An independent investigation reported eight sanctions across three jurisdictions in Canada and the US
A Windsor-based doctor faces questions after an investigation reportedly discovered that he had run afoul of medical regulators eight times across both sides of the border. He has reportedly faced sanctions for offences ranging from improper prescribing, to “signs of incompetence,” to insurance fraud.
“Some details appear on the websites of medical regulators in Ontario, Michigan and California,” said the Toronto Star in its investigative report on Dr. Thomas Joseph Barnard. “But none of Barnard’s public profiles lists the full history… highlighting the weaknesses in the North American regulatory system that prevent medical boards and colleges from receiving timely disciplinary details.”
According to the Star, Barnard’s disciplinary history began with a $2,500 fine and two-month suspension from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) on Nov. 28, 2006. He had been investigated for how he charged patients for uninsured services, as well as issuing “gold member” cards that some patients believed entitled them to preferential service.
He did not disclose the investigation and penalty from Ontario when he applied for another license in Michigan six days prior, even though the application reportedly includes a question asking about any ongoing disciplinary action. “The state granted him a licence in December 2006, eventually fining him $2,500 in July 2015 for ‘failure to notify’ the regulator within 30 days,” the Star said.
In 2010, Barnard faced criminal charges over fraudulent OHIP billings, and was investigated. Meanwhile, in the fall of 2012, the CPSO was contacted by Ontario’s chief coroner and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care over concerns about the care Barnard was providing. The next five years brought different investigations and findings, including:
- Prescribing improper drug combinations “with known risks of harm” that led to a patient’s death;
- “[L]ack of knowledge and judgment” across 37 patient files reviewed by another doctor; and
- Another review revealing “various degrees of a lack of knowledge, skill or judgment” in the care of 11 patients out of 25.
By January 2017, Barnard had been hit with seven sanctions, including restrictions followed by a permanent ban from practicing in California, as well as progressively severe penalties from the CPSO that ended with him being barred from practicing family medicine and billing OHIP.
A few months later, he was sanctioned an eighth time when the 2010 criminal case against him was ultimately resolved on May 31, 2017. Barnard pleaded guilty to fraud under the provincial Health Insurance Act, effectively avoiding a criminal record.
“He was fined $8,000, given two years of probation and ordered to pay $250,000 in restitution,” the Star said. “The next day, four criminal charges of fraud over $5,000 were withdrawn at the request of the Crown.”
