ADDICTION DOESN'T MEAN ONE CAN'T FUNCTION WELL

The editorial "Addicted Doctors Pose Great Peril For Their Patients" (AC-T,
Sept. 11) is inaccurate and misleading. The North Carolina Physicians
Health Program is described as a benevolent intrusion into doctors' private
lives. However, that "10 percent of those made it their own choice to enter
treatment" means that it was forced upon the other 90 percent.

Dr. William Stewart Halstead, one of the four founders of Johns Hopkins
Hospital and considered "the father of modern surgery," was himself a
morphine addict. We did not find this out until 1969, when we read his
journal posthumously and found that it was what he used to kick his cocaine
addiction. Certainly his behavior was beyond reproach, and his addiction
did not necessitate a "big brother" organization to monitor his activities.

If a famous physician such as Dr. Halstead could lead a highly productive
life without the unwelcome interference of the North Carolina Physicians
Health Program or an involuntary 12-step brainwashing program forced upon
him, I'm not so sure that either doctors or the public would profit from
such an intrusion now. The program would do better to leave doctors alone
and treat the underlying causes of addictive behavior to which the
editorial refers.

Ray Carlson, Redwood City, CA