STICKY SITUATION: Psychiatrist slammed for giving patient tape and instructions on genital tucking

A Gander, NL psychiatrist who provided a patient with medical tape and instructions on how to conceal his genitals between his legs has been ordered to pay $10,000 in college costs, prohibited from prescribing narcotics and required to hire a chaperone for appointments for one year. These penalties are in addition to a 21-month suspension already served by Dr. Jonathan Jaco Maritz, who pleaded guilty to all five complaints filed against him by the registrar at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Newfoundland and Labrador, according to a discipline document written and released this month by the college’s adjudication tribunal. Dr. Maritz is now eligible to apply for reinstatement of his medical licence but will need to successfully complete, at his cost, a safer opioid prescribing skills workshop and a Center for Professional Education for Professionals medical record keeping seminar. He is also required to complete, within the next sixth months, a professional development course on maintaining appropriate boundaries between patients and physicians. Read: Sex, lies and sanctions: Psychiatrist hit with $15,000 penalty and barred from practice Two of the complaints arose out of Dr. Maritz’s dealings with a patient who was attending the clinic for ongoing methadone maintenance treatment. According to the discipline document, during a brief, unscheduled meeting for methadone maintenance, Dr. Maritz and the patient discussed gender affirmation procedures. The patient removed his pants and undergarments and Dr. Maritz gave him some medical tape and told him how to tuck his genitals between his legs, according to the document. “The patient experienced bruising and groin pain later that day,” wrote the tribunal. “The patient denied ever expressing an interest in gender reassignment. Dr. Maritz does not have expertise or specialized education in the treatment of transgender patients.” The tribunal also stated that Dr. Maritz had used inappropriate comments and questions which reflected a “lack of respect for the patient’s dignity and privacy.” Read: Suspended: Psychiatrist deemed patient paranoid yet fed him QAnon links and conspiracy theories The investigation found the medical records documenting the treatment relationship between Dr. Maritz and the patient—who has been to the clinic about 110 times—were “inadequate, including that they lacked critical information about the patient; used stock phrases and sentences which were sometimes internally inconsistent; and did not contain the information expected of a provider of (methadone maintenance treatment).” Dr. Maritz admitted that his prescribing practices with respect to methadone and opioids for this particular patient were not in full compliance with the college’s methadone maintenance treatment standards and guidelines, the tribunal added. The tribunal also ruled on three other complaints, which were unrelated to this particular patient. These other complaints stemmed from reports from the provincial Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, which had raised concerns over Dr. Maritz’s prescribing practices, particularly as they relate to methadone and opioids. “The medical records showed that Dr. Maritz’s prescribing practices were non-standard and did not adhere to the relevant standards of practice, including in that they were often prepared days, weeks, or months after the patient encounter; some documentation of clinic visits was totally absent; the content of the records was deficient in several respects; and that Dr. Maritz had failed to use objective screening to verify patient’s self-reports of adhering to their (methadone maintenance treatment) protocol,” wrote the tribunal. Dr. Maritz acknowledged his failure to meet the standard of practice for prescribing methadone and other opioids, and agreed that his prescribing practices were not in full compliance with the college’s standards and guidelines. Read: SEVEN-YEAR HITCH: Why a $146,000 fraudulent OHIP billing case that began in 2014 is still going on

STICKY SITUATION: Psychiatrist slammed for giving patient tape and instructions on genital tucking

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