Lyme Disease Patients Denied Treatment Following New 2006 IDSA Guidelines:

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Lyme Disease Patients Denied Treatment Following New 2006 IDSA Guidelines:

Connecticut Attorney General Launches Anti-Trust Investigation

Connecticut State Attorney General, Blumenthal, files a Civil

Investigative Demand (CID) in an unprecedented move following the October

2006 release of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) Lyme

Disease Treatment Guidelines that are already being used to deny Lyme

disease patient care. Under the new IDSA Guidelines, treatment is

significantly more restrictive despite an extensive body of medical research

that clearly documents persistent chronic Lyme disease and the benefits of

long-term Lyme treatment. The new IDSA Guidelines are being used as the

basis to deny medical care by physicians and deny insurance coverage for

treatment. A Lyme Rights Protest against the new IDSA Guidelines is

scheduled for Thursday November 30, 2006 from 12-3PM at Westchester Medical

Center/New York Medical College.

Ukiah, CA (PRWEB) November 29, 2006 -- In an unprecedented move, Connecticut

State Attorney General Blumenthal filed a Civil Investigative Demand

(CID) on the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) following the

October release of the 2006 IDSA Lyme Disease Treatment Guidelines. The

Attorney General is investigating possible anti-trust violations by the IDSA

in connection with exclusionary conduct and monopolization in the

development of the Lyme guidelines. " These guidelines may have a serious

anticompetitive effect, insofar as they prevent competing forms of diagnosis

and treatment, " he says.

The new guidelines deny the existence of chronic, infectious Lyme disease

and list as " not recommended " most of the conventional medical treatments

prescribed by physicians as well as alternative treatments often chosen by

patients. Even some nutritional supplements should not be an option, they

state. Dr. Cameron, a New York internist and Lyme specialist, worries

that the IDSA guidelines do not offer an answer for the thousands Lyme

patients left with a poor quality of life after their three- or four-week

treatment. " How can we, as scientists and physicians, turn our backs on all

the things we do not yet know about this complex emerging disease and its

long-term effects on individuals and our communities?long-term ef

Clinical guidelines from powerful medical societies, like the IDSA, now

determine the legal standard of care that physicians must follow in treating

patients. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) provide a link to the IDSA

guidelines on their official website. Many patients treated under IDSA

guidelines continue to be sick and disabled. The guidelines are being used

by insurers to deny treatment reimbursement and by medical boards to revoke

physician's licenses. However, patient advocates say that access to care

under the guidelines will be the central issue as the guidelines prohibit

the exercise of clinical discretion.

Lorraine , an attorney and the executive director of the California

Lyme Disease Association (CALDA), stated, " It is important to keep in mind

that these guidelines were drafted by a private medical society. This is a

private organization mandating matters of public medical treatment policy in

a restrictive, exclusionary and closed manner. " The IDSA refused to allow

patient or chronic disease-treating physician input into the guidelines

through the Lyme Disease Association (LDA) and the International Lyme and

Associated Diseases Society (ILADS), although both organizations requested

to be a part of the process.

According to the CDC, Lyme disease is the leading cause of all vector-borne

illness in the US. During the last twenty years, the annually reported

number of adults and children diagnosed with Lyme disease has increased 25

times, reaching 23,305 cases in 2005. However, under-reporting is generally

believed to be ten-fold.

CALDA joins the LDA in applauding Blumenthal's action. Pat , president

of the LDA, explained that since the 2006 guidelines claim that Lyme disease

is easily treated with 21 to 28 days of antibiotics, health insurance

companies use them to deny treatment reimbursement to people with chronic

Lyme disease who sometimes need extended treatment and patients nationwide

are having claims denied. " In the last two months I have received hundreds

of emails from patients and almost 18,000 people have signed our petition, "

she said.

The new IDSA guidelines do not acknowledge that complex bacteria like Lyme

disease spirochetes can survive in the body and the brain, evading the

immune system and short-term courses of antibiotics, nor do they acknowledge

any other professional diagnostic or treatment guidelines such as those

published by ILADS, which discuss chronic disease testing and treatments.

After the guidelines were published, ILADS requested their immediate

retraction, saying that the guidelines committee selected research that

agreed with their opinion and ignored opposing views. Of 18,537 articles

about tick-borne diseases listed on National Library of Medicine website,

the committee looked at only 400, the letter said.

" Many recommendations in the IDSA guidelines are based on the weakest

evidence, namely opinion rather than scientific fact, " said San Francisco

physician Raphael Stricker, MD, president of ILADS. " The guidelines will

make doctors afraid to diagnose or treat Lyme disease, and this chilling

effect will harm patients and patient care. "

A patient-run website called Lyme News summarizes the current crisis from

the patient perspective. They say the new IDSA Guidelines " guarantee people

will not be diagnosed and treated in time, empower insurance companies to

deny treatment coverage, and threaten your physician's ability to treat. "

They have organized a Lyme Rights Protest against the new 2006 IDSA

Guidelines at Westchester Medical Center/New York Medical College on

Thursday, November 30, 2006 from 12-3PM. Go to www.LymeNews.Thursday, Novemb

To review and/or sign the LDA petition, go to

_http://www.lymedisehttp://www.lymehttp://www.lyhttp://wwwhttp://wwhttp://ww_

(http://www.lymediseaseassociation.org/referral/Petitions/Petition.php?id=1.)

A copy of the ILADS retraction letter is available at

_http://www.ilads.http://wwwhttp://wwhttp_

(http://www.ilads.org/press_releases.html)

Choose October 25, ILADS Demands Retraction of IDSA Lyme Guidelines

About California Lyme Disease Association (CALDA)

CALDA, an affiliate of the Lyme Disease Association, is a non-profit

corporation that acts as the central voice for all tick-borne disease issues

in California and a supporting voice for national issues. Through advocacy,

research and education of the public and health care professionals, CALDA

seeks to prevent tick-borne diseases, encourage early diagnosis, and improve

the quality of healthcare provided to people with tick-borne diseases. CALDA

publishes the Lyme Times, a lay journal that is distributed nationally and

internationally. For more information, visit www.lymedisease.int

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