discipline summaries
Text of Public Reprimand Dr. Mohan, public trust is fundamental to the practice of medicine. This trust has to be reinforced daily and can never be taken for granted. By misrepresenting the qualifications of your practice assistants, you have violated this public trust. You have exposed your patients to serious risk of harm by allowing them to be treated by unqualified individuals.
The autonomy of the medical profession is a privilege. Your actions have served to undermine this honour, and have tarnished the profession a whole. We hope that this penalty serves the purpose of ensuring that you never again appear before this Committee.
DR. RAMESH PATEL
Practice Location: Toronto Practice Area: General Practice
Hearing Information: Agreed Statement of Facts, Admission, Statement of Uncontested Facts( Patient A and Patient B), Contested Penalty
On March 13, 2015, the Discipline Committee found that Dr. Patel engaged in professional misconduct by having failed to maintain the standard of practice of the profession in his care of 25 patients; and by having engaged in an act or omission relevant to the practice of medicine that, having regard to all the circumstances, would reasonably be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional. The Committee also found Dr. Patel to be incompetent; in that his professional care of the 25 patients displayed a lack of knowledge, skill or judgment that was of such a nature or to such an extent that his practice should be restricted or that he is unfit to continue to practise. Finally, Dr. Patel was found to have engaged in professional misconduct, in that he failed to maintain the standard of practice of the profession and engaged in disgraceful, dishonourable and unprofessional conduct with respect to two further patients, Patients A and B. Dr. Patel admitted that he failed to maintain the standard of practice of the profession in his care of
25 patients, and was incompetent in his professional care of 25 patients. He did not admit that he is unfit to continue to practise. He also admitted that he engaged in disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional conduct, namely: inadequate supervision of staff; improper delegation of controlled acts; improperly permitting and / or directing staff to prescribe to patients; inappropriately having staff care for and treat patients in his absence; inappropriate billing to OHIP; and breaching his undertaking to the College. He did not contest the facts pertaining to Patients A and B.
Dr. PATel’ s Practice An investigation into Dr. Patel’ s practice began after the College received information in April 2011 from another family physician that Dr. Patel had been allowing staff to perform patient care beyond that which was appropriate for a non-physician staff member to provide. College investigators attended at Dr. Patel’ s clinic on April 18, 2011, when Dr. Patel was on vacation. The office had a sign posted, which stated that“ Dr. Patel will not be in office from 6th Apr. 2011 to 24th Apr. 2011. He will resume on 25th Apr. 2011. Sorry for your inconvenience.” However, there were approximately half a dozen patients in the waiting room, and 4-5 non-physician staff members wearing scrubs were also present. An office worker advised investigators that Dr. Patel was on vacation, and that staff were performing only electrocardiograms and blood work in his absence. Staff members stated that they were not conducting assessments in Dr. Patel’ s absence. Ontario Health Insurance Plan( OHIP) billings for the time period of Dr. Patel’ s absence indicated that the total amount billed in his name while he was on vacation was $ 34,079.14. An analysis of Dr. Patel’ s OHIP billings for this period included, among other things, 325 billings for“ minor assessments”( A001), 1 billing for an“ enhanced 18-month well baby visit”( A002A), 84“ annual adult physicals”( A003A), 379“ intermediate assessments”( A007A), 1“ pre-operative assessment”( A903A), 43 episodes of“ counselling”( K013A), 1“ annual health exam for child after 2nd birthday”( K017A), 2“ minor prenatal assessments”( P004A), and 1“ incision of( 2) abscess or hematoma
Issue 2, 2016 Dialogue 49