CALL TO ACTION 2007 #2 (Feb. 25)
from Pat Smith, President, Lyme Disease Association, Inc. (LDA)

IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED Lyme Physicians Defamed!

WHO: Everyone! We need 1,000 email letters to go to Forbes now!

WHAT: Contact Forbes.com

WHERE: You can use any of the following contact methods:

1. Contact form (click the link) http://www.forbes.com/story/mag/comments_form.jhtml?title=The
2. Email link (click the link) editors.
3. Email to (click the link or cut & paste email address) readers@Forbes.com
4. Call 212-366-8900

WHEN: As soon as possible

WHY: A serious personal attack has been made on our Lyme treating physicians. The Forbes.com article "Ticks aren't the only parasites living off patients in borreliosis-prone areas," presents a biased viewpoint, a blanket condemnation of Lyme treating physicians as profiteers and worse. We cannot allow these charges to go unanswered. The physicians who have the courage to treat patients despite the obstacles they face from medical boards and insurers, jeopardizing their careers, do not deserve to be portrayed in this manner.

The article also places them at greater risk from those quoting this article or those believing it to be true. Bottom line, we need our physicians to be able to treat without this kind of unwarranted, unsubstantiated attack from a supposedly reputable publication.

We want to get 1,000 emails to Forbes ASAP. (for article, click link & then sign in members.forbes.com/forbes/2007/0312/096.html

ACTION
(500 words is all Forbes will accept) Take 5 minutes to defend your treating doctors!

1. Use the following information and write your own letter if possible.
2. If you cannot write your own, highlight, copy and paste this letter in the email.
3. Your name, address must be on letters or Forbes will not accept them.
4. Do not use ANY physician name(s) in the letter.

SAMPLE LETTER (382 words)

I am deeply disturbed that Forbes magazine would purposely print a one-sided and inaccurate article which tries to paint a picture of doctors who treat chronically ill Lyme disease patients as individuals whose main goal is to make a profit.

My experiences with Lyme treating physicians do not reflect that picture. These doctors often see patients for two hours or more on the initial visit and a ½ hour or more otherwise. The reason for this visit length is the complex nature of Lyme disease which is often accompanied by one or more additional tick-borne diseases such as babesiosis and anaplasmosis. The prices they charge are not any different and are often less than any other specialist charges on an hourly basis. The number of patients they can see in a day is often less than conventional physicians who see their patients at 10-15 minute intervals.

These same dedicated physicians spend much of their free time attending conferences and providing programs for the public and other physicians on Lyme disease since there is very little accurate information in mainstream medicine. Additionally, they are burdened with helping patients fight the bureaucracy of treatment reimbursement for a disease where biased science is the accepted "standard of care." They also have a long history of helping patients regain their health or they wouldn't be in such demand and have long waiting lists.

The worst insult is the fact that on a daily basis, many of these doctors are dealing with medical board harassment because a handful of their peers have decided that chronic Lyme patients should not be treated for their ongoing infections and all treatment should be stopped at an arbitrary cut off point, whether the patient is well or not. Research studies have proven Lyme disease to be a chronic, disabling disease if not properly treated.

Something is wrong when very sick people are abandoned by the medical profession and when infectious diseases specialists deny medical treatment, insurance companies deny reimbursement, and medical boards harass our treating doctors. Something is terribly wrong when Forbes prints an article without exploring the entire picture and learning where the real vested interests lie. When the interests of insurers drive medical societies, the health care of our citizens is being sold to the highest bidder. When a major medical society sides against patients, Forbes should be asking why, not joining in against the patients.

Your Name
Your Address
Your email
-------------------------------------

Pat Smith
President
Lyme Disease Association, Inc.
PO Box 1438
Jackson, NJ 08527
888-366-6611 information line
732 938-7215 fax
www.LymeDiseaseAssociation.org

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Call to Action 2007 #1
Call to Action 2007 #3