3min chapter

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The ‘Problem Doctors’ in New York State Prisons

The Brian Lehrer Show

CHAPTER

Intro

This chapter investigates the concerning hiring practices of medical professionals in New York State prisons, highlighting cases of doctors with problematic backgrounds. It raises important questions about oversight and accountability in prison healthcare systems.

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The Brian Lehrer Show is supported by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever find yourself playing the budgeting game? Well, with the Name Your Price tool from Progressive, you can find options that fit your budget and potentially lower your bills. Try it at Progressive.com. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. Price and coverage match limited by state law. Not available in
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all states. Listener supported, WNYC Studios.
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Brian Lehrer on WNYC. And we're going to turn now to the topic, and forgive me for just a second, because I misplaced my notes on this. Now I have them. We're going to talk about an investigation from the news organization The City that reveals how doctors with alarming records of misconduct and malpractice are being hired to care for incarcerated people in New York State prisons. We were just talking about Dr. Murthy, to Dr. Murthy about all kinds of public health. Well, here's a really dark side. Reporters Reuven Blau and Max Rivera uncovered cases like that of a doctor who was banned from working in hospital emergency rooms across New York State, only later to find work in the prison system and be promoted into a leadership position, heading medical operations in two of the department's five statewide regions. The investigation from the city also reveals some of the troubling misconduct for which some physicians faced board sanctions while they were employed by the state prison system, like the case of one doctor who drained the wrong side of a patient's chest during a medical procedure and then altered the records to cover it up. These findings raise urgent questions. Why are doctors with such serious red flags being hired? What harm has resulted from their care? And what is this say about oversight and accountability in prison health care. Ruvane Blau, senior reporter at the city, and Max Rivera, who contributed to the reporting and who's now with Bloomberg News, join me now. Ruvane and Max, welcome to WNYC today. Hi. Hi, thanks for having us. Good
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morning. Thanks, Brian. Let's
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start with some quick context. How many people are currently incarcerated in New York state prisons and how many doctors are employed by the prison system? Ruvane?
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172. It's a little less than that, I believe, now. And, you know, the number of doctors fluctuates. You know, the last figure we had was about 67 or 68 doctors for the entire population.
Speaker 2
And of the doctors that you investigated, how many did you identify as having significant red flags in their professional histories? Max?

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