Patrick Phillips, a northern Ontario doctor and a director of an organization found by the Star to be prescribing the debunked COVID-19 cure ivermectin, has had his medical license suspended under an interim order, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario said Tuesday.
“In 2021, Dr. Phillips failed to maintain the standard of practice of the profession in his care of patients,” including “in his reporting of adverse events following immunization,” Shae Greenfield, the college’s spokesperson, said in an email.
Phillips, a doctor based in Englehart, Ont., had already been facing disciplinary action by the province’s medical regulator for spreading COVID-19 misinformation, including on his Twitter account, which has since been suspended.
In September, the college restricted Phillips’ license, barring him from prescribing ivermectin and providing exemptions for COVID-19 vaccines, among other things.
On Tuesday, the college’s investigations, complaints and reports committee ordered that Phillips’ medical license be suspended.
Phillips did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Star.
Phillips is one of three listed directors of Canadian Covid TeleHealth Inc., an organization that prescribed and sourced ivermectin to an undercover Star reporter for hundreds of dollars.
Canadian Covid Telehealth is affiliated with the Canadian COVID Care Alliance, a group known for spreading anti-vaccine misinformation and promoting unproven COVID-19 treatments, such as ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine.
In a joint email response to questions from the Star at the time, Canadian Covid Telehealth directors, including Phillips, and Canadian Covid Care Alliance co-founder Ira Bernstein, said their telehealth practitioners had helped “hundreds of patients access prophylaxis and treatments” including, but not limited to, ivermectin.
“(Canadian Covid Telehealth) health care professionals are providing evidence-based services that have been proven in many clinical trials to reduce risk of hospitalization and death,” they said.
Ivermectin, an anti-parasitic drug, has been touted by celebrities and others as a cure for COVID-19 despite scientific evidence showing it doesn’t work.
Other examples of “disgraceful, dishonourable, or unprofessional” conduct relating to COVID-19 that Phillips is being accused of, according to the college, are:
- “Interference with the testing of an infant, who was not his patient, for COVID-19”;
- “Inappropriate management of patients/other individuals in relation to COVID-19 vaccines and in relation to COVID-19 treatment and prophylaxis, including inappropriate prescribing”;
- “Inappropriate provision of medical exemptions in relation to COVID-19”;
- “Inappropriate communication with patients/other individuals in relation to COVID-19 vaccines, treatment and prophylaxis”; and
- “Unprofessional conduct and communications at his hospital workplace, including failure to follow hospital protocols.”
The allegations against Phillips have now been referred to the Ontario Physicans and Surgeons Discipline Tribunal.
On Tuesday, the college also referred new allegations against Christopher Hassell, a Richmond Hill physician who was suspended from practicing medicine in January.
Among other things, Hassell is accused of spreading COVID-19 misinformation, inappropriately providing medical exemptions, and “inappropriate management of patients in relation to COVID-19 treatment and prevention, including prescribing, and provision of inaccurate and/or misleading information to patients in relation to COVID-19.”
Hassell runs Angel’s Heart Medical with Phillips. Angel’s Heart, which describes itself as “caring physicians and a network of allied healers,” was started in 2020, according to its website, after Phillips first faced sanctions by the medical regulator.
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