Medicolegal / Medical Law

The letter concluded that the complainant was ‘engaging in a pattern of emotional spousal abuse and parental alienation,’ despite the doctor having never examined the individual.

In a notice to the public published on May 20, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia announced that former chief medical officer of Interior Health Dr. Albert Stefanus De Villiers had signed an agreement to resign from the profession as of May 2 and never reapply.

At this year’s Rural and Remote Conference in Winnipeg, Dr. Mark Saul discussed the cognitive biases that can lead to the wrong diagnosis or the wrong medication being administered.

The new practice standard comes after a complaint from an Indigenous prisoner who languished in isolation for months at a time between 2014 and 2015 and suffered severe hallucinations.

Commissioner Ron Kruzeniski said the two doctors failed to properly contain the privacy breach or provide adequate notice to the affected patients.

According to the college’s findings, some of the boundary violations included engaging in casual conversations, ‘excessive disclosure’ of personal information and exchanging gifts, among others.

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Dr. Sonja Sophia Kustka unsuccessfully tried to argue that patient privacy and physician–patient privilege precludes her from being forced to send patient records as part of a college investigation.