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About a Third of Medical Vaccine Exemptions in San Diego Came From one Doctor:
She wrote 141 exemptions since 2015. The second highest number was 26.
A single San Diego doctor wrote nearly a third of the area’s medical vaccination exemptions since 2015, according to an investigation by the local nonprofit news organization Voice of San Diego.
[...]Medical vaccination exemptions are intended for the relatively few people who have medical conditions that prevent them from receiving vaccines safely. That includes people who are on long-term immunosuppressive therapy or those who are immunocompromised, such as those with HIV or those who have had severe, life-threatening allergic reactions (e.g. anaphylaxis) to previous immunizations. Such patients typically receive medical exemptions incidentally during their medical care. But some doctors are providing evaluations specifically to determine if a patient qualifies for an exemption and granting exemptions using criteria not based on medical evidence. Some doctors are even charging fees for these questionable exemption evaluations—including the doctor in San Diego, Tara Zandvliet.
[...]Zandvliet charges $180 for the evaluation, and her practice does not accept insurance.
Since 2015, Zandvliet has issued 141 of the 486 total medical exemptions granted in the San Diego Unified School District. After Zandvliet, the second highest number of medical exemptions granted by a single doctor was 26. The Voice of San Diego noted that Zandvliet’s practice is listed on several websites as being friendly to anti-vaccine parents.
I would not trust such a doctor to have only my best interests at heart.
If my paying a fee can persuade the doctor to write my desired exemption, then it stands to reason that an incentive from, say, a "big pharma" representative could induce the doctor to prescribe medications for me that are either questionably warranted or for which there are better or less expensive alternatives.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 25 2019, @01:57AM (5 children)
In this case, this isn't much money, 141 exemptions x $180 each = $25,380 -- since 2015. If we spread over 4 years it's a pittance when compared to what MD's normally make. Remember they have a huge bill for malpractice insurance in addition to costs for medical record keeping, their office, staff, etc. This must have been a sideline for this MD, and not a very profitable one at that.
Not sure why this is even "news"?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 25 2019, @05:40AM (2 children)
It is news because 1/3 is a huge number given the population. Do you really think 1/3 of people who get medical exemptions found her by chance? No, it is obvious doctor shopping, and she was willing to play. I'd also imagine that since exemptions are not limited to being given by doctors who live in your city, she provided much more than for just this one school district. For goodness sake, she offers a group discount if you and your friends all bring your families to the same appointment. She also provided almost 300% than the doctors on that list who see children with actual disqualifying diseases (the pediatric oncologists, the immunologist, and those as U.C. San Diego) put together.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 25 2019, @08:45AM (1 child)
Your argument may be correct, but not in a cute way. Not sure why anyone should care in that case.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 25 2019, @06:36PM
A patient or their guardian who doctor shops like this is usually guilty of a crime, depending on the exact mens rea. Similarly, the doctor who promotes shopping is also guilty of a (different but related) crime AND can get suspended or lose board certification for playing along. People should care because you have an criminal and unethical doctor and conniving parents, none of which are acting in the best interest of the children, abusing exemptions to put the very people in danger that the exemptions are meant to protect the very people they put in danger AND they are making it more difficult for the people who actually need to be exempt to get said exemptions.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Nobuddy on Monday March 25 2019, @01:44PM
A doctor does not thrive on a single visit. Where is that mother going to take their kid from now on? A kid now open to and prone to a wide variety of expensive to treat diseases...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 25 2019, @06:01PM
Pays for a front desk clerk, anyway.