Jonsi I hadn't heard of this doctor I don't think. It's very sad that we have a doctor that has been treating us to have to do something like this.
Niecy
Doctor Agrees To Retire License - Health - redOrbit Doctor Agrees To Retire License Posted on: Tuesday, 15 July 2008, 18:00 CDT
By Polly Summar Journal Staff Writer
Dr. George Schwartz of Santa Fe has agreed to retire and give up his medical license after a long-running fight with the state Medical Board.
Schwartz, who had been accused of not keeping adequate drug inventory or patient records to justify certain prescriptions of high levels of narcotics and amphetamine, had been schedu l e d f o r another heari n g b e fo r e the Medical Board today.
B u t h e si g ne d a n " a g r e e d order" with the board June 27 in which he surrendered his license to practice medicine and agreed to "not practice medicine or seek an active license to practice medicine anywhere in the United States, now or in the future."
The order said Schwartz did "not admit any wrongdoing, but desires an amicable resolution of this case in order to devote more time to his family and develop his consulting and research practice. "
The order also said Schwartz has had an "otherwise long and distinguished medical career" and had "decided to retire from the practice of medicine."
Schwartz's license was revoked by the Medical Board in April 2006. But, last year, a state district judge overturned the board's decision, maintaining that Schwartz had been denied an adequate opportunity to retain a lawyer to help him with the Medical Board proceedings. The judge remanded the case to the board.
Board representatives said they had advised Schwartz many times to get an attorney but he showed up before the board repeatedly without one.
Schwartz specialized in family practice and emergency medicine, but he became known for research and treatment Morgellons disease, in which patients feel that something is crawling under their skin. He wrote a book called, "The Parasite Explosion: Morgellons Disease and the Northward Movement of Parasite." At a hearing, he said the disease was "sweeping across New Mexico" and acknowledged treating some patients in hotel rooms. The condition is not recognized by mainstream medicine.
Schwartz couldn't be reached for comment Monday. But Steve Aarons, his attorney, called the agreement a "winwin." He said Schwartz's own health problems caused him to retire for medical reasons and noted there was no finding of wrongdoing in the Medical Board order. He said Schwartz can still consult with other physicians, although he can't meet with patients or prescribe drugs, and that he can continue with his publishing career.
"He can retire with dignity," Aarons said.
Aarons said there was evidence that a pharmacist at a northern New Mexico drug store where most of Schwartz's disputed prescription were filled had traded the prescription painkiller Oxycontin for sex from female customers.
That raised enough of a question about Schwartz's responsibility that the agreement with board with no finding of wrongdoing was reached, Aarons said. He said Schwartz "has always maintained that he was not the author of the prescriptions."
The board had also charged that Schwartz continued to prescribe some of the cited drugs after agreeing to stop while his hearing was delayed.
(c) 2008 Albuquerque Journal. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.
Source: Albuquerque Journal