DISCIPLINE SUMMARIES
At the conclusion of the hearing, Dr. Raja waived his
right to an appeal and the Committee administered the
public reprimand.
DR. JAMAL ALI MOHAMED H. RAKEM
PRACTICE LOCATION: Welland
AREA OF PRACTICE: Orthopedic Surgery
HEARING INFORMATION: Allegations Denied; Contested
Hearing (4 Days)
On May 9, 2017, the Discipline Committee found
that Dr. Rakem committed an act of professional
misconduct in that he failed to maintain the standard
of practice of the profession and engaged in an act or
omission that, having regard to all the circumstances,
would reasonably be regarded by members as dis-
graceful, dishonourable or unprofessional. The Com-
mittee also found that Dr. Rakem was incompetent.
The Committee found that the College failed to
prove a further allegation that Dr. Rakem failed to
respond appropriately or within a reasonable time to
a written inquiry from the College.
CLINICAL ISSUES
The clinical concerns related to Dr. Rakem’s care of
five patients. Dr. Rakem provided a number of nar-
cotics prescriptions to patients without maintaining
any clinical record of diagnosis, assessment or treat-
ment plan. Dr. Rakem confirmed in his testimony
that he sometimes provided prescriptions to patients
in social settings to save them the inconvenience of
attending for an appointment. He also admitted to
requesting a narcotic prescription for himself from
a colleague, which he filled and then transported to
Libya for the use of his mother and others.
The Committee accepted uncontested expert
testimony that by prescribing narcotics to patients
without documenting a diagnosis, assessment and
treatment plan with respect to five patients, Dr.
Rakem displayed a lack of knowledge and judg-
ment and put his patients and the public at risk. Dr.
Rakem did not consider the potential for narcotic
overdose and addiction and did not reflect on the
risk of public diversion of narcotics. The Committee
rejected Dr. Rakem’s claim that he maintained clini-
cal records for these patients, which had been lost.
The Committee also found that Dr. Rakem failed to
consider the risk to the public of transporting large
quantities of narcotics to war-torn Libya. The Com-
mittee concluded that Dr. Rakem’s care of the five
patients at issue amounted to a failure to maintain
the standard of practice of the profession and that his
lack of knowledge and judgment justified a finding of
incompetence.
FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH DISCIPLINE
COMMITTEE’S PRIOR ORDER
The Committee found that Dr. Rakem engaged in
disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional con-
duct by failing to successfully complete the Bound-
ary Course, as previously ordered by the Discipline
Committee. Dr. Rakem had attended Part A of the
three-part course in person, but did not complete
Parts B and C, which required that he make a written
plan for changes to his practice and complete a self-
evaluation. There was no evidence of a request for an
exemption from the course providers in the course
evaluation documents, and Dr. Rakem had not re-
quested an exemption from the College’s compliance
monitor.
FAILURE TO RESPOND
The Committee accepted that Dr. Rakem did not in-
tentionally avoid or obstruct the College. While it was
Dr. Rakem’s responsibility to keep in touch with the
College, his presence in a war zone amounted to spe-
cial circumstances and was a plausible explanation for
his lack of timely responses during the investigation.
ORDER
The Committee ordered the revocation of Dr.
Rakem’s certificate of registration, a reprimand; and
payment to the College in the amount of $22,000.
For complete details, please see the full decision at
www.cpso.on.ca. Select Find a Doctor and enter the
doctor’s name.
At the conclusion of the hearing, Dr. Rakem waived his
right to an appeal and the Committee administered the
public reprimand.
ISSUE 4, 2018 DIALOGUE
75