Private Practices by Local Med

              Journal Friday Jan 24, 1975 Private Practices by Local Med
By ANN DEMENT
Journal Staff Writer
The practice of faculty members at the
Louisiana State University School of
Medicine in Shreveport engaging in the
private practice of medicine has brought,
down the wrath of much of the medical
community here, the Journal has learned.
The medical school staff is employed by
the state to teach full-time, and many
members also are conducting a private
medical practice.
Dr. Clifford Grulee, dean of the
Louisiana State University School of
Medicine in Shreveport, said the medical
practice plans, which allow faculty to
engage in the private practice of
medicine, are being conducted in 80 out of
115 medical schools in the nation, in-cluding
two other medical schools in
i
A JOURNAL poll taken this week
showed that 49 out of 55 local doctors con-tacted
did not approve of the LSU-S
Medical School staff engaging in private
practice.
Shreveport and Bossier City physicians
said the medical school faculty members
are under contract with the state to teach
medicine and that in some cases private
practice was being done with the state
paying overhead costs (laboratory fees,
nurses, clerical personnel).
When asked about his opinion on the
poll of local physicians and their op-position
to private practice, Dr. Grulee
said, "I will not answer an unsigned let-ter."
Dr. Albert Bicknell, president of the
Shreveport Medical Society, said that he
knew of much discontent within the
medical community about such private
practice. He would not comment on any
official position taken by the Shreveport
Medical Society.
Dr. Grulee said that when he first
came to the Shreveport school he was in-structed
to develop some type of private
practice plan which would be equitable
for the medical school and the staff doc-tors.
Dr. Grulee said, "When I was invited to
come here by Dr. Stewart, I was told by
him to develop a practice plan as soon as
possible. Dr. Stewart has repeatedly
asked me about the progress of the
program, he said. Dr. William H. Stewart
is the state health officer and director of
ths Department of Social, Health and
Rehabilitation Services.
SOME OF THE faculty physicians at
the Shreveport medical school are
receiving a state paycheck for the
teaching of medical students at Con-federate
Memorial Medical Center,
receiving a paycheck from the Veterans
Administration Hospital in Shreveport,
receiving money for research grants and
seeing private patients at the LSU-S
Medical School Linwood facility and
elsewhere.
"We cannot keep staff physicians at the
medical school with present state salaries,
and to recruit and retain an excellent
faculty a private practice plan is neces-sary,"
Dr. Grulee said.
Salaries of staff physicians at the
Shreveport medical school from the State
of Louisiana range from $22,000 to $45,000.
These are some of the highest state - paid
salaries in Louisiana.
"There is a very significant element to-such
private practice," Dr. Grulee said.