Patients defend embattled New York physician

Frank Lizzi, MD, was forced to retire in May when the state of New York charged him with prescribing pain medication and narcotics to drug addicts. State regulators had reviewed Lizzi's prescription practices and cautioned him to stop writing so many scripts for pain medications, and even his own patients warned him about the practice. But his patients are now coming to his defense, saying Lizzi made housecalls, cared for the poor for free, and stayed at their sides during emergencies.