LDA Announces Lyme Project Webinar: Bransfield & Pat Smith Discuss IDSA Guidelines

UPDATE 12.22.20: Bransfield & P. Smith on What’s the Scoop on IDSA Guidelines?

Dr. Robert Bransfield and LDA President Pat Smith spent two hours discussing all aspects of the new IDSA Lyme Guidelines from how they were developed, differences from prior guidelines and how they impact patients and treating physicians. The Zoom program was hosted by Project Lyme, a NYC non profit who will be posting the entire program on You Tube soon. 

• In response to the question asked by moderator Noah Johnson to Pat Smith “How do these guidelines affect clinicians and practitioners?,” she responded  

Doctors who treat using ILADS guidelines are often investigated by medical boards and charged with malpractice.

• Over decades, treating doctors have lost licenses, have been fined, been monitored, or have not been allowed to diagnose and treat Lyme disease.
• Hospitals have threatened their privileges, insurers have threatened them from removal from plans if they treated long-term.
• Doctors who practice under IDSA guidelines have reported doctors treating with antibiotics long-term to medical boards and testified against them in insurance cases.
• Many of the treating physicians are no longer in any insurance plans, and some have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to defend their right to treat Lyme patients long-term when they determine it is necessary.

• In response to the question asked by moderator Noah Johnson to Dr. Bransfield “How do these guidelines compare to standards of care?,” he responded 

Standard of care is established by the physicians who actually treat the illness, not the physicians who dismiss the illness. The disclaimer is critical in pointing out guidelines assist, but do not dictate assessment, treatment.

More information on content of program to follow soon!

View entire Zoom program hosted by Project Lyme with Noah Johnson as moderator.

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Date: Thursday, December 17, 2020
Time:  5:30pm – 7:00pm
Where:  Online

Free Online Registration

Project Lyme will host renowned psychiatrist Dr. Robert Bransfield, M.D. (Bio) and well-known advocate Patricia Smith, President of Lyme Disease Association, Inc. (Bio)

They will offer opinions on the restrictive and selective nature of the updated Infectious Disease Society of America’s guidelines for treating Lyme disease and discuss key insights such as IDSA’s refusal to acknowledge persistent infection, lax treatment protocols that ignore patient’s needs, as well as maintaining outdated definitions for Lyme presentations.

Noah Johnston, Administrative Director of Project Lyme will moderate the discussion and take live Q&A from the virtual crowd.

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