Dr. Derek Heldzinger’s track record looks clear, according to public records from Alberta’s medical regulator. The trouble is, it’s not.

Heldzinger has a disciplinary history in five American states.

Georgia’s medical board disciplined Heldzinger in 2012 for prescribing pain medication to patients without filling out thorough medical histories or physical examinations. Over the next two years, the discipline in Georgia led to sanctions in four more U.S. states.

An 18-month Toronto Star investigation into doctors’ disciplinary records from both sides of the border reveals that Canada’s self-regulating medical watchdogs keep information secret more than their counterparts in the U.S.

Using public information — drawn largely from disciplinary records and public physician profiles posted by medical regulators in Canada and the U.S. — the Star compiled a database of 159 physicians with disciplinary records who have held licences to practise in both Canada and the U.S.

The Star found that 90 per cent of these physicians’ Canadian medical college profiles were missing discipline details that had been publicly disclosed in another province or state, while 69 per cent of their U.S. medical board profiles were missing this information. In Canada, 73 per cent of the profiles had no disciplinary history whatsoever, compared to 40 per cent in the U.S. — even though records exist in every case.

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A spokesman for the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta, Steve Buick, said the college is aware of Heldzinger’s Georgia history. He said he could not comment further on the college’s “interaction with an individual member.”

“If we felt there was any continuing risk to patients we would impose any conditions we judged were appropriate, including any extra monitoring or reporting, limits on prescribing, etc.,” Buick said, speaking generally.

In Alberta, the college erases doctors’ disciplinary histories after five years. And that’s only for actions taken within the province — discipline from other jurisdictions isn’t posted to their online college profiles in Alberta at all.

Alberta’s college does not automatically match penalties imposed in other jurisdictions.

Investigative reporters Diana Zlomislic and Rachel Mendleson discuss the doctors discipline investigation which took 18 months to complete.

Heldzinger, who did not respond to repeated requests for an interview, currently holds active licences in Alberta and Georgia. Staff answering the phone at a Calgary clinic listed on his Alberta profile said the physician no longer works there and is practising in the United States.

Heldzinger was disciplined in Georgia in 2012 after a board investigation concluded he had “failed to conform to the minimal standards of acceptable and prevailing medical practice” when he prescribed Oxycodone and Xanax to dozens of out-of-state patients. Heldzinger was fined, had conditions placed on his licence and was placed on probation for two years. He resigned from the clinic and cooperated fully with the investigation.

Based on the action in Georgia, Heldzinger agreed to surrender his Wisconsin licence in August 2013. Many U.S. medical boards are mandated to take action against licensees when they are disciplined in another jurisdiction.

He agreed to surrender his licence in Florida in October 2013 after the board alleged that he “failed to report” the action in Georgia. The next month, the Michigan board suspended his already expired licence, in part, because he “failed to notify” the board of the Georgia discipline.

According to discipline documents in New Mexico, Heldzinger informed the board in that state about the discipline in Georgia, but did not report the actions in Florida and Wisconsin.

Heldzinger “did not believe he needed to report the other states [sic] actions,” the documents state.

In 2014, he was ordered to give up his New Mexico licence, which had lapsed.

Alberta, where Heldzinger has been continuously licensed since the early 2000s, did not take action against him. Patients here would have to look up his record in American databases.

Buick said the regulator is reviewing what information it provides about physicians, in light of public expectation of increased transparency.

“It’s a question of what’s worth it in terms of the information we get versus the trouble it takes to get it,” Buick said.

Since 2015, the college and the province have discussed changing the law so disciplinary records would remain public for 10 years, not five. An Alberta health ministry spokesman said there is no timeline for passing that regulatory amendment.

Buick said the Alberta regulator may also change its rules about discipline handed down in other jurisdictions if there’s public demand for it. Though patients have the right to transparency, the college must also “protect the right to privacy of physicians and their trust in us as their regulator (so that they’ll self-disclose sensitive health information to us, for example).”

“Transparency is integral but it isn’t absolute; expectations change over time,” he added. “Patients don’t have the right to know physicians’ health conditions, for example, but they do have the right to know any condition we put on a physician’s practice to ensure their safety.”

With files from Diana Zlomislic and Rachel Mendleson.

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