‘Vulnerable and manipulated’: Five-year suspension for doctor who had three-year affair with patient

A Quebec family doctor who carried on a three-year sexual relationship with a patient who was going through a marital breakup has been banned from practising medicine for five years and ordered to pay a $2,500 fine. Dr. Jean-René Pierre—who worked in private practice as well as in a hospital and community centre in Messines, Que., before retiring in December 2021—was also reprimanded for prescribing drugs with a risk of dependence during the time he was having an affair with the patient, according to the decision document issued by the discipline board at the Collège des médecins du Québec. In particular, the discipline board questioned the issuance of a new series of prescriptions after Dr. Pierre—who was also the family physician of the patient’s mother and former husband—had ended his relationship with the patient in March 2020. According to the decision document, Dr. Pierre initially denied the patient’s accusations but subsequently admitted that between 2017 and 2020, he had a consensual sexual relationship with her. Many of their sexual encounters took place at the home Dr. Pierre shared with his wife, and the patient slept over on a number of occasions. Read: Most Quebecers welcome care from non-doctor health professionals: survey In addition to the patient going to Dr. Pierre’s home approximately every two weeks, the two also spoke on the phone almost daily. In her complaint to the college, the patient stated that she had placed a lot of trust in Dr. Pierre as she was going through her marital separation. The patient also said she was in love with the doctor and, while she knew he was in a relationship with someone else, she had hoped to share a life with him. In defending his case, Dr. Pierre pointed out that some of the prescriptions had been issued previously by another doctor and that he had merely renewed these prescriptions. He also told the college he never deceived the patient and that he did not, at any point during their relationship, have any intention of leaving his spouse. However, the college noted it was “self-evident that the patient was vulnerable and that she was manipulated.” During the investigation the patient underlined the power imbalance between her and Dr. Pierre, particularly in light of how much he knew about her and her family. Read: ‘Thanks for the good time’: Gynecologist found guilty of making sexual remark to patient about to give birth

‘Vulnerable and manipulated’: Five-year suspension for doctor who had three-year affair with patient

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