Univ. Wisconsin to punish docs who gave sick notes to protesters

The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health said Tuesday that it will take disciplinary action against its physicians who wrote doctor excuse notes for protesters at the state Capitol during rallies in February. The doctors face discipline ranging from a written reprimand to loss of pay and leadership position, the medical school said in a statement. The medical school, however, would not say how many doctors were facing discipline. The school said it reviewed 22 physicians whose names were provided from a variety of sources as having offered medical excuse notes to protesters. Its investigation found that several of those said to have provided excuse notes had not done so. It said in the statement that it would not release the names of those involved and the actions taken, citing state law governing the confidentiality of public employee records. The UW School of Medicine and Public Health's investigation is separate from a probe being conducted by the state Department of Regulation and Licensing and the Medical Examining Board into the doctor excuse notes.