Professional Misconduct

Professional misconduct is the legal finding under Ontario’s regulatory framework that a regulated health professional has engaged in conduct prohibited by the relevant college’s regulations. For physicians, the governing instruments are the Health Professions Procedural Code (Schedule 2 to the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991), the Medicine Act, 1991, and Ontario Regulation 856/93, which lists the specific acts that constitute professional misconduct.

Findings of professional misconduct are made by the Ontario Physicians and Surgeons Discipline Tribunal after a hearing. The range of conduct that can support a finding is broad and includes incompetence, sexual abuse of a patient, falsifying records, billing fraud, breaches of patient confidentiality, conduct that would reasonably be regarded as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional, and failures of supervision or delegation. Penalties on a finding can range from a reprimand to permanent revocation of the certificate of registration.

Posts tagged Professional Misconduct analyze recent findings against Ontario physicians, with attention to the specific clinical or non-clinical conduct at issue, the regulatory provisions engaged, and the penalty imposed.