Toronto doctor fined and suspended after renting apartment to patient and hiring another

A Toronto doctor has been suspended by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario for failing to maintain appropriate boundaries with several patients, among other acts of unprofessional conduct.As outlined in a decision released Sept. 20 by the Ontario Physicians and Surgeons Discipline Tribunal. Dr. Jeffrey Martin Steinberg failed to maintain appropriate boundaries with a patient by renting an apartment to her. The tribunal said when a dispute arose between the patient, Dr. Steinberg threatened to withhold prescriptions and sought to terminate the physician-patient relationship “in an inappropriate manner.”“After terminating the relationship, you continued to use demeaning and degrading language towards her,” the tribunal said in their reprimand to Dr. Steinberg.The tribunal also found that Dr. Steinberg had also threatened to inappropriately disclose the patient’s personal health information to third parties. After the patient submitted her complaint to the college, Dr. Steinberg had tried to intimidate the patient into withdrawing her complaint and tried to convince the college that the patient no longer wanted to continue the complaint, the tribunal found.In a separate incident involving a different patient, the tribunal found that Dr. Steinberg had once again failed to maintain appropriate boundaries when he hired another patient to work for him in connection to his properties.When a dispute between this patient arose over the signing of a form, the tribunal found that Dr. Steinberg threatened to withhold medication refills and inappropriately end the physician-patient relationship for this patient and their family members, who have been with Dr. Steinberg for 15 years.“Among other things, you failed to provide interim care and did not attempt to resolve issues in the best interests of your patients,” the tribunal said.As a result, Dr. Steinberg has been fined $6,000 and suspended for eight months. It’s not the first time Dr. Steinberg has faced disciplinary action with the college. In May 2023, the tribunal fined him $6,000 for failure to maintain appropriate boundaries with a patient after he invited her to his home via text message and hugged her during a medical appointment.“We expect that your significant suspension will serve as a deterrent against any future misconduct,” the tribunal told Dr. Steinberg. “We do not want to see you back before this Tribunal again.”

Toronto doctor fined and suspended after renting apartment to patient and hiring another

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