How medical boards often fail patients with deadly results

Dr. Thomas Ballard III was indicted in Tennessee for prescribing 4.2 million pills of opioids out of the Ballard Clinic .

Dr. Ballard was sentenced to 20 years in prison for distributing controlled substances not for a legitimate medical purpose, resulting in death.

David Frum : The state's medical board, the regulatory entity that decides who gets a medical license and who gets to keep it, did not take action.

He says it's easier to go to prison for professional misconduct than lose your license.

In the cases of Dr. Duntsch and Dr. Ballard , it was too little, too late. And in the case of Ms. Vaught , many have claimed it was the opposite — too draconian.

The point of licensing is to give professionals a say in who gets to keep their license. Prosecutors and judges are inexpert about safe professional practice.