discipline summaries
DR. JAMES SCOTT BRADLEY MARTIN
Practice Location: London
Area of Practice: Obstetrics and Gynecology (Fertility
Medicine, Reproductive Endocrinology)
Hearing Information: Agreed Statement of Facts,
Admission, Joint Submission on Penalty
On May 20, 2014, the Discipline Committee found
that Dr. Martin committed an act of professional
misconduct, in that he failed to maintain the standard
of practice of the profession. Dr. Martin admitted to
the allegation.
The referral relates to a s.75 investigation and two
complaints in relation to Dr. Martin’s practice of
fertility medicine at the Southern Ontario Fertility
Technologies Inc. Clinic.
Section 75 Investigation
Regarding the care of 28 patients, Dr. X, an independent expert retained by the College, had significant
concerns regarding Dr. Martin’s lack of judgment and
his standard of care. Dr. X found an excessive number
of intrauterine insemination (IUI) treatment cycles in
some cases, which did not justify a prolonged delay in
moving to more effective treatments, such as in vitro
fertilization (IVF), or intracytoplasmic sperm injection.
In addition, important discussions regarding patients’ treatment options and decisions that Dr. Martin claimed took place were not documented in their
charts.
Patient A
In relation to Dr. Martin’s care of Patient A between
approximately 2001 and 2010, Dr. Martin counselled
Patient A for an eating disorder that was outside of his
scope. He also misrepresented to Patient A the reason
he stopped the counselling.
In relation to Patient A’s fertility treatment, Dr. Y,
an independent expert retained by the College, opined
that Dr. Martin failed to maintain the standard of care
in:
• his medical charting;
• roceeding with IUI despite a degree of hyperstimup
lation dangerous to patient health;
• is failure to adjust treatment to reduce the risk of
h
severe hyperstimulation; and,
• epeatedly placing Patient A at extreme risk of mulr
tiple medical complications, including thrombosis,
pulmonary emboli and stroke.
Patient B
In relation to Dr. Martin’s care of Patient B in August
of 2009, Dr. Y concluded that Dr. Martin failed to
maintain the standard of care, in that:
• e lacked knowledge regarding the diagnosis and
h
management of an ectopic pregnancy;
• he systems in place at the clinic failed to maint
tain the standard in terms of the organization and
management of Patient B’s care between the clinic’s
health-care providers; and,
• he lack of adequate documentation and the poor
t
communication among health professionals at the
clinic put Patient B’s life at risk.
Reasons for Penalty
In considering the proposed penalty, the Committee
was mindful of the well-established principles that apply to the imposition of a penalty. The overriding principle is protection of the public. The Committee was
satisfied that as a result of the proposed penalty Dr.
Martin will be prohibited indefinitely from practising
fertility medicine. Given the nature of the misconduct
in this matter, the Committee could accept no less.
Seen in its entirety, the proposed penalty is a severe sanction, which is in keeping with the nature
of the professional misconduct. The core concern is
the failure to maintain the standard of practice in the
clinical care of patients. The Committee was appalled
by Dr. Martin’s disregard for the well-being of patients
whose ovaries were hyperstimulated, repeated attempts
to achieve pregnancy through intra