Oversight of doctors needs more transparency, says P.E.I. Status of Women

More transparency is needed from the group that disciplines physicians on the Island, says the head of the P.E.I. Advisory Council on the Status of Women.

The group, which lobbies for women's issues on P.E.I., saidthe details of why physicians are sanctioned should be available to the public.

The onus shouldn't be on members of the public to seek out the information and to ask for it to be addressed. Jane Ledwell, P.E.I. Advisory Council on the Status of Women

"I think it's really important for people to have a true account of what occurred and the disciplinary action taken," said executive director Jane Ledwell.

"More transparency would build trust in the system between patients and the physicians and surgeons."

Ledwell was reacting to a special CBC News investigation this week into how physicians in Canada are disciplined and what oversight there is to protect and inform the public.

• Breaching Boundaries: Disciplined physicians often given 2nd chance to practise
• Getting a second chance: 12 doctors who have been disciplined more than once

In each Canadian province, colleges of physicians and surgeons are responsible for regulating, licensing and disciplining doctors. The CBC investigation points to an unevenness in transparency by colleges across the country.

On the P.E.I. college websitefor example, basic information is posted when disciplinary action is taken. On the Ontario College site, there are full details of upcoming hearings, allegations, and files on disciplinary decisions.

'Shouldn't be up to people toprotect themselves'

Across the country, Ledwell said, colleges face similar issues. She believes standard information should be available through a national database so people can discover whether a physician has been disciplined not just in their home province, but in any other Canadian jurisdiction.

"We need exactly this sort of national co-ordination so that patient safety can come first. And so when there has been inappropriate professional misconduct or if there have been even criminal activities by a doctor, that they can't move easily from jurisdiction to jurisdiction," said Ledwell.

"The onus shouldn't be on members of the public to seek out the information and to ask for it to be addressed, it shouldn't be up to people to protect themselves at all levels."

Few details available to P.E.I. public

On P.E.I. the college must, by law, inform the public when a doctor's license is restricted, suspended or revokedbut it provides only asummary of the reasons on itswebsite. Six physicians weredisciplined by the college between 2000 and 2014.

The P.E.I. college told CBC News it investigated 36 complaints in 2015 and 33 the year previous.

The most notorious case of physician misconduct in recent P.E.I. history is that of Dr. Douglas Ian Cameron.The Summerside doctor lost his licensein 1995 for sexual misconduct.

His licence was reinstated the next year with conditions, but it was revoked againfor 10 years in 2007 for sexual abuse. Cameron was accused bytwo female patients of grabbing their breasts during visits to his office. A board of inquiryfound himguilty of one count of sexual abuse and two counts ofprofessional misconduct for failingto have a chaperone present during those visits.

The college'swebsite never detailed the reasons for its findings. However, legislation in P.E.I. defines sexual abuse by a physician as "any sort of sexual conduct by a member toward or with a patient, at any time during which the person is considered to be a patient," whether it is a remark, gesture, touching, intercourse or any other behaviour of a sexual nature.

We are guided by determining what the public needs to know in the interest of public safety. P.E.I. College of Physicians and Surgeons

The CBCrequested an interview with the college about transparency. However, an official told CBC the registrar was too busy.

"This is a significant lack of transparency," said Ledwell. "If it's so challenging to provide that information to a national media organization, we can imagine the challenges and the vulnerability of ordinary citizens in trying to access information about a doctor's records."

More transparency would increase confidence by Islanders that their safety is the primary concern of the College and that any complaints they may have will be addressed, said Ledwell.Information on patient rights and where they can go to ask questions should be available in doctors' offices and medical clinics, sheadded.

Theprocess to lodge a complaint is available on the P.E.I. college's website.

The Federation of Medical Regulatory Authorities of Canada sent a survey about transparency to all provincial colleges for the CBC investigation, whichasked the colleges if theyintendto address the need for more transparency.

"We are guided by determining what the public needs to know in the interest of public safety,"the P.E.I. collegeresponded in writing.

The college has been criticized in the past for being too secretive, whilethe college said ithas wrestled with balancing public safety with privacy concerns.

• Medical director chides college

• Island college of physicians opens up

Go public, saystask force chair

A task force on preventingsexual abuse of patients was set up in 2014 byOntario's Health ministerto review that province's Regulated Health Professions Act. It will likelyissue its report sometime this year.

""There should be transparency, there should be public information, there should be access to this information and it should be facilitated. It should not be at the discretion of the regulatory bodies," said taskforcechair and human rights lawyerMarilouMcPhedran.

Governments and colleges across Canada need to show that patient safety is their primary concern, said McPhedran,and should make all disciplinary hearings public.

There is nothing in the P.E.I. Medical Act that requires disciplinary hearings to be open to the public.

Recent changes to the Medical Act aim to give the health minister more power over the P.E.I.'s college of physicians and surgeons, according to aspokesperson for P.E.I.'sHealthdepartment.The changes include bringing physicians under the Regulated Health Professions Act to standardize licensing and discipline, and requiring cabinet approval for any changes to regulations.

There are 253 practicing physicians on P.E.I., according to the P.E.I. Health department.

The P.E.I. Medical Society, whichrepresents practicing and retired physicians in negotiations with the provincial government,does not handle complaints against physicians.However, the society saidit does provide information to anyone who contacts its office abouthow to file a complaint with the college.