Doctors are held to high standards. They are the people we trust to give us the most accurate diagnosis, the people we trust with our loved ones, and the people we expect to be as honest as possible.
As with any profession, you have those who will abuse their power. Sometimes, they do it for money, or to gain more power. In some cases, we may never know why a trusted individual would abuse their power by being dishonest. Whatever the case may be, what can we do when they don’t maintain their reputation?
This question came to mind after reading “Illinois pediatrician left suicide note saying he may have faked vaccinations: sheriff,” an article published by the New York Times. This was a follow-up article to a case that occured last year.
Last September, Dr.Van Koinis, a 58-year old pediatrician, was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He left behind a short note confessing to falsifying medical records. Dr. Van Koinis operated out of Evergreen Park, and was known for his stance on homeopathic medicine. He believed the body would heal on its own and became the perfect doctor for anti-vaccine parents.
According to his note, over the course of ten years Koinis doctored records that falsified immunizations for children. The note focused on his regret regarding the vaccinations which was the only thing mentioned in the note.
It is required for kids to receive their vaccinations in order for them to continue going to school. This is why the police believe Koinis was sought out by many parents.
The police are still investigating whether or not the Koinis did in fact falsify documents.
This story really shocked me for two reasons. One, I thought this anti-vaccination thing was a product of trolls on Twitter trolls. I thought parents grabbed their phones and complained about having to vaccinate their kids just because they had a platform to do so. I didn’t look beyond this because if parents didn’t vaccinate their kids would have to stay home with them all day. This is something the average parent isn’t able or willing to do.
This showed me that anti-vaccination is a movement and people in powerful positions are making decisions without any evidence. These kinds of secretive decisions can also harm other children in the school by exposing them to unvaccinated children. If one doctor got away with signing off on false documents for ten years, I have a strong feeling that other doctors are doing it with no regret.
The second reason that shocked me is that the fear of vaccinations is bigger than I thought. I thought it was simple to understand that modern medicine is more helpful than harmful. For the love of you and your beliefs, as someone who has received vaccinations their entire life, I am alive and well. I know every case is different and everybody’s body differs, but vaccinations are essentials to one’s health.
This constant denial of science is becoming mainstream and it’s the threat it poses to one’s well being is scary.
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