Allegations of racism
As if there weren't enough drama surrounding Nevada's medical industry and the government bodies that regulate it, Tuesday's meeting of the Legislative Committee on Health Care was dominated by allegations of racial discrimination in disciplinary actions and board appointments.
Dr. James Tate, a University Medical Center trauma surgeon and president of the Association of Black Physicians, told committee members that the state's political establishment conspires to keep blacks off the Board of Medical Examiners, and that the board unfairly targets black doctors with investigations.
"Black doctors are disciplined more harshly and for flimsier reasons than are white doctors," Dr. Tate said.
Regarding appointments to the Board of Medical Examiners, Dr. Tate said no black physician has ever served on the panel, and that "currently in the state, physicians are chosen based on their political contributions."
These are serious allegations.
But Dr. Tate offered not a single shred of evidence to support his sweeping condemnations -- not one bogus investigation, not one unjust disciplinary action against a black doctor, no campaign finance documents showing how current board members bought their way onto the licensing authority.
Still, the legislative committee ordered Board of Medical Examiners staff to crunch many years of disciplinary data, which are not broken down by race, and report back with their findings. Sen. Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas, went so far as to request disciplinary data for all racial groups.
Both the legislative committee and the Board of Medical Examiners are up to their colons in controversy following the outbreak of hepatitis in Southern Nevada as a result of reckless practices at the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada. The diversion of resources from investigations into this public health crisis to probe hearsay allegations seems questionable, at best, especially after Thursday's announcement that 77 people might have contracted the disease at the Shadow Lane clinic.
In fact, blacks have been appointed to the board. Dr. Beverly Neyland, a black pediatrician, is serving as a temporary member of the Board of Medical Examiners to investigate the hepatitis C outbreak. Board Executive Director Tony Clark told the committee that there have been at least two other black board members, although he believed both were public representatives, not physicians.
If what Dr. Tate has alleged is true, it warrants investigation. But let him produce evidence of such conspiracies before even more public resources are used to indulge him.
