The college’s registrar said the suspension given to Dr. John Francis Joseph David Kinahan is the longest it has issued for a confidentiality breach.
Kinahan, of Victoria, admitted to engaging in unprofessional conduct by taking a photo on his personal cellphone of an unconscious patient’s urinary catheter site without the patient’s consent, the college said Wednesday.
“He further violated patient privacy by forwarding the photograph in a text message, along with a joke, to a third party who was not involved in the patient’s care,” the college found.
The text was sent to multiple people, one of whom reported it to Island Health.
Registrar Dr. Heidi M. Oetter said in an interview that she is deeply disappointed by the doctor’s actions and that such breaches won’t be tolerated.
“I’m at a loss for words because it’s just so disrespectful,” Oetter said. “This is so far an isolated incident. It represents a very terrible lapse in judgment on the part of the physician and it resulted in the finding of misconduct.”
The privacy breach occurred July 4, 2013, in Royal Jubilee Hospital’s intensive care unit and was reported to Island Health the next day. Three months later, the health authority had completed its own investigation and an independent one and sent the results to the college, the regulatory body that addresses conduct issues and discipline. The patient also lodged a formal complaint.
Smartphone technology used at patient bedsides has improved patient care — photographs of wounds or suspected skin cancers are sent to other physicians for consultation, for example — but used for non-medical reasons without patient consent is “completely unacceptable,” Oetter said. “It was intended to ridicule.”
When the college received the complaint, Oetter said, she was “deeply disturbed” and sent a notice out to all B.C. doctors and medical students reminding them that photographs can only be taken for legitimate medical purposes with a patient’s consent.
The college said a disciplinary hearing into Kinahan’s case was warranted but unnecessary because he admitted to the misconduct.
His six-month suspension begins Jan. 1, 2016.
The suspension could be reduced by four months if Kinahan completes a college-approved multidisciplinary assessment program, attends a clinician-patient communication program, and participates in continuing medical education in the areas of ethics, boundaries and professionalism.
Kinahan is also required to attend meetings at the college to discuss the education and his insights.
The college, the licensing and regulatory body for all physicians and surgeons in the province, will continue to monitor Kinahan following his return to practice.
