An investigation has been launched into a doctor in Toronto and two more have imposed further restrictions on their licenses due to alleged COVID-19-related misconduct over the past 24 hours, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) confirmed.
Global News has learned that Dr. Ira Bernstein, a family physician who co-founded the Canadian Covid Care Alliance (CCCA), which created a telecommunications health service that provides ivermectin to Ontarians, is being investigated by the CPSO.
Bernstein was one of several physicians highlighted in a recent Global News survey on a web of Canadian physicians promoting unverified medical information about COVID-19 treatments and some physicians allegedly issuing false medical releases.
A CPSO spokesman confirmed to Global News that an investigation into Bernstein had been launched on Friday.
“Although we are limited in terms of the Regulated Health Professions Act to disclose further details, we can confirm Dr Ira Bernstein is being investigated by the College,” a CPSO spokesman said.
Bernstein joins the ranks of more than 40 doctors in Ontario who are now being investigated for alleged COVID-related misconduct.
He did not respond to a request for comment from Global News.
2 more doctors disciplined within 24 hours
On Thursday, restrictions were placed on the licenses of two more doctors by the CPSO for issues related to COVID.
Dr Christopher Hassell, who also highlighted Global News in his investigation,’s license restrictions were upgraded after a suspension.
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During a suspension, a physician must immediately stop practicing medicine and may not resume until the suspension has been removed. There are currently only two other suspensions in Ontario for COVID-related behavior.
Hassell already had restrictions on his license, introduced in November 2021, which prohibited him from prescribing ivermectin, as well as medical exemptions for COVID-19 vaccines, mask requirements, and testing.
He left his practice at York Medical Clinic because he allegedly issued medical exemptions for vaccine for a fee in September last year, according to a Toronto Star article.
Hassell then co-founded the medical organization Angel’s Heart Medical with Dr. Patrick Phillips, who at the time was the only other physician in Ontario with a restriction on his license prohibiting him from prescribing ivermectin in conjunction with COVID-19.
Phillips is a director of the CCCA’s Canadian Covid TeleHealth Inc, registered at Bernstein’s practice address and offers Ontarians ivermectin to treat COVID-19. Phillips denies prescribing ivermectin since the restrictions were imposed on his license and said via his attorney Michael Alexander it “does not prevent him from acting as a director of a Canadian company.”
The CPSO declined to comment on the details surrounding Hassell’s case.
Hassell did not respond to a request for comment from Global News.
Dr Akbar Khan imposed restrictions
The second doctor whose license was restricted on Thursday due to COVID-related issues was cancer doctor Dr Akbar Khan.
Khan’s license is limited to what the CPSO claims is “shameful, dishonorable or unprofessional conduct” with respect to its “communication with a patient about a College complaint and with respect to its billing practices with respect to a patient.”
Read more:
COVID-19 disinformation shared by Canadian doctors ‘extremely worrying’: Ontario health minister
As of Thursday, Khan may no longer provide medical exemptions for COVID-19 and may not prescribe ivermectin.
Khan is the co-founder of Medicor Cancer Centers, which he describes on his LinkedIn page as “the first integrated private cancer clinic of its kind in Canada.”
The description goes on to say that Khan has gained “international recognition” for his work with non-label drugs in cancer treatment.
Medicor also recently added cancer prevention strategies to its treatment repertoire, with “a focus on vitamin D, natural medicine, safety-tested e-cigarettes and medical ozone therapy.”
The CPSO declined to comment on the details of Khan’s alleged actions, as it was referred to the Ontario Physicians and Surgeon’s Tribunal for a hearing.
“Dr Khan is incompetent and has failed to maintain the standard of practice of the profession with regard to his care and treatment of patients,” reads a notice on Khan’s CPSO list.
Khan already had restrictions on his license following a CPSO complaint in 2017. The CPSO website does not provide details on the 2017 restrictions.
In 2009, Khan appeared before the Ontario District Court during a fight with Scarborough General Hospital.
According to court documents, the hospital’s Medical Advisory Committee sought to revoke Khan’s hospital privileges due to a “history of disruptive behavior” that resulted in an email sent to hospital staff. This e-mail set out staff salaries, including the salary of dr. Steven Jackson, who was chief of staff at the time.
Court documents say Khan had agreed in a memo two years earlier to “continue to advocate for change, but that ‘he will ensure that his communication and differences are respectful and not hurtful’.”
Khan brought the issue before the hospital’s Executive Committee of the Board of Directors to destroy it, but failed. He then applied for judicial review in the Divisional Court, but it was also rejected.
Khan did not respond to a request for comment from Global News.
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Reference-globalnews.ca