News in brief - Jan. 27, 2003

N.M. doctors to cut patient hours - Australian doctor pledges to produce suicide machines - Tyson Foods sued for misleading consumers - OxyContin lawsuit dismissed - Two Florida physicians win award

N.M. doctors to cut patient hours

A significant number of physicians in New Mexico plan to cut the amount of time they spend caring for patients, says a survey by the New Mexico Health Policy Commission.

Survey results showed that 21% of the 3,300 physicians with active practices in the state plan to cut patient care hours this year. The physicians said administrative and regulatory burdens, the state's gross receipts tax and retirement were among the reasons for the reduction.

New Mexico is a state with chronic physician shortages, though it has just begun to approach the national average of 59 primary care physicians per 100,000 people, with a ratio of 57 to 100,000 recorded in 1998. Estimates for 2002 peg the ratio at 70 to 100,000. But health care officials are concerned that this potential gain in primary care physicians may erode as soon as it appears if physicians are finding it burdensome to practice in the state.

Beverly Russell, director of the New Mexico Health Policy Commission, said the survey did not track how many physicians are moving into the state, which could offset a reduction in patient care hours by physicians who took the survey.

And while the number of primary care physicians is edging higher, the state still has a shortage of specialists.

"We're close to what we need in primary care providers, but in specialists we've been down, and that has been the case for a number of years," she said.

The national average for specialists is 139 per 100,000 residents. New Mexico has 113.

All or a portion of New Mexico's 33 counties have been identified as medically underserved.

Australian doctor pledges to produce suicide machines

Australian physician and euthanasia activist Dr. Philip Nitschke said he would make another suicide machine after customs agents in Sydney confiscated the prototype for a carbon monoxide-inhaling device that he was taking with him to the Hemlock Society meeting in San Diego earlier this month.

Dr. Nitschke did speak at the meeting, however, and -- according to the Associated Press -- he called Jack Kevorkian, MD, a "hero" who moved the euthanasia issue forward.

Unlike Dr. Kevorkian's suicide machine, Dr. Nitschke's is said to be more mobile and can be self-operated, thereby circumventing laws against assisted suicide. Kevorkian was convicted of second-degree murder in 1999 and is serving a 10- to 25-year prison sentence.

Police in Australia raided Dr. Nitschke's office in August and reportedly took patient records, two laptop computers, CDs and drugs as part of an investigation into the suicide death of former cancer patient 69-year-old Nancy Crick. Reports said 21 people witnessed Crick's suicide, but Dr. Nitschke was not one of them.

Tyson Foods sued for misleading consumers

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine -- a nonprofit organization that promotes preventive medicine, particularly good nutrition -- sued Tyson Foods in December, accusing the company of misleading consumers when it claims that its chicken products are "all natural" and heart-healthy.

In its lawsuit, the group said the company uses antibiotics and that chicken is not heart-healthy. The lawsuit, which does not seek monetary damages, is asking for a change in advertising. Tyson Foods did not return calls for comment on the lawsuit.

OxyContin lawsuit dismissed

A California Superior Court judge in Los Angeles County in December 2002 dismissed an unfair trade case against OxyContin's manufacturer, in which a California resident accused Purdue Pharma of improperly and dangerously formulating the painkiller and failing to warn physicians and patients about its risks.

The person who filed the lawsuit, Gatherer v. Purdue Pharma LP, was not injured but wanted to restrict OxyContin marketing in California. The judge said a state court shouldn't decide an issue such as prescription drug marketing that falls under federal regulation.

In the past year, more than a dozen other lawsuits filed against Purdue Pharma for its manufacturing and marketing of OxyContin were also thrown out of court or were decided in the company's favor.

Two Florida physicians win award

Alvan Balent, MD, and Linda Civerchia Balent, MD, recently were honored by the Florida Board of Medicine as the 2002 recipients of the Chairman's Recognition Award. The award, established last year, recognizes and commends physicians who exemplify outstanding contributions to the medical profession and public service.

Drs. Alvan and Linda Balent are ophthalmologists in Fort Lauderdale. During the last 12 years, they have traveled worldwide to teach a small-incision cataract surgery procedure in developing nations, including those in Central and South America.

The husband and wife team has helped make cataract surgery accessible to people who otherwise would not be able to afford the surgery, the Florida board said. The surgical technique is cost-effective because it is a simple procedure that does not require sutures and it can be performed at a high volume with quality results.

"This board routinely deals with some bad doctors and some good doctors who make mistakes," said Board Chair Zachariah P. Zachariah, MD. "By presenting this award, we have the opportunity to honor physicians who are not only fine examples within their chosen profession, but who have gone beyond the call of duty."