Letter from the Publisher
Once again, a state medical board is charging physicians with unprofessional conduct for prescribing hormone therapy. In this case, Seattle television station KOMO reported that four physicians were inappropriately prescribing human growth hormone (HGH). The Washington State medical board is investigating the physicians who have been prescribing HGH to adult patients for its anti-aging activities. A board spokesman stated that HGH was being prescribed without evidence of growth disorder or human growth hormone deficiency. KOMO’s investigation of each doctor offered brief biographical sketches but focused on their prescribing HGH for its anti-aging activities without documenting hormone necessity. The TV report played for two days, stating that the medical board learned about the doctors’ prescribing of growth hormone from a whistle-blower. Translation: there was no patient problem – no deaths, no illness, no major adverse effects. Simply, an unidentified individual against the use of growth hormone (and anti-aging medicine) complained that the medical board should discipline doctors prescribing HGH. The Washington medical board, previously criticized for its lackadaisical approach to disciplining unscrupulous doctors, decided to reopen its investigation of doctors prescribing growth hormone. The TV report played on the viewers’ emotions – the KOMO story suggested the public was at considerable peril seeking care from these physicians.
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