I was pleased to see the News Tribune tell us more about the complaints against a former St. Luke's neurosurgeon now practicing in Texas. The letter of 2008 from the St. Louis County medical examiner, published in the paper on Sept. 25 with the story, "Deputy medical examiner raised flag about surgeon Konasiewicz," added a firm foundation to concerns about this doctor. It was clearly in the public interest to make the letter available.
I was surprised, however, to find little statistical data in the paper concerning medical complaints in general. How does the number of complaints made against St. Luke's compare to those made against other Minnesota hospitals? Do neurosurgeons, because of the uncertainty of outcomes, field more complaints than other doctors? I don't know if such data is available to the public, but it would be shameful if it is not. We cannot make good evaluations without it.
Bruce Henricksen
Duluth
