More than 40 doctors are currently being investigated by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) for promoting unproven treatments for COVID-19 or sharing unverified information about its vaccines, Global News may reveal.
The revelation comes after Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott publicly urged the CPSO to crack down on a group of doctors accused of spreading unverified medical information about the vaccines, following the situation in a Global News investigation revealed.
During a press conference Wednesday morning to brief Ontarians on the province’s fight against the Omicron variant, Elliott described the reports as “extremely worrying”.
“At a time when it has never been more important for Ontarians to have confidence in the safety and efficacy of vaccines, it is unacceptable,” she said.
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Elliott said she would send a letter to the CPSO “urging them to do everything possible to put an end to this behavior.”
“They should consider all options to do so, including reviewing the licenses of doctors who have been found to be disseminating incorrect information,” Elliott said.
But the CPSO says they are already doing so.
More than 40 doctors are currently being investigated in connection with their actions regarding COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, a CPSO spokesman said. Some are the subject of multiple complaints.
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Seven placed suspensions or restrictions on their medical licenses. The rest can continue to exercise without any additional restrictions.
However, the barrier to suspending or restricting a medical license is set high and should indicate that a physician’s behavior “exposed patients to harm” or was necessary to justify immediate disciplinary action to “protect the public,” he said. A CPSO spokesman said.
The spokesman said the CPSO “takes these issues very seriously” and court orders have been requested in “various cases” to ensure that they fulfill their mandate and to ensure that “the public is protected.”
“The College was clear about our concerns regarding physicians using their unique positions of trust to promote unsupported, unproven treatments for COVID-19; and which undermines public health measures, ”he said.
According to the CPSO’s last annual report, in 2020, the College received complaints about 2,832 doctors during the year.
The CPSO spokesman said nearly half of these were resolved early, meaning they did not pose a threat to patient safety.
COVID-related complaints, on the other hand, are taken “very seriously,” he said, and it could take years to resolve. Allegations of inappropriate prescribing of COVID treatments and the issuance of fraudulent vaccine releases represent “significant concerns” for the CPSO because of the “extraordinary risk” to public safety they represent, the spokesman said.
There are currently 35,543 active physicians in the CPSO.
Global News’ investigation has revealed that a number of doctors – mostly located in BC and Ontario – share unverified information about blood clots and side effects of myocarditis, while others have been accused of issuing false medical exemptions for wearing a mask or receiving a vaccine. Several claimed that the vaccine “kills children”.
All but one of the doctors have active medical licenses.
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia (CPSBC) refuses to disclose the number of complaints they have received regarding COVID-19.
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Reference-globalnews.ca