Censure for Knowles

Controversy is an old companion to Dr. John Knowles. The outspoken former director of Massachusetts General Hospital was the focus of a political battle three years ago when the American Medical Association worked--successfully--to block his appointment as an Assistant Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare. Now, as Knowles prepares to leave Boston to become head of the Rockefeller Foundation, the Massachusetts Medical Society is about to censure him formally.

The unusual reprimand of one of the nation's most prominent doctors is in response to Knowles' continuing criticism of his colleagues. He has frequently taken advantage of newspaper and television interviews to question physicians' ethics. Last February, in the Intellectual Digest, he charged that some 30% to 40% of American doctors are "making a killing" in medicine, some by performing "incredible amounts of unnecessary surgery." Though no one can pinpoint the amount, many doctors agree that there is much superfluous surgery. Incomes are high; the median is more than $40,000 a year, while some private practitioners make more than $100,000.

The state society objected to Knowles' allegations and invited him to substantiate his claims. When he refused, the organization's Committee on Ethics and Discipline found that he had acted in a manner "unworthy of an honorable physician" and recommended his censure. The society's council agreed. Retorted Knowles: "I'm not going to diddle around with those jerks." Nor is he likely to be deterred from further criticism. Knowles hopes to persuade the Rockefeller Foundation board to underwrite a comprehensive critique of the medical profession.

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