DISCIPLINE SUMMARIES
i) nappropriate management of a patient’s migraine
I
with sedatives;
j) Inadequate management of anemia;
k) mproper concurrent prescription of fosinopril and
I
Altace;
l) mproper prescription of Novahistex for a child of less
I
than 12 years old;
m) ailure to follow up on an abnormal ultrasound reF
sult noting fatty liver and borderline splenomegaly;
n) ailure to follow up on a fasting glucose result at the
F
diabetic level of 8.3;
o) ailure to record a patient’s asthmatic status in the
F
Cumulative Patient Profile, and failure to intervene
in the contraindicated prescription of beta blockers
by a specialist for this patient; and
p) mproper prescription of Celebrex for a hypertensive
I
patient.
Reasons for Penalty
Counsel for the College and counsel for the member
made a joint submission as to an appropriate penalty
and costs order that was accepted by the Committee.
An Agreed Statement of Facts on Penalty was filed.
Dr. Wassermann’s misconduct involved a large number
of patients and he did expose his patients to harm. Patients need access to their health information in a timely
manner. The Agreed Statement of Facts indicates that
this lack of timely correspondence related to personal
problems, which Dr. Wassermann continues to work on
improving. The Committee is hopeful that his progress
will continue.
The chart review of the Registrar’s investigation revealed
a failure to maintain the standard of practice in his care
and treatment of all the patients under review. In particular, there was substandard record-keeping in all the
charts. Dr. Wassermann admitted to a failure to maintain the standard of practice in many areas, including,
but not limited to, prescription of medications without
adequate documentation of a rationale for same; inappropriate management of migraine and anemia; and
inadequate follow-up of abnormal test results. These
inadequacies are serious.
The Committee found the proposed penalty to be
52
DIALOGUE • Issue 2, 2014
appropriate. The penalty is very stringent with multiple
safeguards in the form of quarterly reports by reporting
director(s), approved by the College, at each location at
which Dr. Wassermann practises. In addition, the penalty includes a six month preceptorship with a College
acceptable preceptor, who will conduct monthly reviews
of 25 charts a month, followed by a further six months
of monthly reviews of 10 charts a month. Additionally,
a comprehensive practice assessment will follow the 12
months of preceptorship. Dr. Wassermann will also be
subject to the College’s policy on re-entering practice, as
he has been out of practice since June 2010.
Dr. Wassermann shall abide by any and all recommendations of his reporting director(s), the preceptor(s), the
Physician Health Program (PHP), and the assessors. The
Committee is reassured that the public will be protected
by these safeguards.
The penalty includes a public reprimand which will
serve to not only express to Dr. Wassermann the Committee’s abhorrence of his misconduct but also relay to
the membership at large that such substandard patient
care will not be tolerated. The Committee is reassured
that these deficiencies occurred at a time when Dr.
Wassermann was suffering from significant personal
difficulties; he ceased to practise in a timely fashion and
engaged in the PHP for assistance.
The Committee is pleased with Dr. Wassermann’s
involvement and improvement in the PHP and commends him on his commitment to continued health.
Other mitigating factors include Dr. Wassermann’s
cooperation with the discipline process, his voluntary
completion of the Family Practice Review Program and
the lack of any previous discipline findings.
The Committee has discretion to award costs in cases it
finds suitable. The tariff rate proposed assists in indemnifying the College for its costs of a one day hearing.
This is an appropriate case for such an order, and the
Committee orders Dr. Wassermann to pay $3,650
toward the College’s costs for this one day.
Order
The Committee ordered and directed that:
1. r. Wassermann attend before this panel to be repriD
manded.