Licence stripped from doctor who falsely logged mental instability in patient's medical file after she ended their affair

An Alberta doctor who made false entries in a patient’s health records to cover up the sexual relationship he had with her has lost his licence to practice and ordered to pay $12,500 in investigation and hearing costs. Dr. Wequar Ahmad, a general practitioner in Calgary who has been under voluntary suspension since January 2018 pending the outcome of the investigation, was also sanctioned by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta for breaching a 2014 undertaking that required him to have a chaperone present when seeing female patients. College investigators found that in his notes for at least 15 patient appointments—including 10 where he conducted physical examinations—Dr. Ahmed recorded the presence of a chaperone when there was none. The college was alerted to Dr. Ahmed’s 2017 boundary violation when the patient complained about information Dr. Ahmed had added to her medical record. According to the decision document issued by the college’s hearing tribunal, the medical entry stated that the patient “was not in her right mind” and that she should go see another doctor “because she was crazy.” Read: Doctor who engaged in 'sexual fantasy call' and texted photo of penis to patient hit with 6-month suspension and $65,000 in costs The patient, who had been going to Dr. Ahmad’s clinic since 2012, told the college she was separated from her husband and had custody of her son. She was concerned the false entry in her medical record could be detrimental to her and her family, and could also have affected her status as primary custodian of her son. “The relationship between Dr. Ahmad and the complainant began while he was treating her during a vulnerable period in her life, the details of which Dr. Ahmad was entirely aware,” wrote the college in its decision document. "When the complainant ended the relationship and threatened Dr. Ahmad with a college complaint, Dr. Ahmad falsified the complainant's medical record to create the impression that she was mentally unstable and that Dr. Ahmad had been discouraging any relationship with her . . .. The medical records that Dr. Ahmad falsified, attesting to her mental instability, could have negatively impacted a custody hearing if her medical records were requested and required for the child custody proceedings.” The affair with Dr. Ahmad started shortly after the patient went to see him for distress caused by the breakdown of her marriage. According to the patient, Dr. Ahmad pursued her romantically and that their affair had turned into a serious relationship. Read: Sexual misconduct with two patients plus fling and aborted baby with sister of third patient add up to zero licence for doctor Dr. Ahmad initially denied the relationship. Although he did admit to it eventually, he insisted during a risk evaluation performed at his request by a psychologist that the relationship “didn’t mean anything.” Under cross-examination, however, Dr. Ahmad acknowledged that he was first to mention love in the text messages he and the patient had exchanged, and that he told her he was leaving his wife. He also told the college he had sent the patient texts with graphic content as a way of demonstrating he was genuinely in love with her. In addition to seeing the patient outside the clinic over a six-month period, Dr. Ahmad also travelled with her. In making its sanction decision, the hearing tribunal looked at multiple factors that included the Dr. Ahmad’s violations of his 2014 undertaking, the “nature and seriousness” of the boundary violation from his 2017 affair with a patient, the deliberate alteration of the patient’s medical records to portray himself “as a victim of a mentally unstable patient,” and the potential impact of this false entry on the patient’s custody of her son. The college also took into account the fact that Dr. Ahmad lied about having had a sexual relationship with a patient when he renewed his 2018 licence. “The hearing tribunal found these facts to be on the most extreme end of the spectrum of unprofessional conduct,” wrote the college. Read: Don't date and treat: One-year suspension for doctor who treated colleague he had a relationship with

Licence stripped from doctor who falsely logged mental instability in patient's medical file after she ended their affair

Register for free access or login.

Related Topics