State medical board is a campaign target

Opinion editor's note: Editorials represent the opinions of the Star Tribune Editorial Board, which operates independently from the newsroom.

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Bruce Anderson didn't know that the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice existed when his wife died of cancer in 2018. But his search for answers since then about why it took doctors so long to diagnose her condition made him an activist.

Dissatisfied with the handling of his complaint against three of his wife's doctors, Anderson monitors the board's proceedings. He has contacted Gov. Tim Walz and lawmakers about possible reforms and attends a medical board roundtable run by a patient safety organization.

"Accountability is lacking across the country, but in my experience, it's really bad in Minnesota,'' said Anderson, a retired business executive and college instructor who lives in St. Cloud.

A national ranking of state medical boards by the Public Citizen consumer advocacy group agrees with Anderson's assessment, putting Minnesota close to the bottom regarding serious disciplinary actions levied on individual physicians. While the board's executive director disputes that ranking's value, the concerns shared by Anderson and Public Citizen are important context for the recent fiery criticism of the board by Republican gubernatorial candidate Dr. Scott Jensen.

Jensen is a family practice physician from Chaska who has questioned the COVID-19 death count, promoted off-label use of ivermectin to treat the virus and called for a "banishment of private sector vaccine mandates." He also spoke at an anti-vaccine rally in Minnesota last year and urged those listening to "be as dangerous as we can be."

In a recent video posted on social media, Jensen said that he is under investigation by the state board for the fifth time. He lodges several grievances, objecting that the board's investigation is taking so long and that anonymity is granted to those who file complaints.

In the video, Jensen calls the board a "juggernaut" and says it "will be dealt with." He also notes that the board's 16 members are gubernatorial appointees. A June 16 tweet accompanying the video says, "Board reform. Right now. This process will be changed when I'm governor."

The use of the word "juggernaut," in particular, raises concerns that Jensen sees the board as too aggressive. In addition to being the name of a fictional Marvel Comics character, juggernaut can refer to "a massive inexorable force, campaign, movement, or object that crushes whatever is in its path," as defined by Merriam-Webster.

It's an unsettling take on a medical board whose mission is to protect "the public's health and safety by assuring that the people who practice medicine or as an allied health professional are competent, ethical practitioners with the necessary knowledge and skills appropriate to their title and role."

While Jensen is entitled to his view, his perspective runs contrary to longstanding concerns about whether the board is tough enough. A 2012 Star Tribune news series raised troubling questions about whether the board protects doctors instead of patients. "In Minnesota, a doctor has to meet the minimum standard to avoid state discipline. And when a physician is caught making a mistake, the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice often gives second chances," the series found.

The articles commendably generated bipartisan alarm at the State Capitol. But that spotlight didn't prevent Anderson's lamentable experience, and Minnesota continues to lag at the bottom of the periodic Public Citizen rankings. The board's executive director, Ruth Martinez, downplayed those rankings. "Minnesota citizens should not be concerned about the board's ranking by Public Citizen, which is strictly quantitative and provides no context regarding the board's investigative processes or the quality of Minnesota's health care professionals."

In a brief interview with an editorial writer, Jensen said his concerns are not with the medical board necessarily but with an agency that has been "weaponized." For someone who criticized the board and intends to reform it, he was surprisingly uninformed about the Public Citizen rankings. Asked if he would read that organization's 15-page report or the previous Star Tribune coverage and get back to the editorial writer, Jensen said he was too busy.

He also declined to say if he would consider, for the sake of example, appointing two high-profile Minnesota vaccine skeptics to the board should he be elected. One of them, Mark Blaxill, has authored books on this issue and served as the Minnesota Republican Party's treasurer. Another, Dr. Bob Zajac, was disciplined by the board in 2021 for discouraging vaccines. Zajac has donated to Jensen's campaign, and his Facebook page shows him, Jensen and Matt Birk, Jensen's pick for lieutenant governor.

Neither Blaxill nor Zajac would be appropriate. A discussion about board reforms is timely and welcome and should garner continuing debate in the gubernatorial campaign. Walz is fair game for questions about the board as well, since he has appointed or reappointed all of the current members (though there is one vacancy).

To be clear, any changes should result in a board that's more forceful in protecting patients. What is not needed is one that responds even more tentatively to complaints.

Editorial Board members are David Banks, Jill Burcum, Scott Gillespie, Denise Johnson, Patricia Lopez, John Rash and D.J. Tice. Star Tribune Opinion staff members Maggie Kelly and Elena Neuzil also contribute, and Star Tribune Publisher and CEO Michael J. Klingensmith serves as an adviser to the board.