discipline summaries
breasts. Patient A was shocked that her breasts were
exposed without warning. Dr. Patel was rough in
his examination, and asked her repeatedly where the
fibroids were. Patient A repeated that she was being
followed by Hospital 1 for that issue.
After Dr. Patel examined her breasts, he examined
Patient A’s stomach and recent surgical stitches. He
then left the examination room.
The College obtained an independent opinion from
Dr. X on the care provided to Patient A. As found
by Dr. X, Dr. Patel’s care did not meet the standard
of practice of the profession. The history and other
information in the chart obtained were contradictory.
Patient A was subjected to unnecessary investigations, and did not have her concerns regarding her
presenting complaint addressed. She had a breast
examination to which she had not consented. There
were errors in judgment in not seeking to obtain
information from Hospital 1 or ordering appropriate
tests, and there was a lack of adequate supervision of
the staff member who saw Patient A before Dr. Patel.
Dr. Patel’s care displayed a lack of knowledge and
judgment.
Dr. Patel failed to provide an audit trail for Patient
A’s electronic medical record that accorded with College policy upon request by the College investigator.
Patient B
Patient B attended at the office of Dr. Patel, his family physician, in August 2012 complaining of chest
pain. Patient B was initially seen by a member of
Dr. Patel’s staff, who recorded his history and vital
signs, and performed an electrocardiogram. Dr. Patel
subsequently entered the examination room and
reviewed the information obtained by his staff. Dr.
Patel informed Patient B that his electrocardiogram
was normal, and that Dr. Patel could not treat him.
Patient B continued to express concern about his
pain, and Dr. Patel advised him that he could go to a
hospital emergency department if he wished. Dr. Patel did not insist that Patient B attend an emergency
department, although the last entry in the encounter
note states ‘advise to go to ER.’ No diagnosis was
stated in the chart.
The next day, Patient B was admitted to hospital,
where he underwent triple bypass surgery. In September 2012, Patient B was discharged from hospital with
instructions to follow up with his family physician.
In September 2012, Patient B attended Dr. Patel’s
clinic. However, after Patient B voiced concerns
regarding post-operative care, he was discharged from
Dr. Patel’s practice by letter to Patient B, which was
five days after the patient’s discharge from hospital.
The letter stated “you are hereby advised to get a new
family