HEALTH : Disciplined Doctors Identified

A consumer advocacy group today released a nationwide compendium that identifies nearly 7,000 medical professionals who have been disciplined by state and federal agencies.

The roster, two inches thick and titled “6,892 Questionable Doctors,” lists actions taken against physicians, dentists, chiropractors and podiatrists in 40 states and the District of Columbia. Ten states did not respond.

“If your doctor is among the 6,892 on this list, you ought at least to question the quality of his or her care. At the very minimum, you should find out why,” Dr. Sidney Wolfe, director of the Public Citizen Health Research Group, said in a statement released with the compilation.

Although the nation’s system for protecting the public from incompetent physicians has “vastly improved” in the last 15 years, it is still inadequate, said the group, founded by consumer activist Ralph Nader.