Friday, April 23, 2010

IDSA Ruling: No changes will be made to 2006 Guidelines

The IDSA released its ruling yesterday stating that, in a unanimous vote, the 2006 Lyme Disease guidelines will not be amended. See the full text of their report and press release here: http://www.idsociety.org/Content.aspx?id=16501

Pat Smith, President of the Lyme Disease Association, has issued a response, and calls for the Attorney General of Connecticut to act: http://www.lymediseaseassociation.org/

Never before has it been more blatantly obvious that we cannot wait for the IDSA to change its guidelines, nor should we have to. The IDSA guidelines are, as disclosed in their own Practice Guidelines, only recommendations and they have no authority to impose required action, and are never to be used to usurp the individual professional judgment of medical professionals: "They are not intended to supplant physician judgment with respect to particular patients or special clinical situations. IDSA considers adherence to the guidelines listed below to be voluntary, with the ultimate determination regarding their application to be made by the physician in the light of each patient’s individual circumstances." (found on http://www.idsociety.org/content.aspx?id=9088)

Where do we go from here? Let's use the energy created by the IDSA's unfortunate decision as a catalyst for change. Let's talk about next steps forward. What do you think and what ideas do you have?

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