I am sure the range of opinions of the press that each of you holds as residents or citizens of the United States and as physicians and radiologists varies considerably. Some of you, myself included, believe that you should only be mentioned in newspapers three times in your life, and two of those times you would not know it. There are others who relish the fact that they could be quoted in press reports or in magazines reaching the general public. In my career, and especially in recent months, I have become aware that one must be extremely wary of presenting yourself to the press at large. The hazards are great and many of them are hidden from you initially. So in the next few paragraphs I would like to talk about some of the things I have learned in my recent dealings with the journalistic profession.

Our institution, now part of Rutgers University, had been under siege several years ago. With a steady stream of allegations of Medicaid fraud. In the past few years that is not unique to our institution as it has been the bane of several other medical complexes throughout our nation. One might say somewhat cynically, perhaps, that these claims result from a misinterpretation of complicated federally-generated reimbursement rules which are apt to affect all medical facilities at some time or other. In fact, judgments for compensation might be considered an adventitious but inevitable tax to be paid from time to time. What has made the situation at New Jersey Medical School more difficult is that there have been claims of outright criminal activity, not accidental but purposive. Thus, the press has been all over us finding large issues and, at the same time, looking to exploit minimal or small ones.

In my capacities both as Chairman of Radiology and Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education at a state-owned and, therefore, very public institution I am on the firing line. The press has scrutinized almost every activity we have engaged in, even the seemingly most mundane. So my experiences with reporters from our regional newspapers, whom I believe were on a campaign to discredit our institution, have been frequent and somewhat insistent.

The first amendment of the Constitution of the United States that ^“

Stay updated, free articles. Join our Telegram channel

Join