Medical board accuses Bergstrom

The Medical Board of California on Friday moved to revoke Dr. Carl Bergstrom's license, citing his conviction for forcible sodomy and his alleged use and offer for sale of cocaine while he was working in his office in 2007.

[Dr Who]

Very interesting, but very sad.

[Dorothy]

Wow.....what an incredibly articulate statement from the Deputy AG....NOT!

[hes The REAL swine]

Give him some Astroglide and send hom to enjoy the SODOMY he so craves. This time he's on the other END! HA! Swift justice!

[hes The REAL swine]

Bubba~ Be real rough. Testimony in court says he likes rough sex. His victims were usually passed out. Maybe you could beat him unconsious prior to sodomizing him? Justice is sweet.

[jasey]

hes The REAL swine wrote:

Bubba~ Be real rough. Testimony in court says he likes rough sex. His victims were usually passed out. Maybe you could beat him unconsious prior to sodomizing him? Justice is sweet.

That is stooping below his level. If you're going to make such imbicile comments, you best put on your knee pads yourself. Grow up Squealer.

[WOW]

Ewwwwww! This guy is seriously depraved.
Hey Virginia - excellent reporting. I left a post praising your reporting but some Herald sniper erased it.

[Army]

This is a very difficult situation for patients who depend on the Doctor. Finding a new doctor is time consuming, emotionally draining, and expensive, and impacts quality of life in a big way. I especially feel for those patients who felt the need to call the Doctor in jail for advice, and I hope that his patients find quality care soon.

That he would advise these patients, then ask for defense money, is both heartbreaking and appalling. I think it shows his inability to control his behavior - he can't stop practicing medicine, even when he has been ordered to stop. It's a shame, the whole thing, for the 3 Jane Does, their families and his family. I wish them all happier futures.

[claudia treadwell]

how can bergstrom dispense medical advice or prescrpitions from jail. Aren't all phone calls from inmates collect, or do they have cell phones? Does he or not have a liscence to practice medicine? I thought his medical career was over for now, so how does he talk to "patients?"

[Army]

Good question. "During his sentencing hearing, prosecutor Cristina Johnson said jailhouse recordings captured Bergstrom giving medical advice to his patients over the phone, then soliciting money from them to pay for his criminal defense." That is all the article says about it. It also said his license to practice was suspended.

[eleve]

claudia treadwell wrote:

how can bergstrom dispense medical advice or prescrpitions from jail. Aren't all phone calls from inmates collect, or do they have cell phones? Does he or not have a liscence to practice medicine? I thought his medical career was over for now, so how does he talk to "patients?"

I believe inmates can make outgoing calls. A lot of his patients are also friends, so he would likely know the phone numbers of many. It's not hard to imagine them asking what they could do to help, and money (and prayer) is probably it.

Regarding the charge of giving medical advice on a suspended license I'm sympathetic. Because of the nature of his practice [no partner(s)], as Army said earlier, it's been a real problem for his patients. While of course he should have obeyed the law (again), I can imagine him doing this out of a sense of responsibility. The "physician" aspect of his life has always been the one in which he has functioned most comfortably, and it's undoubtedly difficult to give that up.

[Mark_E]

The article is a bit confusing on dates, Bergstrom being convicted last Friday, Sept. 25, and the article stating: His license was suspended immediately upon his conviction and incarceration July 27. But I came in a little late to this discussion and maybe I missed something.

If we assume, however, he was still licensed up until his conviction ([QUOTE who="Virginia Hennesy, The Herald"] Under state law, the board must "promptly revoke" the license of any doctor ordered to register as a sex offender, as Bergstrom was Friday.[/QUOTE]), then it seems he could still legally practice up until that point.

With regard to Army's comments that this is difficult on his patients in a variety of ways, no doubt it is, but perhaps it's best given Bergstrom's overall problems with judgement. I know some of you claim he's a great doctor despite the cocaine and troubling sexual proclivities, but I don't buy that he could encapsulate such major issues (particularly the cocaine problem) and keep them from impinging on his professional behavior.

[eleve]

Mark_E wrote:

The article is a bit confusing on dates, Bergstrom being convicted last Friday, Sept. 25, and the article stating: His license was suspended immediately upon his conviction and incarceration July 27. But I came in a little late to this discussion and maybe I missed something.
If we assume, however, he was still licensed up until his conviction (<quoted text>), then it seems he could still legally practice up until that point.
With regard to Army's comments that this is difficult on his patients in a variety of ways, no doubt it is, but perhaps it's best given Bergstrom's overall problems with judgement. I know some of you claim he's a great doctor despite the cocaine and troubling sexual proclivities, but I don't buy that he could encapsulate such major issues (particularly the cocaine problem) and keep them from impinging on his professional behavior.

Regarding the status of his license, it seems it was suspended upon his conviction July 27 (from The Herald article "Accounts Differ on Bergstrom Transcripts": "The Medical Board suspended the license of Bergstrom in the wake of his conviction.") Now that the request for a new trial has been denied and he's been sentenced, they're moving to revoke it.

Regarding the impact on his patients, I do believe he gave very good care to many people over the years, but certainly concede that you make an excellent point, and that (unfortunately) there's likely truth to it.

I'm curious to know if he made a contingency plan for his patients prior to his conviction.

[Bostrum]

eleve wrote:

<quoted text>
Regarding the status of his license, it seems it was suspended upon his conviction July 27 (from The Herald article "Accounts Differ on Bergstrom Transcripts": "The Medical Board suspended the license of Bergstrom in the wake of his conviction.") Now that the request for a new trial has been denied and he's been sentenced, they're moving to revoke it.
Regarding the impact on his patients, I do believe he gave very good care to many people over the years, but certainly concede that you make an excellent point, and that (unfortunately) there's likely truth to it.
I'm curious to know if he made a contingency plan for his patients prior to his conviction.

Curiosity killed the pssy cat, but I do not believe he made a plan.. he was quite confident in his conviction. As he still remains.

[something else]

claudia treadwell wrote:

how can bergstrom dispense medical advice or prescrpitions from jail. Aren't all phone calls from inmates collect, or do they have cell phones? Does he or not have a liscence to practice medicine? I thought his medical career was over for now, so how does he talk to "patients?"

Claudia, aren't you supposedly in the law business? You were boasting that you were. Gee too bad you're so uninformed for being so informed - you know, dispensing attorney advise and figuring the angles of the case and so forth -- all of which were laughable.

[Truth teller]

It's about time Dr. Drug had his license revoked. My husband didn't ask for the doctor's help when he was in prison. My husband is dead. Treated for Stage 4 cancer with Cipro and Gatorade. Not the only misdiagnosis I am aware of. Those who support prisoner B believe a psychopath's lies. He has bimbo groupies just like Drew Peterson, Charlie Manson. Okay - he didn't murder anyone - just has a history of multiple sexual attacks on women who were too scared of him to report it. Finally justice is done - but not before many women and patients were harmed - due to the silence of the medical community. He was well known to be a practicing alcoholic and drug addict - makes for great critical thinking necessary for diagnosis and treatment. His patients that were not misdiagnosed should be grateful they are living - they could be one of the dead ones.

[Integrity]

As a Monterey physician for more than 5 years, I can truly say that I had no knowledge of Dr. Bergstrom's habits or propensities. While more or less on the periphery of the social arenas around Carmel, such news or reputations do not necessarily reach me. The most that I had heard was that Bergstrom was "a player" re: dating or pursuing multiple women. I found this story to be shocking but it is not a disgraceful mark against medicine or medical doctors. It is reflective of a man with significant psychopathology. I can assure you that the local physicians as a group do not condone his gross misconduct nor, to my knowledge,have we ignored his cocaine habit. I am sure that some closer friends of his were aware to some degree, but do not besmearch local physicians as a group or assume the profession would "protect it's own" to such a degree that his criminal behavior would be over-looked, excused, or dismissed to any degree.

[Integrity]

sorry for the repeat

[eleve]

Integrity wrote:

As a Monterey physician for more than 5 years, I can truly say that I had no knowledge of Dr. Bergstrom's habits or propensities. While more or less on the periphery of the social arenas around Carmel, such news or reputations do not necessarily reach me. The most that I had heard was that Bergstrom was "a player" re: dating or pursuing multiple women. I found this story to be shocking but it is not a disgraceful mark against medicine or medical doctors. It is reflective of a man with significant psychopathology. I can assure you that the local physicians as a group do not condone his gross misconduct nor, to my knowledge,have we ignored his cocaine habit. I am sure that some closer friends of his were aware to some degree, but do not besmearch local physicians as a group or assume the profession would "protect it's own" to such a degree that his criminal behavior would be over-looked, excused, or dismissed to any degree.

Your note is touching, and seems to be sincere, speaking honestly from your own experience. However, from what you say, you've not been here for the majority of Carl's career (and escapades).

You might ask some of your colleagues about what they saw in the days before hospitalists, when internists would pull ER backup. Several posters in these forums have talked about being witness to an intoxicated Dr. B on duty in the hospital. You might also ask about what prompted his move to Idaho.

Also, have you read the articles detailing the events surrounding the transcripts that included Carl buying cocaine, offering to trade it for sex, using it, and then giving phone orders for patient care? That tape pretty quickly made it to hospital administration and the California Medical Board; you can read about their response and the net consequence to Bergstrom (apparently nil).

So while I absolutely agree with you that the majority of local physicians do not condone, as you aptly put it, his gross misconduct, it has been widely known for years, even by those who were outside his closest circle. Ergo, it's understandable (and maybe justified) that there is the perception that the profession "protect[s] it's [sic] own", because clearly his occasionally criminal and occasionally unethical behavior was overlooked, excused and dismissed to some degree.

I think we have to acknowledge that we don't have a good system in place for peer review/censure once a physician is licensed and practicing. There were some posts by PatricParamedic who offered some interesting comments and insight.(Here's a link to on of his posts: http://www.topix.net/forum/source/monterey-co... ). He apparently has done a good deal of research about physician misbehavior and the consequences (or lack thereof).

[Dr No]

This guy is a sleezy man,