor...why is it acceptable for someone who has people's lives in their hands to do so?

If I were to take my pants off and run through my shopping mall I would be in prison and then be on a sex offender registry for life and when I got out I would be living under a bridge.

But a doctor can mutilate more innocent women more brutally than 90% of the most sadistic rapists in his state put together and is on no website and is not in jail and continues to operate and probably gets paid a fortune still!

There is way too much protection for doctors. A bad doctor can kill more people than a mass murderer.

How is this different from any other crime? Look at the damage done to these poor women.

I think there needs to be a website like ebay dedicated to rating doctors. This way if you are going to go to see a doctor you can know if he or she killed or mutilated 8 of the last 10 people they operated on or not.

The way it works now you go in blind and have no clue until the damage is done.

This would keep the good doctors in business and the bad ones out. Being a doctor is too important to have anything but the best in it.

I hope that the people's lives that were ruined get compensated and that they heal as good as possible...my heart goes out to you!! I had tears in my eyes just watching this segment.

Also doctors that hurt patients that badly should be in prison.

I work in a hospital. That said I had a Dr doing surgery's all day long, was not feeling good. The Dr had test done in the hospital and his alcohol level was 3 times the legal limit. What did the hospital do for this Dr? wiped out every single medical record for this Dr. Can you imagine if a nurse or someone with a lower caliber qualification would have come to work and worked on patients with that kind of a blood alcohol level. Fired instantly! What is a Dr's Hippocratic oath? I shall do no harm to patients. Put yourself in theses patients shoe's. There should be better whistle blowing laws for cases like this. I would like to turn in this Dr and administration, but I can not afford to lose my job! SORRY PATIENTS! You will just have to suffer!

Any addictions are also usually co-occurring meaning that the addiction it's self stems from underlying mental health issues of some sort. The long term damages from addictions can be nerological and mental. The oath says do no harm!!!

In response to Karen's comment on 11:11 PM, I think there is a vast difference between medical doctors and nurses when it comes to their responsibilities and their ease of replacement by "society" at large. The simple truth is that becoming an MD requires 4 years of college, 4 years of medical school after that, at least 3 years of residency (some residencies last longer than 7 years), and completion of multiple levels of licensure examinations – all of which requires a large investment of time and money by society at large. New rules go so far as to require physicians to become re-certified on a regular basis in their field by taking examinations on a regular basis. Becoming an RN requires 4 years of college and little else. This is the reason for the vast difference in responsibilities and rights granted to MDs and RNs.

Perhaps medical associations should take a page from the book of the nursing regulation boards. Perhaps not. It seems like replacing a nurse with a new nurse would take far fewer resources than replacing an MD.

As such, it only makes sense to give MDs a fair shake when it comes to beating addiction. Replacing a skilled MD is far more difficult than replacing a nurse, just examining the numbers. Addiction is classified as a mental illness by the latest DSM, and has been recognized as a medical condition by the AMA since the 1950's. As such, those afflicted with it require treatment, not loss of their livelihood for fessing up and facing their addiction by seeking treatment.

Unfortunately, Anderson's report was one-sided, as they frequently are, taking the alarmist, populist attitude that blue-collar society is again being duped by "the man" – in this case, physicians. He picked a physician who specializes in plastic surgery (viewed as money-hungry physicians who do little along the lines of treating diseases or health conditions by most Americans) who was an unsympathetic target, and focused on an incredibly sympathetic group of women to exploit for his story – cancer survivors and the relatives of those who did not survive cancer. Anderson and Lou Dobbs are obviously more in line on things than I previously thought.

My brother is a doctor and I am aware of a doctor who is/was an alcoholic and drug addict. It happened in a small town in America. Most cops were afraid to arrest this doctor due to there fear of the doctor attending the cop one day. The other doctors were also afraid to report him. But, eventually, he did get arrested after several warnings. He moved on to another hospital where he relapsed and still seeing patients discreety. This is such a crime and criminal penalties need to be issued.

ENOUGH of the excuses! Alcoholism and drug addiction are not diseases – it's a choice! I choose not to drink and I choose not to put illegal substances into my system. I will only take prescription medication if it's absolutely necessary. Diseases are things we can't control like cancer. We can control what we put into our body so stop labeling drug addiction as a disease. It's unfair to those who have had to deal with the consequences of those destructive choices.

Next Time, CNN has a special. I will send my photos of my botch surgery from a druggie doctor. I will also have "MULTIPLE" patients submit their photos. Can CNN request such photos on their websites? I think CNN will be surprise with the turnout. Not fair!

my husband is a recovering acholholic. 4 years this last december. When they are nolonger using they can be some of the best people you will ever know. It is true that Doctors need a place to go. However, that does not mean that their privacy should put the rest of us in danger. The should not be alowed to performe surgery for several years. with proff that they have attended a program over those years. with a sponcer. in short. they need to earn back the right to preforme surgery.

I believe that the majority of those posting are doctor(s) and friends of Dr. West. CNN needs to hold another more "In-Depth" special on this topic and request stories and photos from the public.

In response to Mr. Dog's comment, physicians who are allowed to practice whether under the influence or under treatment puts society at risk. There is a fine line between influence and treatment which is usually clouded by the intake of substances. I for one would be comforted in the fact that my physician was neither under the influence or treatment. And like any other criminal involvement requires close supervision even on the completion of treatment.

The California Medical Association should be liable for a practice that hides it's dirty laundry from would be patients.
I don't care what profession you're in, if you are an addict you should no longer be able to carry on with that work until you are certified cured or completely rehabilitated and then on probation. Doctors are not above the law and shouldn't be protected more than the patients they butcher and the lifes they destroy.
Doctors are in a profession that includes life and death decisions on a daily basis, impaired judgement of any kind can not and should not be tolerated.

Whose posting and defending all these doctors – the doctors themselves? This is a free forum for all not solely for doctors to post and defend other doctors!

As a physician in training, I'm flabbergasted by this report and the comment some people are making. First of all, I sympathize with those who have lost family members or are in constant pain because of a bad surgical experience by a doctor. But lets face it, we're all human and bound to make mistake. The reason why there's a huge selection process and numerous exams to take before a person become a licensed physician is to minimize the number of mistakes.

For those who are not in the medical field, it is easy to loose perspective and blame the doctors for all the bad things that might happen after a treatment or surgery. There's a certain risk involved in almost every procedure in the medical field. And again, the physicians are trained hard and stressed out to their limits to ensure they minimize risks.

Today, the general public get the view that doctors are good for nothing money making pigs. But who are we kidding? The medical system and shortage of medical professionals compel the doctors to work harder and a stressful lives. On top of that, The futile lawsuits that are brought upon every day drive the malpractice insurance prices, which have peaked to 20-40% of physician salaries. So they're forced to work harder or make short cuts to get done with a procedure and move on to a different patient. B/c of that Many have limited or no personal lives at all. Who's going to help the physicians when they're in trouble? With every prescription drug and alcohol available at their finger tips, many turn to pills as their next best friend. And once you're addicted, it stays there forever.

We have developed this image for doctors that they're perfect individuals who can't lost their making mistakes virginity. So should we just discard these addicted doctors over something that's not in their control? Mr. Mikulecky's call to stop doctors from participating in diversion programs will only add to the existing problem. Physicians will not come out of their addiction closet and make more mistakes. Not only that, physician suicide rates will go up. Is that what we want as a society? Waste all these years of experience and knowledge just because they've made mistakes?

I don't doubt that there are legitimate cases of malpractice, but to defame the whole profession is simply foolish. What we need is a medical reform in insurance to prevent doctors overcharging for services, change in malpractice laws to bar lawsuits that waste precious time and money, which could be utilized in better ways. The biggest obstruction to change is the notion that medical system is a for profit business. So instead of defaming doctors, CNN and the general public need to start focusing on how we can stop the big insurance and pharmaceutical companies' hold on our politicians. That is a right direction to proper medical care!

Don't throw the baby out with the bath water! The program is not the problem , the issue is incompetent physicians who are addicted to alcohol or drugs. Doing away with confidential program will not save patients. Several of those interviewed, stated they smell alcohol on the breath of the physician. Hello! Smell the coffee, or in this case the Kahkua. I would never agree to undergo surgery from someone who smells of alcohol. Where is common sense? Complain to the state Medical Board about behavior or results from surgery. Doctors do have their licenses suspended when there is evidence that alcohol or drugs are impacting their medical decisions. But there are many physicians who seek help early before patient care is impacted. Doing away with these confidential programs will often delay treatment until compromise of patient care is more widespread.

I agree that doctors have the right to seek private help for any addictions that they may have. In order to make such a program work while protecting the patient, the doctor should receive the help they need privately with paid leave if entered voluntarily. However, if found operating under the influence of a controlled substance that person should be removed immediately and faced with criminal charges. A program like this would work if the given hospital cared more about the patient than the dollar figure.

Many patients have complications or infections after surgery. That is a known risk. Patients with cancer have a poor immune system and are more prone to all kinds of infections. Their complications may not be related to the physician's addiction or it may be. It is always a complicated problem to assign blame when a complication occurs. The answer to this problem is not to relinquish the privacy of physicans. They are people and do not want their confidential medical care published as it is against federal HIPPA laws. The American public wants excellent medical care yet they treat physicians with little respect and always blame doctors when there is a problem and the lawyers want to make money. Soon the American public will have to seek their medical from their lawyers.

I was victimized at a hospital, being totally blamed for malfeasance perpetrated against me by this hospital/ their medical professionals. Now I see this story. I have been trying to get some help to OPEN up people's eyes to what's going on unethically/illegally with us patients.

God only knows if any of the medical professionals within the hospital I was in, have the same hidden secrets about alchol/drug addiction, etc. From personal experience, I know this hospital and their medical professionals were shielded from their wrongdoings, despite PROOF I had acquired. The horrible thing is that, even with physical proof I had, these people still get off and have the audacity to still retain practicing their profession(s). I don't know of any other kind of business/profession where they are so well protected/guarded, by state regulatory agencies, elected state officials, and yes, even law enforcement. It is so scary when a patient knows the truth and no one will listen an realize he gravity of what I have uncovered.

In my case, I had no knowledge of, nor any control over what was perpetrated [unethically/illegally] against my civil liberties/patient's rights, yet this hospital/their medical professionals were NEVER held accountable for admitted wrongdoings against me.
A physician and RN actually admitted they didn't know the hospital's policies where they work, they forgot to document. As far as I know, these two individuals are still working in this hospital. I totally fear for any person entering this hospital for medical services. I think this is beyond unconscionable, violating laws/hospital bylaws, hospital policies. Did anyone care? Absolutely not.

I guarantee you, it's a total nightmare when YOU are the person who's legal rights have been stolen, your bodily integrity invaded without any form of legal permission/consent, despite a state regulatory agency believing FORGERY also was perpetrated against me.
But did this agency also pay attention and do anything about this felony crime happening within a public trust, this hospital, against my rights? They denied the physician did anything wrong, yet explained how he was guilty of unprofessional conduct, violating our state's informed consent statute in a letter written to me. What insanity is this?
How is this kind of regulation "ensuring the availability of competent medical professionals", [this state agency's slogan]? This agency just filed my complaint away, hidden from the the public's right to know just as with this Dr. West, who is protected/shielded from revealing his particular serious impairment(s), keeping his "secret".

I nailed this hospital/their staff for wrongdoings, but they NEVER were the ones held to any kind of accountability. Believe me, when YOU become the victim of any form of unscrupulous, unethical, and/or illegal conduct, by which you are harmed/victimized by any impaired medical professional, then let's see how forgiving you are after the nightmares you are left to clean up after and deal with because of a [professional] person's impairment(s). The worst part is hearing the excuses to help the wrongdoer(s) escape their legal obligations, the constant denials of the truths you have uncovered.
The public has a right to know, especially when these medical professionals are dealing with people's bodies, their lives.
The excuse about them being allowed to not reveal their addiction(s) , staying hidden in the shadows, is sick and despicable.
When these medical professionals are cutting into patient's bodies, the patient has every right to know the truth and be informed [before it's too late].
Isn't it ironic how the patient is supposed to be totally honest with their physician, revealing anything/everything that could contribute to their health problem when seeing a physician. How is it considered different that a physician can hide any particular serious health problem(s) he/she might have?
Maybe, it would be the best thing, for incompetent medical professionals, to be exposed and not let them practice, until they can be honest with their patients. Maybe then this would be a means to alleviate posing a potential danger to the public's health, safety and well being, thus less there might be a lot fewer malpractice suits to deal with.

Adam

CNN doesn't have enough time to list all the other doctors like West in this country. He is but one representation of the complete failure of our governing body, "Medical Board," to protect patients.

I was a victim of a doctor who butchered me, not Dr. West but one in WV. I had a breast reduction and tummy tuck. the scar on my stomache is so deep if you look at me from the waist down you can't tell which is the front and which is the back.
To those of you that defend these doctors and it looks like a lot of you are men. Yes it was elective surgery but non the less I expected my surgeon to be sober.and competent. Drunk drivers loose their license, pilots are grounded so why are doctors any better? The only response I have for you folks is this, WOuld you want one of your kids going under their knife???? ANd to you men, if you had to have reconstructive surgery on your private parts(lol) would you prefer a drunk surgeon to do your surgery or a sober surgeon??? Well we women take just as much pride in our body as you guys do. Drunks are drunks whether they reside on skid row or in suburbia, and the consequences should be the same for all. I tried to find a lawyer that would take my case, searched all of WV and Ohio was told by a local attorney this doctor was at the time the only Plastic surgeon in the area and if a local lawyer would take the case he would be biting the hand that fed him because if he would later get a dog bite case and need a written deposition from this Dr. they would be plum out of luck. It is unfortunate but the Dr.s, lawyers and legislators srcatch each others backs and don't give a hoot about the ordinary citizens. Where has decency and common sense gone to????????????????

We don't think twice about taking the keys away from a drunk driver or the controls away from a pilot. So why do we even think twice about taking the scapel away from a doctor who is under the influence? If we would stop making excuses for alcoholics/addicts and let them take the responsilbity for their own actions, blog discussions like this woudn't be necessary. When was the last time you saw someone pouring the alcohol or drugs down an addict's throat?

Karen is right - Doctors do get away with murder. I am encouraged that my health insurance carrier, Blue Shield, is willing to take some steps to stop enabling irresponsible behavior by doctors and the CMA.

Very recently - March 2, a California doctor restrained me and severed two arteries in my abdomen while I was waiting in a check-in line at United Airlines. This violent retaliation took place after I had filed a complaint with Derek Shull, the security manager at Telluride Mountain Resort, that the doctor had lit up a marijuana pipe in a closed ski gondola. I had to escalate to the White House Council on Homeland Security just to get a police report and when I did , the name of the doctor was whited out. The TSA had surveillance tapes and a report of the physical injury by a security professional. These caused the United pilot to make a firm decision not to let the doctor board the plane based on the evidence, but I cannot press charges for one reason only - he is doctor.

Blue Shield understood how widespread the problem of substance abuse by doctors is and approved my medical expenses anyway; Bill Roepp, the head of the main drug testing company in Central San Diego told me that about ten percent of the doctors and nurses they test randomly fail and that MOST male nurses in Central San Diego have tested negative for substance abuse at least one time.

As long as doctors are able to get away with this type of abuse, the problem will continue and get worse. Thank you CNN for taking the time to report on this important issue.

Anderson,

I'd also like to call your attention to a movement that is rapidly growing across the country. It's called FAVOR (Faces And Voices of Recovery). As one of their basic tenants, FAVOR promotes and advocates recovery by citing the POSITIVE examples of people who have 'conquered' their alcoholism and addiction by getting into recovery and becoming productive citizens again.

We hear too much about the bad things impaired people do and it is refreshing to hear that it doesn't necesarily have to be like that. There are literally millions of 'FAVORs' out there who are incredibly happy and productive and can serve as role models for any of us, impaired or not !

There may be a chapter near you. We have four chapters in our state alone (SC).

Here's a doctor in Phoenix who has been busted 3 times. I reported him to his hospital, his medical director and the Arizona Medical Board for several years. You ask why. Because he killed someone who I love dearly and they covered up for him. They enabled his continued substance abuse. They knew all about it. His name is Dr Abraham Sayegh and works at Paradise Valley Hospital in Phoenix Arizona. Go to the Arizona Medical Board webpage, click doctor search, type in his name, look at his profile. They finally did an emergency suspension to finally protect the public. See the 3/7/08 press release, unbelieveable. Look at the PDF files under his profile. He's been an addict for 20+ years, going back to the state of new york. The hospital who covered up for him is owned by Morgan Stanley the investment banker. The hospital covered up cause it's bad business. How many people died in the past several years. How many people died prior to the loss of my loved one? Nothing was done to prevent harm. The hospital did everything they could to shut the family up. To keep them from talking. Dr Abraham Sayegh is a pprime example of why it should be a one strike your out policy. Families of the elderly at Ridgecrest nursing home, protect your loved ones.

For over seven years, Doctor Brian West has been a target and victim, suffering attack after unwarranted attack from those with neither shame nor conscience. Dr. Brian West is a great man, a wonderful and talented doctor, father, husband and friend. The stress and pressure he has endured and continues to withstand would crush most other men. Read the standingup4truth website.

Debbie of Denham Springs says this is all about frivolous medical malpractice litigation. We hear this BS from the medical lobby every time they're under fire. Doctors basically want complete freedom from any liability even when they kill or maim people. I've had it with this privileged elite class claiming they better than the rest of us and don't have to be liable for their errors.

Chuck Geerhart JD
San Francisco

The report by Anderson Cooper was very understated.
Dr. West who lied about his own credentials to patients, was a charming, confident physician who was highly recommended by other physicians.

In my case my oncology surgeon highly Dr. West. I asked the right questions, and was assured he was one if not the best doctors to perform a tissue reconstruction following my mastectomy. The same doctor who referred me to Dr. West later treated me like a leper who would not touch me and said I was Dr. West's problem and she would no longer see me. That was a common scenario for several other patients I spoke with.

Dr. West is only one doctor - because of the secrecy it is virtually impossible to find about others. I have, however, learned that there are many more. Early in 2008 I learned from a rehab center in Los Angeles that it has been a common policy for them to receive doctors from the diversion program after adverse surgeries resulting in harm to patients have been discovered.

There are a couple blogs stating that the doctors in diversion are removed from practice, and monitored closely by competent assistants. That is NOT

We all know that drinking and driving is a problem and that drugs, alcohol, and practicing medicine is a deadly mix.
In the past 27 years the California Medical Board FAILED 5 audits in their operation of the Diversion program. They didn't pass one. The Medical Board is responsible for their failures. And yet they have no consequences. They still have their jobs–yet patients have lost their lives. And doctors have been offered a compromised program. Where are the lawyers when the people of California need them? If this is how the California Medical Board operated the Diversion program what is happening in the other programs that this Board is charged to monitor? How safe are the patients they represent?
Informed consent is law. Patients are to be informed of what is going to happen in their surgery. Often they are not aware of who is actually performing the surgery and what condition this person is in.
What is the CNA afraid of? If it's truly okay for doctor's to practice and operate while in the Diversion program just inform the public. Let each patient choose for themselves who they want to trust with their lives. If the CMA is correct in their statement–the truth should not affect the doctor's patient load whatsoever.

Another one sided story. Dr's shouldn't have to make their personal life public to their patients. Medical records are confidential. Maybe patients should have to disclose if they have ever sued anyone. Doctors should have a choice not to take a patient who is sue happy.

To all those defending these doctors: Let me ask you a question. Would you get on a plane if you knew the pilot was an addict? I didn't think so. This is the same issue. Well, maybe it's a little different – here the addict can only kill one person at a time instead of hundreds.

EVERYONE PLEASE READ:

First of all we must need to be clear on a few things here, #1, a doctor should of course be held responsible for any LEGITIMATE botchery performed whether under the influence or not! From the sounds of it, this doctor may just not have not been a great surgeon and it could have nothing to do with his alcohol problem. #2, you cannot throw the baby out with the bath water, i know many many incredible human beings that i would absolutely trust with my life who are RECOVERED or RECOVERING alcoholics, unless you know someone personally or have professional experience in this area, you really cannot make a credible judgement! #3, Doctors are people too, who have problems and struggles in their lives, noone is perfect, and while to some degree they should be held to a higher standard than maybe your average joe, they should still be given every bit of a chance to make the right choice and seek help and be treated like just like everyone else!!!

Finally, I do feel horrible for the people he may have harmed while a practicing alcoholic, there is no excuse for it if Dr. West indeed was operating under the influence, but like many have said before and please try to understand this, there is a HUGE difference between someone who is actively in addiction or substance abuse and someone who has been sober for say 10 years or even someone who as been sober for 2!!! You simply cannot turn this into a one size fits all model, it is completely irrational and totally untrue!!!

To the doc's in recovery, keep it up, you know the truth and know how lives can be completely transformed in recovery!!! The public needs to know this too though, you guys are probably the best doc's out their and able to sympathsize 10 fold more with your patients!!!

As a recovering physician, this was a disturbing news program to watch. This piece brought up many feelings and thoughts for me. God willing, I will have 5 years of sobriety and RECOVERY in April of this year.
NO physician who is impaired, whether as a single event or an ongoing history, should be allowed to practice medicine. This being said, diversion and physican recovery programs do work. I was glad to see that the 80% success rate for physicians in such programs was mentioned. Physicians do recover from addictions and return to successful practice. I agree with B. Wilson's posting on the requirements of a diversion program, because I must live with them everyday. Submitting to these requirements is a testament, for me, to my professional obligations and to my obligations for being a better person. These requirements are bittersweet, but they do help me maintain my sobriety and recovery and have allowed me to become a much better physician and person.
I feel that a distinction between impariment , active addiction and recovery must be understood. In my mind, impairment is simply being under the influence of or recovering from the effects of mood altering substances. Here again, this can be transient or ongoing. Addiction refers to the continued use of substances (here alcohol & drugs) despite negative consequences, i.e. personal, professional, legal, financial, etc. Aside from the physical and psychological characteristics of addiction, it is a disease of the spirit. Recovery is the process of not only getting and staying clean and sober, but also a healing of the spirit. It is process of examining the what and why of the past, amending what has occurred (if possible), taking responsibility for the self, and moving on as a better person. I sincerely hope I have enbraced these aspects in my own recovery.
I wholeheartedly agree that physicians are people too. We should be allowed to prosper and perish from our actions just as any other person would. However, we are held to a higher standard of conduct by virtue of our training and skills. Is this fair? Frankly, I'm not smart enough to figure this one out, but it is part of the package of being called a physician.
There is so much that can be said on this subject. What happened to Dr. West's patients, if because of his alcohol use, was and is tragic and without excuse. Nothing has ever brought me to my knees like addiction, and nothing has been as uplifting as recovery. The public needs to be protected from physicians in active addiction. Physicians in active addiction need the chance to recover if they so desire. This is but a brief glimse of one recovering physician's thoughts.

A few years back my doctors were found liable for medical fraud and concealment. AB2571 was then signed into law born out of my medical nightmare. My story came out this year in my book titled, Taking a Stand.
Just as my doctor's committed fraud and concealment–I feel that the Medical Board of California has taken part in concealing a condition that could compromise health care through their Diversion program. I was lied to, so has each patient who goes into surgery believing that their doctor is at his best, not using or intoxicated–trusting that the Medical Board who is charged to protect them–was doing so. My medical records were altered, a year removed. Not until my doctor confessed his mistakes 10 surgeries and 15 years after the fact did I know there was a problem. Yet the California Medical Board has known all along of the failures in operating their own Diversion program. It was not until the patients seen tonight went to speak at a Ca Medical Board meeting and the media got wind did this board vote to end this nightmare.
Now we must look forward in how to both protect patients and provide a situation for doctor's to get the help that they need. Any ideas?

Dui and any arrest are public record.. ..Please check your doctors' record in public records under civil and criminial case index in each county he/she works in.

Karen

You're right. Sadly, doctors are treated differently than you. Doctors who abuse drugs or alcohol are treated differently than any other citizen. Why is this? They take the "HIPPOCRATIC OATH," to first do "NO HARM," to who????? To themselves or to the Patients?

They should be suspended from practice, until they can prove SOBRIETY.....read and judge for yourself.......

Google..."Arizona Medical Board Hands Off Approach to relapsed Addict Physician is endangering Patients"

Ok ...so the wife said she could smell alcohol on his breathe? Was this after she learn about the DUI's 20 YEARS AGO! ? Even so....why would someone in their right mind continue to be treated by a doctor like this...I dont believe her or what she said to her husband. Unless she is a complete idiot along with her husband for not doing anything about it, i wont believe it. I think shes looking for someone to blame because the treatment didnt go as well as she expected. The doctor settled in court because he knew he had a history and there is nothing he could do about that, but people change. I mean, what would we do without doctors. Im sick of hearing about all these stupid mal-practice lawsuits. Nothing is guaranteed in medicine, so do your homework and never lose hope.

In America, if you get a DUI, your life OVER? It's a misdemeanor, NOT a felony. Try getting a job with a DUI. The stigma behind it is incredible. It's haunting.

For those who drink and drive, YOU are lucky. You just haven't got caught. You know who you are. Yes, YOU!!! A couple of cocktails for brunch. A couple of drinks at happy hour. A couple of drinks at the game, the bachelor party, the baby shower, the wedding, the graduation, the funeral. A couple of drinks on Friday after work, on July 4th, on St. Patrick's Day, on Memorial Day, on Christmas Day on New Year's Eve.

If ALL the people who drove above the legal limit were actually caught, there would be millions of arrests, millions of people with DUIs on their record.

I would love to see a Senate Bill enacted where EVERY SINGLE person filling out a job application would have to take a polygraph test and have to answer the question: Have you ever been drunk while driving a motor vehicle? Do you know how many people would fail? Most members of Congress. Most teachers. Most doctors. Most university graduates. Most actors. Most fire fighters. Most police officers.

Are you kidding me?

How about CNN doing a story about HOPE? Showing the people who have had DUIs in the past who do incredible things at work and with their career. Just because you have a DUI, doesn't mean that you can't function in society.

Love to hear more comments about the repercussions of a DUI and how it affected YOUR job.

It appears CNN is not in the business of filtering misinformation about "Addict Doctors" in this country today. Maybe the Truth is not as much fun as is a partial Truth...or even a lie. Most can't tell what is real and what is CNN today, we know, too. What was told, and directly inferred, is entirely incorrect...and I am a A & D Treatment Physician...as far as the vast majority of "Recoverying Physicians" in this country so goes. CNN may need to learn, like most folks, how to seperate emotions from facts when dealing with deadly serious issues – like "Addiction". But emotions drive most media today, without question...so you can easily figure this one out.

Of course, No one wants an "active alcoholic" or "addict" practicing medicine – of any kind, any where, much less doing "Surgery" (which makes for a more sensational splash of a story), of course. On the other hand there is a 180 degree (not 360, like Anderson Cooper believes) difference between those practicing Recovery for their Addiction vs. so few refusing to get help while steaming on ahead in their disease, all alone. If the story about Brian West, MD is even true (and more than likely many parts were twisted to make the story emotionally juicy), then he needs to get into Recovery and discontinue practice until such time as he has been declared "very stable in Recovery" by his State's Professionals in charge of what should be a highly functional "Physician's Health Program" (or "Diversion Program")...and all will tend to be well. These Programs in all 50 States are the Savior of hundreds of thousands of Doctors and Patients, not the cause of these types of problems aired on CNN this evening! And if Dr. West just has difficulty operating – even on a good day (prior to ever having started drinking) – then Recovery won't help that problem, of course, and he should switch professions to Dermatology or Pathology or whatever. That, too, should be up to a proper oversight of peer reviewing professionals who have as their only goal the Oath they took to uphold the first and foremost priority in medicine: The Patient.

Speculation...all this is; no one at CNN apparently did the research to find out the truth about this difficult issue and emotional case. They probably wouldn't understand it if the Truth were placed in front of them on a silver platter; most don't understand "Addiction" as it is a most Elusive & Tricky Disease...yet, most aren't out broadcasting emotional misinformation over the air waves, as well, are they? Journalists need to be accurate, not just emotionally sensational. That concept (i.e. Truth) seems to have been lost inside this nation years ago, unfortunately. Certainly all of the Prime Time News Shows don't care one iota about it, apparently. Putting together such an inflammatory piece of misinformation full of slamming twists toward all "Recovering Addicts" unlike anything I've ever seen on TV before, is total hogwash and an embarrassment to what CNN ought to stand for. The part where it all centers around a "Doctor" seems to make it all O.K. to do – for the safety of the public, of course – whichh is so inviting for the nightly bashing CNN is so known for doing, to someone.

Get a grip Anderson. You're way out of bounds on this one. You owe your viewers an apology...when you are able to know the truth about this particular issue. Go interview the professionals at Atlanta's "Talbott-Marsh Recovery Center". They can give you some proper truthful information about the disease of "Addiction" you just misaligned for the nation!

Dr. West is a disgrace to medicine, plain and simple. The California Medical Board is a disgrace in protecting the public. My wife died from a stem cell transplant in Dallas and the major hospital that provided her care blew dust and dirt into her room while she was totally immune compromised. They overdosed her on Tylenol time and time again, and presented an exhibit of faulty and complacent care and lack of protection that could have been improved upon in any third world country. I truly believe she would not have been in any greater danger had they treated her in a bed set up on main street in downtown Dallas. Her care was truly that bad. Her treatment cost the insurance company a fortune, but it cost my wife her life after 74 horrible days of suffering. Our healthcare in this nation is a disgrace. In most cases the healthcare facilities fight every step of the way to keep from implementing treatments and programs that could help save and protect patients, if it affects in any way, their bottom line. The hospital that killed my wife is an example and Dr. West is an example of the type of physician that is heartless and has no concern for any person except himself. I applaud every patient advocate out there for working for change because our government will never get it accomplished for us. I hope all of us take our nation's medical meltdown seriously, for we may someday suffer as my wife suffered, or be placed under the knife of a man like Dr. West, without even knowing what a druggie and butcher he is. Heaven forbid. We know for certain the state won't inform us about him. They just keep letting him cut away, probably stumbling around the entire time. Physicians, or nurses or any other medical caregiver are entitled to treatment for addiction, but they should absolutely be forbid from treating patients until their treatment is proven successful and their presence in the healthcare setting no longer presents an endangerment to innocent lives. There are good doctors and even good hospitals, but there are far too many who don't care about patient safety in the least. That is why we need protection. Sadly, the states and the Federal Government will never give us that protection until our voices are too powerful to be ignored. Your safety and your life is at stake whether you comprehend it or not.

The kindest words I can use to describe tonight's presentation are "tabloid journalism at its best." As a physician in long term recovery, I was very disappointed at the absence of rational, informative discussion about addiction and recovery. An excellent opportunity to inform the public was squandered.

As others have pointed out, virtually no diversion program begins without the subject undergoing extensive evaluation and treatment of some kind. No physician in rehab is allowed to practice medicine. Reporting of impaired physicians by those professionals working with him is extensive and effective, and, yes, once a physician is in good recovery, he's more than qualified to resume his/her career. In the many years since I resumed mine, most all of my long term patients became quite aware of my history. It was also quite public on the State Medical Board's website.

Mr. Cooper, you flubbed this one badly.

The report tonight by Anderson Cooper was very constrained. The problem is much worse than people could comprehend. What is really going on is more than we can accept as possible as noted in several blogs.

Dr. West is not alone. There are many more in the diversion program who belong beside him. Because of the secrecy, it is virtually impossible to discover them. The patients who are harmed are told they are the only patient they have had a bad outcome with, knowing there are risks, we believe this.

I believed I was just an unlucky percentage of bad outcomes. Later I found out I was far from unlucky, I was one of many. In fact my doctor continued to encounter the same bad outcomes, identical to mine, over and over again. When I was near death, I begged him to never let another patient go through what I did. Promise that he would never again let an infection go untreated so long. But after me can Ken's wife. Our outcomes nearly identical. I barely survived. She died. How did Ken allow him to operate after his wife said she smelled alcohol? Surely it was a mistake, or certainly not a signal that he was a bad doctor. We put a higher trust in what the doctors tell us. We don't want to believe they would be negligent with us.

Surely, if they were negligent or troubled with drug or alcohol abuse, their colleagues would report them? Not if their fellow doctors are concerned about being judged by their own use of alcohol. Why don't the doctors value their own reputations more. Just like some criticisms here, we don't want to be putting the good doctors in the same barrel as the problem ones. I don't understand the blind protection and disbelief of criticism against doctors.

My oncology surgeon gave the highest recommendation for Dr. West to perform a tissue reconstruction after my mastectomy. I did not consider this a personal whim for physical perfection. To me it was essential. I asked the right questions and researched as best I could the reputation of Dr. West. He was a charming, confident doctor who lied about his credentials, but was still recommended without hesitation.

After the surgery at some point when my condition went south, that same referring oncologist told me I was Dr. West's problem and would not see me further. In fact no other doctors would see Dr. West's patients so we had to continue seeing him for infections and multiple attempts at corrective and/or life-saving procedures. Not all of us lived.

The California Diversion program's focus is to leave the doctors in practice. They do not require them to reduce or discontinue practice no matter how many complaints have been made against them. The doctors, who are ill, are creative and effective in fooling the monitors they do get. If it was a contest, the doctors are ahead and the program is claiming success when there is no success.

How many patients should be allowed to be disfigured and die? I like Ken's wife was not able to get the follow-up chemo and my cancer metastesized. It could not be put in remission. I struggle to live with the side effects of chemotherapy, the pain of the cancer, depression over the massive scarring, while my doctor continued and continues to treat patients. Patients he treated in Los Angeles in 2008 well after the Medical Review Board and the Diversion program was informed of the existence of a high incidence of bad outcomes by this doctor.

Still in Diversion, still protected unknowing patients were harmed. When I found about the process for notifying the Medical Review Board about my doctor's negligence, I presented a claim. Even though an expert for Medical Review Board reported that my doctor was so negligent he should not have been performing the procedure, my claim was dropped after the statute ran while being processed and under control of members of the California Medical Association. That, too, is business as usual. How do bad doctors keep their licenses in the face of gross negligence whether by reason of drugs, alcohol, mental disease or poor abilities? THEY ARE PROTECTED.

They are people, people with imperfections, people who take lives in their hands. Some bloggers seem to propose we should allow drivers who mangle and kill while driving under the influence to be allowed to continue to drive before completing rehab. We shouldn't take their licenses. They need to drive to provide for their families. They might be truck drivers, bus drivers, airplane pilots after all. They need to continue to drive, but we take their licenses. Nurses are not allowed to keep on the job while fighting their demons.

I agree with one comment - it's hard to figure whether they are better in surgery while intoxicated than hung over, or in a hurry to get their next drink or fix. But doctors in diversion are ill. They do not make good decisions. They should not be given a free license to kill.
Most of the doctors, admitted by the CMA, nearly all in the diversion enter to avoid a punishment after something causes them to be discovered - such as a DUI. THEY DON'T ENTER TO GET HELP. THEY ENTER TO GET PROTECTION.

I'm not sorry that I do not consider doctors more valuable than patients. I believe patients have a right to competent medical professionals to treat them. Doctors should take more pride in their own profession and help weed out compromised doctors instead of adding to the problem.

There is a Senator in California who is working toward re-instating a Diversion program with the same guidelines and secrecy of the previous failed program. Within the guidelines of the Diversion Program there are no considerations made to check on how well the doctors are performing while under their protection - no patient protections of any kind. It's all about protection for the physicians.

If I was caught driving under the influence, I would sure like to have a program like that to protect me. Doctors have two licenses. One to practice medicine and one to kill and injure. No one can find out about negligence by doctors in Diversion - not even a warrant from a court can force negligent acts to be revealed.

"Ken Mikulecky, who is working with West's former patients and the state attorney general on a petition to have his license revoked, is convinced his wife would have had a better chance of surviving had her doctor not been an addict."

So, lets say a doctor lost a leg in the war, has recovered and now is practicing medicine with a false leg. Would Mr. Ken say then, my wife would have a better chance of surviving had our doctor had both of his real legs....pleeeeease.

Better example....we should just fire every doctor that smokes...sheesh why not..? thats an addiction isnt it...?

This is absolutely crazy. It is funny how we have double standards. As a Nurse if a use or abuse drugs or alcohol not only do I lose my job I lose the ability to work as a nurse in any state. Why should we require and expect less from MD's. They are human too and obviously with faults.

This article is trite. People have infections after surgery. It's listed as a risk. Everyone thinks that medicine is perfect and nothing will ever go wrong. And no one should ever have a bad outcome. There are less talented surgeons, there are brilliant ones and even the brilliant ones will at some point have a bad outcome. This man's alcohol treatment had zero to do with this woman's wound infection. It's sad that some smarmy lawyer's dirt slinging attempts to link the two. People on here seem to think doctors make all sorts of money and "get away with murder". I would like someone to walk in the shoes of some of us who work 80 hours a week with poor reimbursement (not plastic surgeons) and 100k's of student loans who never see their families, who miss funerals and weddings and their children's events all to have ideals of helping humanity and healing the sick... and then people on here who think "we get away with murder" and have mistrust because they read tripe like this and all the other sensationalized events of a few bad examples hyped up by the media. It makes me sad.

DR. WEST DID MY SISTERS BREAST IMPLANTS LAST SUMMER AND SHE HAD A GREAT OUTCOME. WE FIRST SAW HIS BUTCHERING ON THE FOX SHOW MIKE AND JULIET IN LATE DEC AND WE WERE VERY SURPRISED. IF WE WOULD HAVE KNOWN THIS ABOUT HIM, WE WOULD HAVE NEVER HAVE GONE TO HIM. SO WE CALLED THE OFFICE WERE SHE HAD THE PROCEDURE DONE AND THEY ACTED AS THEY HAD NO IDEA DR WEST HAD A PROBLEM. (HE LEFT THAT PRACTICE IN LONG BEACH IN SEPT 07)
AND NOW HES PRACTICING ALL OVER ORANGE COUNTY AND BEV. HILLS....

There is a lot to be depressed about in this piece, but I have to agree with others that its sensationalist nature is the most troubling. Let’s face it though… as long as we continue reading and watching, we can expect more of the same. I have begun going to the BBC more frequently and have appreciated the balanced, grounded coverage that I find there.

I had a plastic surgeon misposition my permanent breastimplant! It was situated under my arm, below the arnpit. He was not the least bit unset about it and got nasty when I asked why it happen. He told me he sees 50 people a day and why do I think he cares. When I wanted to sue no local lawyers would take the case. By the time I did get a lawyer,my dostor records had been altered. The first lawyer I saw said he knew the doctor and had consulted him on other malpractice suits. With altered records I had no case except for a new doctor who won't talk. Medical professionals are a close knit community. One won't trash another. There is no safeguard for patients! I applaud the lady who sued and won. I know how a bad surgeon can practice and not be held responsible. Drunk or not, doctors should be a held accountable for their surgeries.

Once again, Randi Kaye's piece is brilliant.
As a fromer journalist, I am always conflicted with the response of fools, like some of thse on the blog, who do not see the simple truth.

Drunk or stoned doctors should not be doctors. Period.
They should have their licences revoked. Period.
If they want their license back......I would want to know that they lost in in the first pace.
Then they must prove to us they are worthy of the job and the significant income they earn.
They should be sued when they screw up. Period..
This abuse must be exposed. Period.

When someone has a scalpel in their hands...there must be zero tolerance.

Edit this as you wish.

Randi....excellent work.

I know personally of a best friend that died of cancer in terrible
needless agony as her husband (a doctor) would not let the
hospital give her prescribed medication (if he was around) to ease
her pain. We, her friends, and nurses gave her as much as we
could when he went for drugs to support his addiction. By the way,
he was a neurosurgeon who was not practicing because of a
terrible surgical mistake. Also, my mother had a doctor (0ncology)
who was an alcohalic and the other doctors covered for him!

For two centuries, practicing physicians have been regarded as folks who were godlike. They know science. In Jesus fashion, they cured common ailments. In the last century, they engaged in price discrimination at their own volition to treat poor patients at the expense of the rich patients based (presumably) on the hippocratic oath and the need to make ends meet.

Medical pracxtitioners above nurses no longer have that respect from me, and have not for a long time. Their incompetance is empirically revealed every day in the news, and by the risk premiums on malpractice insurance that they so bemoan. Their economic profits (above and beyond opportunity cost, and which represent an aribtrary income transfer from either patient or government to them) are well revealed in any inspection of their incomes or any empirical study of same from serious economic analysis. Their priviledge in society, based n 100 or 200 year old legend prevails or we would not be reading this article and learning that they are performing "surgery" and are not serving time. But the big thing is that they killed my mother via incompetence . . . . I regard the medical profession as one beneath contempt for their arrogance, lack of attention, and their lies.

I will die before seeking medical attention ever again.

Let's consider, for one moment, the laws regarding pilots of passenger air crafts; if pilots are caught under the influence of alcoho or – their license will be revoked – why? because the lives of people are in their hands. The same laws should apply for doctors who perform surgery under the influence of alcohol!

I am one of the patients on the show tonight. Some have asked "why it focused" on this one Dr? Well, that is because all 6 of us and Becky and many others ..were all hurt by this same man. Who else do we focus on except the man who hurt us? Whether or not he was actually drinking at the time of surgery, NONE of us would have chosen this man with a "history" of drinking problems...had we known. Why not? Did you see our scars, do you feel our pain, disappointment, and anger at the way our bodies look and feel? Would you choose this man? This story was not about just the diversion program and it's failure of all 3 audits, ..it's about us and what he did to us. We ALL got massive infections..why? He needs to be stopped. What if it was you?

I have a family member who is a practicing physician and had a drug problem. Sadly, after her addiction came to light, lawyers began calling all of her patients looking for people who might want to sue her. Eventually they found someone, of course. Fighting this bogus witch hunt has nearly cost her her sanity.
On a side note, to cut costs, Hospitals use sleep deprived residents for cheap labor. These physicians are often more impaired from sleep deprivation than ones who just popped a vycodin. This leads to far more medical mistakes than this more sensationalistic topic you are discussing.

Does anyone think that maybe this guy is just a bad doctor regardless of the alcohol abuse? He ought to be revoked of his license to practice (which he will be after the great story on 360).

As a registered nurse I would like to express my shared disapointment in CNN in the way it portrayed the story of the surgeon who attempted to recieve help for his problem. Fortunately, he had the bravery to recognize and attempt to seek treatment for his problem. Unfortunately, he was not a skilled surgeon, whether or not this is related to his addiction could turn into a heavy debate. Instead I would like to discourage the stigma associated with drug/alcohol addictions, leading many to mislable and mistreat those suffering with these problems. Furthermore, if the notion is that we draw the line on privacy rights when it affects someone else than we need to make transparent teacher's histories, police officiers histories, elected officials histories, air traffic controllers histories, and any one else who is a stakeholder for the saftey of others. This would be a hefty list to deal with, and a can of worms we don't want to open.

I actually find it pretty horrifying that this story makes the insinuation that patients should have the right to know if their physician is being treated for some kind of addiction. The way the article keeps saying, "...and they didn't even know their doctor was an addict!"(insert gasp here) seems to suggest that the patients should have been offered that information.
I agree wholeheartedly that a board of some kind is necessary to oversee physicians and ensure (as best as they can) the doctors are fit to practice. And, if the doctors in this article were impaired when working with these patients, they should certainly meet justice. But, if... IF the complications from these ladies' surgeries are not the result of some binge, but rather one of those awful things that "just happen" – it sure won't matter to these doctors named in this article. Surely, they've now got quite a negative connotation with their names. Maybe even put them out of business. A person can be a recovering addict and work to their full ability.
The story here is so much more that people want to shut down the assistance program rather than recognize its deficiencies and correct them. These doctors who are high at work ought to be suspended. But, there should be tools available to better monitor our doctors, not fewer tools!
Still, it is highly improper to ask the medical experts in our society, our doctors, to reveal their own personal struggles. Particularly if the doctor has been properly deemed to be in recovery. We should encourage our health-care professionals to seek treatment for addictions and to continue with support programs. There is so much access to prescription meds that it should be a less taboo topic for doctors to seek help with.

it's all good. House MD pops Vicodin like 7 times a day and ends up saving lives.

WOW! What a tragic tale. I am really wary of those plastic serguns. Even guys like that nice Dr. Rey on Dr.90210 I think might take a snort or two once in a while–or maybe it's too much Kung Fu, but something about him really scares me.

I applaud the physicians and nurses who posted on this blog. I am a psychologist, and I also interact frequently with members of the health care system.

Like the nurse who posed, I noted the sensationalistic aspect to this report, particularly on the part of Mr. Cooper. I also noted that, while the reporter for this story acknowledged that no nexus had been found between the addiction of this physician and his surgery outcomes, Mr. Cooper did not seem to listen to this. There have indeed been problems with diversion programs in California, as there are with oversight of many other professions, many of which do impact human lives. It also true that substance abuse affects many professionals, and that physicians have the same right to privacy in treatment that other professionals have. If the addiction is shown to impact their medical performance, obviously corrective action is needed.

It may be a bit soon to accuse CNN of a global, anti-physician bias, but it is worth watching, because other issues will arise soon. Medicare and Medicaid (Medi-Cal) cuts are slated to occur very soon. Many physicians will simply be unable to afford to continue to participate in these programs, as many have stopped accepting managed care patients. Will CNN portray these decisions as the actions of greedy doctors, or will they "dig deeper," comparing the massive cuts in some physicians' earnings (up to 30% in some specialties) to the record-setting profits being made by the insurance companies? Will they interview the hardworking pediatricians who are now getting paid so little to administer immunizations that they can't cover the cost of refrigerating them? Will they talk to the hospitals that are in danger of closing because neither the state nor the insurance companies will pay them anything close to what it costs to deliver care?

Physicians as a group are often expected to behave in a superhuman manner, to be perfect all the time, and to produce perfect outcomes in patients. The fact that someone had a negative outcome does not necessarily mean that the physician committed malpractice, but physicians are frequently accused nevertheless. The vindication of the physicians in the John Ritter case underscored the fact that a bad outcome is not necessarily the doctor's fault, but the physicians endured years of litigation to demonstrate this. The vindication got one night's play on CNN, while "expose's" of bad doctors consume much more air time.

More health care issues are coming, and CNN has a physician on staff. Let's see if they can rise to the challenge to report health care stories in a manner that's fair to the people who are expected to provide care, and who are all to frequently attacked by a press that is too lazy to get their side of the story.

Great piece on Dr. Wess

Although I understand that people deserve a second chance, it is beyond me that doctors are still allowed to practice while in rehab. This is criminal and irresponsible by whoever allows this. i am shocked!

As an airline pilot, I can somewhat compare my job responsibilities with those of a doctor, we both have people's lives in our hands even if it is only one at the time.

I have to go through a flight physical every six months at which I am tested for drugs and my driving record has to be free from any DUI or DWI, if any of these is positive, I'm grounded on the spot and all my aviation licences and ratings are suspended.

Pilots are grounded during rehab which can last a year or more and can only come back to work after several tests.

Doctors in rehab for drug or alcohol abuse should have their licences suspended as well and not be allowed to practice until they have completed and graduated from the rehab program.

First of all, the reporter is pretty unimformed when she sits there talking about a persons alcohol problem, and then at the end asks the husband if he believes his wife died because the Surgeon was an Addict. An Addict is not the same as an acoholic and if she took the time to really be informed, then she may not have looked like a goof on National tv.

Nobody else would or could inform authorities that the DR. was intoxicated during the surgery. No the Anestesiologist, the partners of the firm or anyone else, yet the reporter made it sound as though there was evidence pointing in that direction.

I am a huge fan of privacy rights, so I do not believe that we have the right to know of someone elses problem. As it is setup with the Medical Board now, if a person is found to have committed negligence while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, they are for the most part excpet for rare instances, dismissed as a Physician and no longer allowed to practice medicine.

If a DR. is found guilty of Gross Negligence and is allowed to continue practicing medicine, they will have a black mark against their record which any smart patient would find if they inquired into the background of the Surgeon attending them by contacting the Board of Medicine for each state the Surgeon has practiced in.

I have had multiple surgeries myself,and I have done background checks on all of them. I dismissed one Surgeon as I had found 3 suits filed in 1 year, in a state the Surgeon had been practicing in just a year prior to my surgery.

The bottom line is, do as much research as you possibly can, and if you EVER have doubts, even if it is 5 minutes before surgery, call off the surgery and ask a friend or relative to investigate for you. If you feel your suspicions are correct, then you should contact the local Law Enforcement immediately so that they may have a chance to interview the Surgeon, or Dr. depending on the circumstances.

I too was a patient of a doctor whom I had no idea had problems. It almost cost me my life. During a routene tubal ligation he punctured my intestines 3 times. I complained, cried, begged after surgery for help to no avail. I was sent home to die. Thank God I survived.Loris Hospital in South Carolina disgusts me. Though I successfully sued the doctor, they never would own up to their failure to treat me. I got less than $10,000 from the hospital. I had to get a colostomy, subject to humiliation of having instruments inserted in me. I cried, whimpered with humiliation, but they were cold as ice. I suffer almost daily with irritible bowel syndrome now. I am scarred severely, and have almost no hope of ever having a normal relationship. They knew all about this doctor. I feel deceived by him and the hospital. It's been told to me that this doctor had substance abuse problems, but of course we have to prove it after they ruin our lives. Which of course is nearly impossible due to "their" cover ups..People before you decide this story is one-sided, think again. I almost died on my son's birthday. What about my kids, what about what they allowed my whole family to endure. It makes me sick that anyone would try to justify this type of patient treatment. Hospitals are not anything else, but big money corporations. I had to literally fight to survive this disgusting act of his, and my children suffered immeasurably. It is time for a change..Please keep doing these stories. There are many, many people out there who can be saved from inept doctors and callous hospitals. Go to your local courthouse BEFORE you let anyone do anything to you. Check their records, what you find might shock you. It was too late for me. When I did find out, it crushed me because what he did to me wasn't the first or second or third..Shame on the hospital for permitting this. All for the sake of MONEY.

It really surprises me that people would believe doctors are somehow better humans than the rest of the world. My husband was a welder with the Boilermakers Union. This union and any other has a very strict drug policy. If you get picked for a random drug test, which you don't get to prepare for, hence the word random, and you are dirty, you are automatically sent home from the job and you don't go back to work until you can satisy the drug requirements. Repeat offenders MUST finish a drug rehabilitation program before they can go back to work. Period.
Why would any doctor, who has actual lives in his hands, be allowed to operate until he completely satisfied the same requirements that a welder, crane operator or mechanic would. It is absolutely absurd we would allow addicted doctors to work simply because they have a right to make a living. So do the rest of us.

I should correct myself a bit here as it is 3 in the morning, and I have been up for almost 19 hours. An Addict defined is a person who has an addiction to a substance, or sulet's themselves be consumed by a substance.

I was talking from the point of view that I felt the Reporter was talking about narcotics and alcohol in the same view.

They are both different obviously, but they are both addictive and a person who cannot stop using is an Addict by definition so I apologize for my comment as to the reporter misquoting and being uninformed, as I just listened to her again on CNN.

I also find it ludicrous that some feel the patient does not have a right to know. How many of us "regular people" have to be drug tested when we apply for a job, and during employment. Yes, in most nursing homes, aides are frequently tested. Why on earth, should doctors be exempt. That higher than God attitude still exists unfortunately. Bet most of the people making those statements were never on the "receiving" end of these monsters. Yes, when you know you hurt people repeatedly, and continue to do so that is exactly what you are. I feel just like a stabbing victim. I know what it must feel like to be stabbed. Only thing I was stabbed repeatedly by a knife welding doctor....come on......he has the right to repeatedly stab patients...and perform procedures that he was never authorized to..come on..guess and I consider the hospital his co-hort in crime. In fact, I blame them more than him. Because I do forgive him, but will never ever forgive Loris Hospital. They are more despicable than him anyday of the week. Yes, he is human, he made more mistakes that I care to think about. BUT, THEY let him...........

I am a pharmacist and a recovering alcoholic and practicing. The story regarding Dr West, plastic surgeon, while shocking draws the conclusion that Dr West's skills as a surgeon, or lack there of, continues to be associated with his alcoholism. There a thousands of highly skilled health care professionals who sought treatment for alcohol and drug addiction and have returned to active practice. The questions in Dr West's case are his competence as a surgeon and and the lack of oversight by the licensing and cerification boards. Also, the monitoring program for physicians in California is clearly in need of renovation or transferred to another monitoring program with strict and verifiable policies and procedures. As noted in the news segment, between 80% and 90% of health care professionals entering recovery programs successfully complete the programs. It is not necessarily the programs that fail but the disease of addiction that wins. It is easy to conclude that public notification of a doctor's, or others, addiction will somehow reduce the adverse outcomes of incompetent skill levels. Impaired physicians will continue in practice and will not seek the needed treatment programs. They basically will go "underground" . The public is not well served either by removal of highly skilled healthcare professionals from practice or by not encouraging the seeking of treatment without fear of regulatory punishment. I am currently the president of the Pharmacist Recovery Network in my state. In just 4 years in existence, we have 30+ pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and pharmacy students in our program and over 90% have completed treatment programs and have returned to practice. The 10% that drop out of the program are then referred to the State Board of Pharmacy for disciplinary action or revocation of license. Without this program, most of our clients would remain in the shaddows and likely pose a threat to the public or themselves. The true risk is not for those who seek treatment; it is the those that remain hidden. I recommend looking at the Utah School of Alocoholism and Other Addictions as well as recovery programs in other states.

Doctor addictions is far more prevelant then reported, I believe. A self policing body like physicians has an incentive to "protect their own." In some states there's a "white coat" wall of silence that gives docs on drugs protection and hides their problems from the public. While the medical board does publich sanctions and agreements not to practice due to certain actions, they are often delayed long enough that the doctor can "get away" with their addiction and in fact nothing is revealed about whether the doctor should be allowed back to work or if he was even asked to take time off from work. This isn't surprising in a profession with so many people in leadership positions that counteneance affairs between physicians–some married and some not– in "on-call" room"s as sadly and accurately portrayed on "Grey's Anatomy." These same people when not having affairs, are worrying about how much money they are going to make and with the notable exception of some physicians who ask how they can do their jobs better , we are left with a highly skilled, trained group of people who have been given historically many freedoms that may endanger their patients. I think that even the unions that manage crane operators would respond more harshly to drug use by a crane operator (e,g,, "your fired and can't operate a crane"), and may even have a moral code about family that discourages affairs. In sum, doctors are just like everyone else, but because they are held up to be somehow special due to their trade, they are able to act as if they are immune to the concerns of the people they treat. Perhaps its the disconnect caused by insurance and physicians don't connect their livelihood to the people they treat and therefore they are less concerned about their patients? I don't know. I've learned that doctors are not to be revered or praised as highly skilled "life savers." they are people, weak, sometimes careless, and as able as anyone else to get drug addicted, get divorced, etc. As potential patients, we should expect that our physicians are that way until they an prove otherwise. It's potentially too costly an illusion to buy into otherwise. Please note that there are awesome physicians who are skilled in their art who are trustworthy, honest and deserve their rewards. Just as in any skilled trade where excellence can be found: electricians, plumbers, auto mechanics. Doctors are only different in that they can directly impact your health with a careless mistake whereas the others likely will leave you only with a light switcth that turns off/on the wrong light, a leaky faucet, and a car that still has the "check engine" light on. Put good doctors out there to trreat pepople, reward them, and stop drugged doctors from practicing. In general, have your eyes open. And feel free to ask; break down the wall of physician arrogance and push for answers if you have a questions.

I cant keep myself from commenting on this story. It is early on tuesday morning and I just watched this for the second time, irritating me even more. I just read nearly every comment on this blog, and I'm relieved to note that at least some of your viewers are not brain dead. This story was a hatchet job on a program which can only do much more good than nothing at all. Certainly any attempt to deal with addiction is controversial, but before we understand things we dont know anything about (as evidenced by the reporting) we should be cautious about judging. Does anyone not know about the Salem witch burnings/drownings? This doctor has apparently been able to overcome the active stage of his addiction and should be left out of sensationalized and disappointing tabloid journalism. I cannot express to you how sad to know that cnn would broadcast such crap. I have so much less respect for Anderson than before, and I think the interviewer should be transfered to cover the flower festival scene. Maybe she will uncover major wrongdoing there.

I am deeply saddened by what these patients experienced, but they certainly are not unusual complications. Taking a piece of stomach muscle and swinging it up to create a mound of flesh where the breast used to be is a major, major operation with the potential for many poor outcomes. The intestines bulging out into the skin is a hernia and happens sometimes after any operation on the belly. Scars by nature are never attractive. As a surgeon myself, I always tell my patients that surgery is a "last resort". Plastic surgeons who perform brest reconstruction are doing it to help women who desire this operation, they are not paid particularly well for it. In fact, it can be difficult to find a surgeon to do this operation as they would rather do much more lucrative cosmetic surgery. A doctor must be well trained, honest and never impaired while working – I think the vast majority fit this description. This story never mentions that the surgeon was impaired at work, rather he had bad outcomes from diffilcult operations. Maybe his mistake was agreeing to perform these operations in the first place. On a side note, a dear friend had a mastectomy after having breast cancer. She decided not have reconstruction, was back to playing tennis 4 weeks later, and even though she is now flat chested, is just as beautiful as ever.

It isn't the alcohol. That's the red herring here. If a doctor, nurse, lawyer, psychologist, etc. is performing badly (whether due to an addiction, lack of skill or lack of education) there is little chance that one of his colleagues will take action. Why? Defamation law suits.

A whistle blower is not protected and is, in fact, shunned and scorned. Unless you've been able to turn to an oversight agency regarding a bad practitioner without personal trauma, don't tell me that the system works. I certainly know better and have been living the nightmare of their revenge ever since I tried to protect my patients.

Would I do it over again? Yes. But none of the people who know my situation would.

Stick your head in the sand and try to stay out of it seems to be the message we are sending to Americans.

Look into the number of nurses in a rehab program. Nurses are the one's delivering medications with life changing consequences. I am a former RN and had a drinking problem. It took getting out of nursing completely for me to remain sober. I had to make that decision. The State Nursing Board continued to try and keep me in nursing, all anonymously, as they also did with hundreds of other nurses around the State.

It would totally amaze the public to know how many nurses are addicts taking care of their loved ones. 8000 doctors? 8000 is a drop in the bucket compared to the number of nurses nationwide who are addicts and alcoholics.

I recently saw a show about the death penalty and the doctor's first words were "First do no harm". It seems that this phrase can be used to hide behind or thrown away as needed. Perhaps it's the Medical Board that needs to be reviewed and what don't they understand about "First do no harm". I relise this particular physician is in rehab and under review by the Medical Board but when does gross incompetence become acceptable by any standards. I believe the Medical Board should ask themselves this question, "Would I want this physician to operate on someone I love"?, because this physician has and the results have been devastating.

Sadly, the program was sensationalist in nature and didn't depict the full story. There was no distinction between an actively addicted doc who was still practicing and a doc who is in recovery.
I question whether Dr West's errors had anything to do with his being a drunk. He may just be a lousy surgeon. It is terrible that these women suffered botched surgeries and delay in their cancer ttreatments. However, I don't think we have any idea whether he was impaired or just bad at what he does. I am so sorry for Mr M's loss, but who would agree to surgery if they smelt alcohol on their docs breath?
This may sound harsh, but the reconstructive portion of cancer treatment is elective. A good choice would be get the chemotherapy done first, and then do the reconstruction. For me, the choice between a reconstructed breast and being cancer free because I have had the chemo is easy – chemo first then breast.
Diversion programs are an excellent way to get impaired docs into ttreatment. Without a diversion program, these docs would be practicing un-monitored and that is a recipe for disaster. If the doc flunks diversion, (s)he should immediately be brought before the Physician's Board. The only difference between the diversion program and full Board supervision is that diversion is not public record, and Board actions are.
In fairness, how about a story about docs and other health care professionals who have successfully faced their addictions and now function safely, clean & sober? I would far rather have a physician who is in recovery than one who is still active in his/her disease.

I need to respond to the comment from TT. Sharon Mikulecky was my sister. I sat through surgery after surgery to try and stop the infection this doctor caused. Sharon also told me she smelled alcohol on Dr West's breath. I thought that her sense of smell had been ruined with the chemo she had gone through. Who could believe that a doctor about to perform surgery would drink first. Ok, doctors are human too, but I was brought up to believe we could trust these people. A product of the times I guess. How dare you say "another lie by Mr. Mikulecky!" I will just bet you never watched your loved one die. I did and it was NOT necessary for her to die. It is NOT a lie. These women are not vengeful, they will have these disfigurments for the rest of there lives, and all caused by the same man. Something is wrong here. Same infection, same scars..same doctor!

It is Absurd to allow a physician concurrently in REHAB to operate on patients....
To operate on an individual while in the process of LEARNING to control impulses that are as a result of the physician's addiction, is not only IMMORAL but should be a CRIMINAL offense.

Just like individuals with AIDS can be prosecuted for having sex with others, while knowingly being infected with the HIV virus, so should a physician be prosecuted for MURDER or attempted MURDER for operating on individuals while under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol.

I do believe that physicians can be rehabilitated, however this process should NOT be done while continuing to operate on patients.
The physician should be clean & sober for several years prior to the Medical Board allowing these rehabed physicians to operate.

Also, Just as people are NOT allowed to drink and drive.....Physicians should NOT be allowed to drink and operate!

Thank You ANDERSON COOPER for informing the public about the attrocities that still exist in the American societies...Change NEEDS to happen!

The Medical Board does not report malpractice lawsuits. We are not all lazy!!!
I checked the Board before my surgery. I am alive but I am worse than any photos I have seen. I since have found out about his lawsuits. There have been enough that the Medical Board should have them on their report. I will never be the same.

When an RN is chemically dependent, or has a relapse she will lose her license to practice nursing, also most likely will be charged with a felony, couple weeks in jail, probation for 10 years. Will be unable to work, has no income. There seems to be different sets of rules for people. I lost mine for 2 years. RNS do not operate on people, mostly dispense pills, etc. I think DRS should be held to a higher standard. But now days it seems the rules don't apply to some people, the higher on the food chain they can do what ever they want.

Thank you so much for th e story on the butcher. We are in Indiana and have a daughter who is the mother of three and has been unable to work for over two years. Getting blood transfusions every month and has had for the past year and a half. Over 45,00$ has been spent out of pocket due to a dr. who wasn't even licensed at the time and is still operating. She had a minor operation on a hernia repair and turn into he cut her bowel and left her lay for three days before operating again only to cut a vessel behind her heart causing blood loss. She has had three operations since trying to correct what he has done and could not have anymore until she is able. It has been a year and a half since the last one. She has now got Lupus from the stress of all th is and she has no vitamins or iron in her body she gets bags of them monthly also to keep her going with from 2 to 4 pints of blood. She can't eat without choking because now she has no saliva glands functioning. She has a law suit against this dr. and when ask why he gave her valuim after the first surgery he laugh and said I don't know just did. I think all Drs should be more closely check all of them. Money has something to do with it no doubt. This man couldn't even give the names of Drs he trained under said they were all dead. I pry that justice is done for all who are abused just because people in authority think that they are untouchable to me they should go to jail. THank you Keep up the great work. Mary Connell

I am really disappointed in the narrow view that Anderson Cooper has taken on this topic. The story was sensationalized so he could get viewers to watch. I am a recovering physician for the past 7 years have been sober and practicing medicine. Not only does he refer to recovering physicians as people with a dark secret but he fails to mention that 10 percent of the population has a drug and/or alcohol problem, including physicians, but did state that 1 percent of physicians are known to be in a monitoring situation. If he wants the other 9 percent of physicians treated for addiction this view has got to change.
The reality of the situation with physicians who are disciplined by medical boards is quite diferent then what was portrayed on the show. having been disciplined by several medical boards myself, if you google my name you will get my full agreements with all medical boards disclosing my previous medical, psychiatric history as well as all drugs abused and treatment centers attended for the whole world to view. When I moved to a new state( 4 years into recovery) an article was written about my history in the City paper again stating my whole past. Is this how we can get physicians to report drug and alcohol problems who desperately need treatment?? Think about it

I live in Michigan, am disabled, and nearly 2 years ago was sent by a contractor to my former employer, the state, to a doctor who did not even pretend to do an exam but was very aggressive and menacing. Of course, he found me miraculously cured of my disability and I lost that part of my income. It turns out that he did 5 years in prison here in MI for trying to kill his estranged wife with a claw hammer to the head, lost his license, then got it back because "it is in the public interest." He was still in the correctional system. He is employed by one of several "insurance consulting firms" in this state. He does not have to carry malpractice insurance as he, the insurer, and the state are all immune from legal action arising as a result of their actions. Doesn't matter if they tell the truth. I have since discovered that doctors from other states who cannot practice there, say for malpractice issues, substance abuse, crime, etc, can come here and get licensed. The licensing web site does not reveal this. I have heard multiple horror stories. The last doctor I was made to see is infamous in legal circles and he caused such a serious injury to my neck that I had to have very complicated spinal surgery and will have permanent loss and continue to deteriorate for the rest of my life. Have I had an apology or gotten my benefits back? NO. My neurosurgeon had a fit when he saw what happened. Can I do anything to hold them accountable, again no. By the way, the insurer got a bonus for stopping my benefits and it appears they have an ownership interest in these consulting practices. And the state does not check their references most of the time. Come to Michigan, Ms Kaye, you'll be stunned.

As an attorney who has both prosecuted physicians for a state medical board and defended health professionals in front of their licensing boards, I have seen both sides of this issue. The rationale for allowing physicians to participate in "confidential" rehabilitation programs is to encourage them to get the help they need.

However, in this instance, the State of California bears the burden of properly monitoring their physicians. In Texas, the Medical Board has rigorous requirements for a physician to be eligible to participate in a confidential rehabilitation program. Many do not qualify and are allowed to continue practice only under public orders. Random testing and other monitoring requirements are strictly enforced and the Board will temporarily suspend the license of a physician who is shown to be a continuing threat to the public.

@ one point, I thought I heard Randi say they couldn't prove this so-called surgeon was "under the influence" while operating. What in the hell difference does that make??? What I mean is, if he was sober and did that to someone it would be malpractice. No matter what the reason was, that guy should not be allowed to operate period. And it's pretty disgusting (to say the least) that noone around him had anything to say about this. Colleagues, nurses, etc?!

I remember an anesthesia resident that had a drug problem. I felt sorry for him. But guess what . . . he could not practice anesthesiology UNTIL he had COMPLETED his drug rehab and was READY to practice anesthesiology. You said this wasn't just in California, but surely there are differences in how drug problems are handled across the country. The example I gave is drastically different - maybe residents are treated differently, when it comes to this? I tell you one thing, when I saw that smug fill-in-the-blank on the TV screen, I wanted to reach in and hit him (hit him hard, to say the least) I caN'T believe this jerk is getting away with this!!!!! Kathy RN

Another one sided story.

To Karen (the last respondent):

I am almost hesitant to write this as I feel it wll not make any difference...but when you state things like "doctors get away with murder" it is extremely discouraging to the great doctors out there. Medical cases are complicated, sometimes having the choice of a bad outcome vs a worse outcome. And usually it never even comes to this. These doctors devote their life to medicine, and 99% of the ones I have met are not only incredible physicians, but also incredible people. When you make your allegations of "murder", it is sensationalist and reminds me once again that every case needs to be evaluated on an indiviudual basis. The science/circumstances around each case is so specific (did I mention that a non-peer jury usually finds in favor of the docotr???) But it saddens me when anyeone makes these outrageous generalizations. Good luck with your rehab. Was it a doctor that turned you in?

Biased sensationalism! Having a substance disorder is not the same as being incompetent!!!! Every profession has marginally qualified practitioners, but the assumption that a physician is “impaired” because s/he has a substance disorder is misleading/ignorant.

The story misrepresented what good physician diversion programs do. They do not protect impaired physicians. They keep physicians with substance disorders accountable. The California program was poorly managed. In diversion programs nationwide, if a physician is using alcohol or drugs, they are sent to treatment and NOT PACTICING. Once they have completed treatment and demonstrated the ability to maintain sobriety, they are allowed to return to work. Even then, they are required to attend some type of outpatient treatment, provide random drug screens, attend groups, have additional supervision and more. The success rate for physicians in diversion programs is much higher than the national average.

Would you rather have doctors hide their substance disorders? Don’t you realize this would likely increase the likelihood of patient injury? Wouldn’t you rather encourage physicians to seek treatment, get sober and return to work a better physician? The idea of not letting a physician in recovery return to practice shows how little is understood about addiction. Come on America, get educated. Learn the full truth before jumping to conclusions.

May I suggest that you fact check your reference to the "California Medical Association" as a "state agency." It's my understanding the California Medical Association is a statewide trade association for the medical profession, much like the American Medical Association is at the national level.
Hope this is helpful. Thank you for an excellent story.
Mary Ann

A few years back my doctors were found liable for medical fraud and concealment. AB2571 was then signed into law born out of my medical nightmare. My story came out this year in my book titled, Taking a Stand.
Just as my doctor’s committed fraud and concealment–I feel that the Medical Board of California has taken part in concealing a condition that could compromise health care through their Diversion program. I was lied to, so has each patient who goes into surgery believing that their doctor is at his best, not using or intoxicated–trusting that the Medical Board who is charged to protect them–was doing so. My medical records were altered, a year removed. Not until my doctor confessed his mistakes 10 surgeries and 15 years after the fact did I know there was a problem. Yet the California Medical Board has known all along of the failures in operating their own Diversion program. It was not until the patients seen tonight went to speak at a Ca Medical Board meeting and the media got wind did this board vote to end this nightmare.
Now we must look forward in how to both protect patients and provide a situation for doctor’s to get the help that they need. Any ideas?

Being a Professional does not end with the education. Due to the fact that peoples lives are in their hands, they are socially obligated to behave as a professional. If not, they are more than qualified for a lesser position as a nurse or a position with less responsibility.

Mr Cooper...I am a practicing physician "in recovery" which is a huge distinction from "in treatment"...I and many others like me are in recovery for years, practicing a very high level of medicine very safely. I now work with my state program to educate medical students and residents and to increase awareness of the disease of substance abuse, which includes eating disorders, gambling, etc.

10-12% of all folks in this country have or will develop a dependency on something or another in their lifetime, doctores included. What should scare the heck out of people is not the 1% of doctors that are actually getting the help that they need that you spoke about in this piece but the other 9% that are still out there, hiding and scared to get help. I would be more than happy to speak with you anytime about how the system really works with successes far outstripping the failures. If these physician (attorney, nurse, etc) assistance programs are disbanded, there will be a much worse and more dangerous situation than currently exists.

Perhaps AC360 should do a follow up where they show physicians that have successfully recovered w/the help of these programs and a few others in the medical field (RN's, hospital administrators, surgery board employees, etc) who may have different perspectives (or at least have different or additional information)

Medical Boards across the nation are co-conspirators to cover up the danger that a significant percentage of docs pose to their unwitting patients. I review medical records and do quality control and have to confront docs all the time. The Medical Boards and in many cases the state legislatures write the statutes to make it unnecessary for the Boards to report criminal wrongdoing to law enforcement agencies. Some docs, like the rest of the general public ,have serious and persistent mental illness which when combined with substance abuse makes them weapons of mass destruction. Patients think that there are controls in place to prevent this but there are precious few. BUYER BEWARE.