South Carolina Worst State for Reprimanding Doctors

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) -- South Carolina has been declared the worst in the country for reprimanding physicians by a national advocacy group, but the leader of the state Board of Medical Examiner disagrees, The State reports.

The Public Citizen's Health Research Group found that South Carolina has taken serious disciplinary actions against only 1.33 out of of 1,000 doctors annually over the past three years. The national average was 3.06.

President of the S.C. Board of Medical Examiners, Dr. Louis E. Costa II, says that the study has many flaws. He argues that each state has different regulations, and that South Carolina's regulations are more punitive than most state's for doctors found guilty of misconduct, the paper says.

The advocacy group declared Wyoming as the state with the best record, with 6.79 serious disciplinary actions per 1,000 physicians.

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