Connecticut disputes doctors' Lyme disease guidelines
By Associated Press | December 31, 2006

HARTFORD -- The attorney general, Richard Blumenthal, has launched an
inquiry into a doctors' group based in Virginia, saying its guidelines
might harm Lyme disease patients.

The Infectious Diseases Society of America might be effectively
limiting insurance coverage for those patients through its overly
strict recommendations for diagnosing and treating Lyme disease,
Blumenthal said.

"These rules diminish the options available to doctors and their
patients in ways that can sanction insurance company decisions to deny
coverage, so they have an economic impact that could be very serious,"
Blumenthal said.

The society is a nonprofit organization that is based in Alexandria,
Va. A society spokesman, Steve Baragona, said its new guidelines, which
were enacted in October, are carefully researched and sound.

"We're not trying to claim that these people aren't suffering, but
we're not sure that what they have is Lyme disease," Baragona said.
"They may travel to a doctor who doesn't know what's wrong with them,
and we know that's frustrating."

Specialists agree that a course of antibiotics is the best treatment
for Lyme disease, but physicians, advocacy groups, legislators, and
patients often disagree about when and how long to administer those
antibiotics.

Blumenthal said the society's guidelines might also violate anti-trust
rules. He sent an administrative subpoena last month to the group as
part of his investigation.

© Copyright 2006 Globe Newspaper Company.

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In reality there is nothing really to investigate. It's called
politics, Richard has been trying to run for Governor and needs a
better and more well known public image to have a chance in the next
election so he jumps on certain issues like this.

The Guidelines are
not law, it does not say that doctors "must" follow them. so in my
opinion I don't see the anger that some on here and most of LymeNut
have about them.

If you want harmful and useless long term abx
treatment you could always find a snake oil salesman (LLMD) who will
give you what you *think* you need to get better.

Do you think they are going to say sorry we should not have written
them? lol, what is it that is going to be accomplished with an
inquiry? (politics old boy, politics).