The College of Physicians and Surgeons wants to hear from patients about what information should be disclosed about a doctor’s troubled history.
DW Dorken
Dr. Carol Leet is the president of the College of Physicians and
Surgeons of Ontario, which is looking at how to improve the transparency
of disciplinary actions applied to doctors in the province.
If your doctor has
been cautioned by Ontario’s medical watchdog for doing something wrong,
would you want to know? How about if your doctor has been charged with
committing a crime or ordered to take remedial education?
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario kicked off a public consultation last week about giving patients more information about their doctors.
The CPSO’s new
president, Dr. Carol Leet, said the regulatory body is seeking input
from Ontarians about how much information they need to make decisions
about choosing doctors.
“Transparency is a
priority for the college, and it is something that we have been working
on steadily for the last two years or more,” said Leet, former chair of
the CPSO’s inquiries, complaints and reports committee.
One proposal under consideration is posting oral cautions
on its website. Oral cautions involve requiring doctors who have run
into some sort of trouble to appear before a panel of physicians. They
are questioned about what went wrong, with the aim of ensuring that
mistakes won’t be repeated.
Some 88 physicians
were called in for oral cautions in 2012. The action is typically
prompted by complaints, investigations and poor outcomes suffered by
patients.
Earlier this year, the Star reported that Humber River Hospital’s chief of staff, Dr. Jack Barkin,
had been quietly cautioned by the college over the treatment he
provided to a 91-year-old patient who died after being under his care.
The patient had undergone a minor elective surgical procedure even though his heart was beating irregularly.
Barkin went on medical leave soon after being cautioned and did not seek reappointment to the position of chief of staff.
The CPSO is also seeking public input on whether its online register should reveal whether doctors have been:
Opinions can be emailed to transparencyproject@cpso.on.ca , posted on the college’s website, or mailed to the CPSO at 80 College St., Toronto M5G 2E2.
Medical negligence
lawyer Paul Harte said he is pleased to see the college is endeavouring
to be more transparent, but would like it to go even further by, for
example, posting online whether physicians have received written
cautions or been subjects of complaints.
Meantime, the
college’s governing council earlier this month approved placing criminal
findings of guilt and bail conditions on its public register. Leet said
that information should appear early next year.
Source: http://www.thestar.com/life/health_wellness/2014/12/17/ontarios_medical_watchdog_asks_what_would_you_want_to_know_about_your_md.html
Source: http://www.thestar.com/life/health_wellness/2014/12/17/ontarios_medical_watchdog_asks_what_would_you_want_to_know_about_your_md.html
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