ER doctor who worked in Niagara suspended
Regulator took issue with prescriptions, OHIP bills, professional conduct
A doctor who worked in Niagara Health’s emergency departments has had his licence suspended for a year by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario.
Dr. Sammy Vaidyanathan, 40, was reprimanded in a 56-page report released earlier this month that detailed a list of transgressions that included treating himself and billing OHIP on behalf of himself while in the emergency department.
The college also found problems with his prescribing of opiates and his professional conduct at work.
“Throughout his relatively brief career, Dr. Vaidyanathan has displayed a persistent and shocking lack of judgment, integrity and professionalism,” the college wrote. “Dr. Vaidyanathan has also shown contempt for the rules that govern the profession. His behaviour has been deceitful and selfserving, with apparent disregard for the patients he is treating.
“His management of patients has fallen below the standard of practice, including his prescribing of controlled substances. In light of these findings, a proportionate penalty is a severe one.”
Vaidyanathan worked in the emergency department run by Niagara’s hospital system in Welland, St. Catharines and Niagara Falls, and Humber River Regional Hospital.
All of the personal conduct issues cited occurred at the Humber River Regional Hospital.
“This matter did not involve patient care at Niagara Health,” said Dr. Johan Viljoen, Niagara Health chief of staff and executive vice-president medical. “This physician worked occasional shifts in the emergency department at Niagara Health, beginning in October 2015. He last worked at Niagara Health in September 2018, and he no longer works for our organization.”
The college’s report said Vaidyanathan’s self-treatments were not health emergencies. They were for fever and body pain, face pain, a hand contusion and foot pain.
The Canadian Medical Association’s Code of Ethics for doctors says, “Limit treatment of yourself or members of your immediate family to minor or emergency services and only when another physician is not readily available; there should be no fee for such treatment.”
In all but one case, physicians listed on his hospital chart told the college they did not assess or treat Vaidyanathan and were not involved in his care. One physician told the college he spoke to Vaidyanathan but considered the discussion informal, didn’t note it on the chart and didn’t bill OHIP for it.
The lawyer who represented Vaidyanathan at the hearing, Keary Grace of Toronto, in an email to the St. Catharines Standard said, “Thank you for your interest. We have no comment.”
The hearing was held over two days by video conference using an agreed statement of facts.
The college noted Vaidyanathan had reimbursed OHIP for his self-treatment.
Vaidyanathan’s self-treatment included using hospital labs to test himself, in one instance for hepatitis A, B and C as well as HIV, chlamydia and gonorrhea. In the chart, he discharged himself at 7 a.m., recording “well adult” as his selfdiagnosis.
The college also examined his use of opioid prescriptions.
It said in many of the ER charts reviewed showed they were prescribed “without a coherent indication, and in amounts that could pose a risk to the patient and in some cases, the public.”
Vaidyanathan is now banned from prescribing narcotic drugs, controlled substances, benzodiazepines and other targeted substances.