Legislation intended to combat problems associated with Lyme disease can help, or it can exacerbate the very problems that it is intended to address. LDA president Pat Smith and CALDA executive director Lorraine Johnson provide you with a framework to think about legislative issues and discuss some of the pitfalls you should avoid. First of a three-part article that was published in the Spring 2005 issue of the Lyme Times.
The first federal Lyme bill was introduced 11 years ago. The Lyme disease community still has not passed a federal Lyme bill. Why not? Learn about the history of Lyme legislation, the legislative process, and our own part in the drama. CALDA founder and president Phyllis Mervine shares experiences and insights from her decade of involvement with various reincarnations of the federal Lyme bills.
Greenwich, CT, January 28, 2009-Patient groups voiced concern and disappointment about the new Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) Lyme disease guidelines’ panel, which excludes physicians who treat patients with chronic Lyme disease. Last May, the Connecticut Attorney General found the IDSA Lyme disease treatment guidelines’ panel had conflicts of interest, engaged in exclusionary conduct, and suppressed scientific evidence. The investigation resulted in a settlement forcing the IDSA to reconstitute a balanced panel free of conflicts of interest under the oversight of an ombudsman to monitor conflicts of interest. No input from patients or treating physicians was permitted in selection.
End of content
End of content
