In 1992, Dr. Eric Hansen stepped outside the rules of doctor–patient confidentiality and told police that a man convicted of sexual assault might be innocent. The Halifax psychiatrist had information about the woman who made the original complaint against the man to police; she was a former patient and he believed she had post-traumatic stress syndrome. Now, nearly 10 years later, Hansen has agreed to a charge of professional misconduct for his actions and his licence was suspended for 2 months, effective Dec. 1.
Hansen and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia agreed to the suspension before they were to appear before the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia. Hansen had appealed the college's original 3-month suspension for professional misconduct in 1996, when he became the first doctor in Nova Scotia to appeal a disciplinary decision.
CMAJ first reported on the case in 1994 (CMAJ 150[6]:960-2). “Hansen had doubts about the credibility of the woman's account of the sexual assault. A month after the trial ended, he did something no other Canadian psychiatrist has ever done: he voluntarily revealed sections of the woman's psychiatric file for use in court. On the basis of his medical opinion about the former patient, a 3-judge panel of the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal overturned the guilty verdict and ordered a new trial.”
According to the court, “the public interest in avoiding a miscarriage overrides any claim of privilege that might be advanced in these circumstances respecting patient–physician communications.”
In the agreement with the college, Hansen not only accepted the finding of professional misconduct and the 2-month suspension but also agreed to pay $25 000 toward costs. The sudden resolution came as a surprise, given the polar-opposite views that both sides have maintained.
In its original 53-page decision, the college stated that Hansen had “failed to talk to his patient, failed to communicate with the referring physician, failed to attempt to verify the accuracy of newspaper accounts of the ... trial, failed to consult with any of his colleagues and failed to adequately consider the ramifications that his actions might have on his patient.” Hansen responded that the committee's decision was “fundamentally misguided, misleading and wrong.”
Signature
Donalee Moulton
Halifax