The number of provinces with laws protecting physicians who practise alternative forms of medicine is growing. Alberta, Ontario and, most recently, British Columbia have now passed legislation designed to protect these physicians from disciplinary action solely because they offer these therapies.
In all 3 provinces, the legislation began life as a private member's bill. Alberta's bill became law in 1996, while Ontario's was proclaimed in December 2000 and British Columbia's last spring.
“Before our legislation passed, doctors had a lot of concerns about getting involved with alternative therapies,” says Dr. Jeannette Soriano of Calgary. “They were concerned about harassment by the college.”
Indeed, Soriano says the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta had opened an investigation of her practice, which includes the use of chelation therapy. The investigation was later dropped.
Ontario's bill, introduced by Liberal MPP Monte Kwinter and supported by all parties, was initially opposed by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, but by the third time it was introduced — it died on the order paper twice because the legislature adjourned — the college had dropped its objections.
The Ontario law states that doctors should not be found guilty of professional misconduct or incompetence solely because they practise a nontraditional therapy “unless there is evidence that proves that the therapy poses a greater risk to a patient's health than the traditional or prevailing medicine.”
A college spokesperson says that once the word “solely” had been added to the legislation, the college dropped its objections.
“No one is going to take away the college's responsibility to regulate the profession, but it shouldn't be able to just go after someone because they practise an alternative therapy,” says Kwinter, who has never received alternative therapy.
Toronto lawyer Morris Manning, who defended alternative practitioner Dr. Jozef Krop against the Ontario college in a lengthy, high-profile case, says the Ontario law will help. “This has to be viewed in the context of traditional medicine's opposition to change,” Manning said in an interview. “Now, the college can't just say, ‘We don’t like this new technique.' It has to show that somehow the patient is endangered.”
When Alberta's legislation was passed, the Alberta college decided to create a system to register doctors who practise complementary therapy, but only after they had provided proof of proper training and education. “We didn't want an us-versus-them situation with respect to these practitioners,” said assistant registrar Dr. Bryan Ward. “We wanted to keep the dialogue open.
“It took some time, and we had a lot of discussion. These doctors get approval to provide specific therapies by proving they've had some rigorous training. We don't approve the therapy, but we approve the physician providing the therapy.”
Signature
Ann Silversides
Toronto