Cancelled: Doctor guilty of sexual abuse of paraplegic patient stripped of licence and ordered to pay $90,000 in costs

An Alberta doctor found guilty of sexually abusing a paraplegic patient with an opioid addiction—and who lied about it later in her certification renewal application—has had her practice permit and registration cancelled and ordered to pay college costs to a maximum of $90,000.Dr. Brianne Hudson, who had been suspended from practice since January 2023 pending a sanction hearing, was deemed by the hearing tribunal of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta to have had a sexual relationship with a patient “amounting to sexual abuse as defined under the Health Professions Act.”“The evidence demonstrated that Dr. Hudson knowingly ‘crossed the line,’” wrote the tribunal in its December 7 decision. “In sexually abusing the patient, Dr. Hudson took advantage of her patient’s vulnerability and revealed her inability and unwillingness to uphold an essential trust when weighed against her own interests and motives.”The tribunal also noted that Dr. Hudson had been sanctioned previously for unprofessional conduct. In March 2017, the college found that while working as an emergency room physician, Dr. Hudson had failed to adequately assess a patient and had written inappropriate and subjective comments in his chart. The patient, who was 18 years old, died the following day.In its decision to cancel Dr. Hudson’s permit and registration, the college included an “acceleration clause,” which Dr. Hudson’s lawyer described as an “unprecedented and extreme remedy unsupported by case authority.”Read: Suspended immediately: Doctor who had sexual relationship with opioid-addicted, paraplegic man found guilty of sexual abuse of a patientThe clause stipulates that if Dr. Hudson defaults on her monthly installment payments towards the investigation and hearing costs—which she must pay within five years—she has 60 days to make up for the missed payment. After that period, the acceleration clause gets triggered and the entire balance of her debt becomes payable immediately.“The college requires an acceleration clause in the event of a default of payment because the college cannot use suspension or cancellation of Dr. Hudson’s practice permit to compel payment given that Dr. Hudson’s practice permit has been permanently cancelled,” the CPSA’s lawyer argued. “Also, without the acceleration clause, the civil enforcement of fines and costs has the potential to become unwieldy because it creates the impractical reality of having to sue every month for each installment when it became due.”According to the decision document, between August and November 2019, Dr. Hudson had a sexual relationship with a patient, who had become a paraplegic after a workplace accident. Dr. Hudson disclosed the relationship to the college in January 2020.She revealed during the college investigation that she had co-signed the patient’s lease for accessible housing and paid his damage deposit and first month’s rent. She also gave him $2,000 to cover his legal expenses.In her response to the college complaint, Dr. Hudson stated that in February 2019 the relationship between her and the patient grew close and included hugging and kissing on the cheek. In August of the same year, the relationship became more personal and intimate and they engaged in sexual contact on two occasions.Read: Physicians can learn from Alberta bounce-back case: Alberta college

Cancelled: Doctor guilty of sexual abuse of paraplegic patient stripped of licence and ordered to pay $90,000 in costs

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