GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS
OCCUPATIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL LICENSING ADMINISTRATION
614 H STREET, N.W., ROOM 108
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20001
BOARD OF MEDICINE
January 6, 1999
Albert H. Taub, M.D.
8218 Wisconsin Avenue
Suite 410
Bethesda, Maryland 20814
Re: Mr. Gary Freedman
Dear Dr. Taub:
The D.C. Board of Medicine (the "Board") has received the enclosed complaint about the quality of care that you provided to the above referenced patient. The Board requests a written reply from you regarding this matter.
In accordance with administrative rules, you are hereby informed that:
1. You are not required to respond to the complaint;
2. The Board may send a copy of your response to the complainant; and
3. Failure to respond shall not be held against you in any subsequent action based on the complaint.
The Board meets the last Wednesday of each month. Should you choose to response, your response would be appreciated at least five (5) days before the next meeting. In the event that you choose not to respond, the Board may initiate an investigation to determine if there have been any violations of the Health Occupations Revision Act. Please call me at (202) 727-9794, should you have any questions about this matter.
Sincerely,
/s/
James R. Granger, Jr.
Executive Director
Enclosure
c: Mr. Gary Freedman
3801 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.
#136
Washington, D.C. 20008-4530
Mailed via certified mail: Receipt Z-460-711-448
2 comments:
My complaint against Dr. Taub was based on his refusal to sign the following informed consent statement in contemplation of prescribing the antipsychotic medication Zyprexa:
http://dailstrug.blogspot.com/2010/04/informed-consent-statement-albert-h.html
Albert H. Taub, M.D. advised the D.C. Medical Board in 1999 that I suffered from paranoid schizophrenia in response to a complaint I filed against him:
February 22, 1999
Mr. James R. Granger, Jr.
Executive Director
Government of the District of Columbia
Board of Medicine
Dept. of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs
Occupational and Professional Licensing Administration
614 H Street N.W., Room #108
Washington, D.C. 20001
Re: Mr. Gary Freedman: your letter of January 6, 1999
Dear Mr. Granger:
This is not an issue of quality of care. Appropriate medication has been offered to Mr. Freedman who refuses to take the medicine (an antipsychotic). He is insisting that I absolve him of any mental illness in 1988 when he was in a struggle with his law firm. The letter is not possible since I only have been meeting with him since August of 1998 and can make no statement about his mental status in 1988.
My first direct contact with Mr. Gary Freedman occurred last summer [Friday August 7, 1998] when I became his psychiatrist for the purpose of prescribing medication. Ms. Lisa Osborne, a psychology intern at that time, started to see him in weekly psychotherapy.
In view of Mr. Freedman's long record of mental illness (paranoid schizophrenia) I recommended antipsychotic medication which he refused. At first I saw him weekly and subsequently I have been seeing him monthly. He has always refused medication. One week he tentatively agreed to try medication, but changed his mind. At the time he said he might try medication, if I were to sign the letter of August 17, 1998 (revised 8/22/98) vindicating him in his legal struggles with his former law firm which took place approximately ten years ago.
I didn't sign his manifesto since I could make no judgments about events that occurred ten years ago. He didn't seem surprised at my refusal to sign and I don't believe he really expected me to sign. However, it did give him a face saving reason to refuse medication. He has never agreed to take medication that I suggested. Ms. Osborne, the rest of the clinical staff, and I did not feel he was at that time imminently homicidal or suicidal.
Subsequently, he has settled down into his usual lifestyle which includes prolific letter writing. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance to you.
Sincerely,
Albert H. Taub, M.D.
Faculty Member
Department of Psychiatry
Residency Training Program
St. Elizabeths/CMHS
[Docket no. 99-198]
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