"Eat What You Kill" (Pro Publica article on nightmare Dr. In Montana)

[Nevilledog]

https://www.propublica.org/article/thomas-weiner-montana-st-peters-hospital-oncology

Lisa Warwick found her husband gasping for air at the foot of the basement stairs and knew the miracle was over. It was Aug. 2, 2020, more than 11 years since Scot Warwick had been diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer. Most patients are dead in months, but her husband, who had just turned 51, had somehow destroyed the odds.

“Are we going in?” she asked.

“Yes,” he said. “We are going in.”

His body had endured six years of chemotherapy and an additional five of experimental therapies. According to his medical record, he had responded “singularly impressively.” Two months earlier he had been running 5 miles a day, but since the latest round of chemo he had rapidly declined.

Lisa Warwick guided her husband up the stairs, dragged him to the car and raced to St. Peter’s Hospital in downtown Helena, Montana.

The emergency room doctor cited shortness of breath, fever and chills. He flagged that Warwick’s respiratory crisis could be the result of the chemotherapy. It had been restarted weeks before on the order of the oncologist who diagnosed him, the only doctor he’d consistently seen for more than a decade.

*snip*

[hatrack]

1. Fucking unbelievable . . .

I hope this SOB ends up dumpster diving in Fargo to make ends meet.

[LearnedHand]

2. Omg this is horrifying!

And that asshole is STILL practicing medicine.

[hlthe2b]

3. It is hard for me to say what I want about this. I will say that to the extent this occurs elsewhere

(and it undoubtedly does), the risk is higher in more sparsely populated states with few resources. The physicians that end up in those states (and yes, I am particularly pointing to the upper tier of states including Montana, WY, ND, SD, ID) have a higher rate of "problems" elsewhere but that may be overlooked or not even identified because of shortages for many specialties. And, primary care may be there only to pay off medical debts with some questions as to whether or not the medical schools that quite often educate these students and the residency programs completed are quite at the standard of others. Alaska and WY remain the two states without medical schools, but they have benefitted in more recent years by gaining access to the University of Washington School of Medicine through the WWAMI Regional Medical Education Program. Before that, an agreement to provide physician training at another regional medical school was problematic, to say the least. I'll say no more on that score, but there were deficiencies.

I am shocked that DEA went so long before investigating and that this "oncologist" was not questioned. This kind of behavior might well have closed a hospital for investigation, had it been closer to Denver. They don't F..K around in the Denver office.

I have long maintained families need a patient advocate in these incidents. Some hospitals have independent assigned professionals that serve this purpose. Some have family members with sufficient medical background (and time) to serve this function.

To all the lives lost who will never know all the facts behind their loved ones' deaths, I feel tremendous sadness. I think the physician in the article was a greedy SOB, but part of his denial may reflect some sense of "mercy" behind his actions. That he was using those levels of phenobarbital suggests his actions were more closely aligned with intentional euthanasia (as veterinarians could certainly attest) than not.

]Bottom line, if things don't SEEM right, ask questions. It is your right.

This was some incredible reporting, I must add.

[snot]

4. Serial murder, among other crimes.

That "dr." should spend the rest of his life in jail, starting asap.

[Solly Mack]

5. I'd stake him down in a field, gather 10,000 cattle in said field, then start a stampede.

I'd be eyeing hospital officials and other enablers too. But that's just me and I'm a wee bit petty.

This story infuriates me.

[Wiz Imp]

6. OMG. That was painful to read. Such an awful evil person who betrayed his hipocratic oath.

The fact that he has escaped any real punishment is disgusting. The man should be in jail not still practicing medicine. (He's absolutely a serial killer). And I agree with the poster who said that those who enabled and/or covered up for him should be in jail as well. This story will probably give me nightmares tonight.

[dalton99a]

7. He is still killing people

Weiner’s Montana medical license was renewed in 2023 and is set to expire in March. For now, he is free to practice medicine and prescribe drugs.

[erronis]

8. Another DU post with this content

https://www.democraticunderground.com/114236035

I personally think it's fine to have multiple posts - many people miss earlier ones because of busy lives and rapidly churning news stories.

[Wild blueberry]

9. Pro Publica reporter did superb journalism

Horrific story, told with verified facts. This is the gold standard of journalism.
Show what we are missing is most of the rest of "news" media.
Thank you to J. David MsSwane and Pro Publica.
Thank for posting, Nevilledog.

[EllieBC]

10. This is like a horror movie. How does this even happen?

Like what nurses don’t question a 16 year old being prescribed a high dose of phenobarbital? No one in the hospital though this shit was off?

[MomInTheCrowd]

11. He still has his license!!!???!