Complaint Review: Governor John Kasich - Columbus Ohio

John Kasich as a political soothsayer is a bit of a stretch.  Yet Governor John Kasich is who NBC's Meet the Press turned to as a RELIABLE political 'seer' recently (10/28/2012) - to predict Governor Romney's 'success' in the Buckeye State.  Governor Romney, as a political seer, is a bit like the witches in Macbeth - a theatrical device - but not very reliable except in the context of Shakespeare.  

Nothing about Kasich is reliably predictable - Kasich pledged/promised, and campaigned TWO YEARS AGO to 'fix' the problem of the widespread abuses at the State Medical Board of Ohio.  Two years into his Administration, he has done nothing but go after a handful of so termed 'pill-mill physicians' - who are hardly the problem in Ohio medicine - just the manifestation of the problem of the pain of 'bad orthopedic' results. 

Wrist fractures are badly handled in Ohio - all over the state - and this led to one woman physician's medical license suspension for reporting this problem after having experienced how things are done in Ohio - which is unlike in any other state.  That's just one of the fraud cases at the State Medical Board wasting taxpayer monies for nothing. 

With all the misused Medical Board 'investigation' monies, and case worker staff, Governor Kasich could have paid for the Ohio high-speed rail system without a penny from any 'Obama' incentive monies from the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 - ten times over it is estimated.  Ohio could really use that rail system to just help parents send their kids to Ohio colleges, visit them easily, and get them home easily (for Ohio State Football games if nothing else) - it would help parenting in Ohio, and help Ohio kids stay in Ohio for higher education.  Not everyone lives within driving distance of Columbus, or has the option of a Governor's mansion for free overnight stays.  

There are currently stacks of investigations of Ohio physicians with no patient complaints; complaints by colleagues for all the wrong reasons - jealousy from Medical School, competition, ex-spouse or formerly dated, to get out of paying the physician insurance monies, alimony - you name the excuse, it has been used in those states with 'confidential' physician complaint systems.  Not every Medical Board Member can see through this haze of complaints that can't be verified in any normal way.  This ruins lives in the meantime, and the ordering of a 6th-10th psychiatric evaluation - so that Philip Resnick MD can straighten out the 'psychiatry' of what is going on - is ridiculous.  Put Dr. Resnick on the State Medical Board to help the screening, the channeling, and the costs - but don't make physicians pay him for evaluations because no one on the Board has a clue about what is going on in a case.     

In 2012, Ohio still has the largest pile of unresolved false physician disciplines in the US, an admitted problem by the Speaker of the Ohio House as far back as 2003 - Householder's office admitted the problem, and that settling the liability in those cases (as of 2003) would bankrupt Ohio in one month as the injustices were estimated to be so severe & the liability so real. The abuses by the Ohio Medical Board, and the Governors who just did photo-ops instead of their job, are at this point not even statistically collectable - it's all confidential. 

Governor Kasich has continued the tradition of not interfering in things Ohio, in order to get appointed to a national job - but Romney never did this as Governor.  Romney has always made the health of his wife his decision-maker for seeking higher office.  Governor Kasich is so obviously angling for a larger political job, and Ohioans wish him well, but until he gets that 'promotion' could he please review all the false cases at the State Medical Board of Ohio?  Or set up a panel to do so with a timetable.

If you call Governor Kasich's office, they tell you that he 'won't review the situation,' and if you keep calling they will 'notify the Authorities.'  The Governor is 'The Authority' in Ohio - and ending those cases - it is estimated - would put at least >100 more physicians back to work immediately - as well as their office support staffs.  100 x 4 = 400 jobs, 100 x 10 = 1000 jobs. 

The medical licenses have been taken for things as non-patient oriented as the physician objecting to admittedly wrong care on themselves (the MD doing the care was a Medical Board 'friend'), and the physician asking to get their medical records out of someone's office - an MD who didn't have to refer, consult, send records, or do any billable work (orthopedics who don't cast fractures and ask you to 'change your story about them, as they have friends on the Medical Board').  It's all 'once upon a time' in Ohio, including Governor Kasich's unreliable handling of this situation. 

Governor Romney needs a more reliable clairvoyant than Governor Kasich - judging from his own reliability in keeping campaign promises.  And all that Governor Kasich has to do is appoint someone like a retired Appeals Court Judge & MD panel to review the situations as to evidence - no laypersons who can't reliably evaluate physician decisions or problems.  All Governor Kasich has to do is think for a moment about a list of 'campaign supporters' that haven't gotten an appointment yet - good lawyers & physicians are on that donor list - including a stack of Cleveland Clinic physicians.  

The 'confidential' physician complaint system in Ohio doesn't allow that the State Medical Board even reliably 'check the evidence' before making suspension decisions.  In one case the blood work on the physician, which would have proved that her bone pains were not 'exaggerated,' was NEVER done - a handwritten consult assessment of 'normal' was relied on at a time that the lab ranges on these tests were 'off' in Ohio.  The lab ranges were not corrected until 2002.     

Julianne Margulies has a quote that "Life is precious and you shouldn't waste a minute of it with someone who isn't reliable."  At this point 'isn't reliable' includes Governor Kasich.  And the Medical Board could use a Good Wife quote as a way of handling situations:  'flyswatter instead of bazooka.'