CALGARY—Alberta’s medical regulator will begin publishing disciplinary records going back a decade, instead of the current five years, in the wake of a national Star investigation into the lack of transparency regarding doctors’ prior sins.

The unilateral move by the Alberta College of Physicians and Surgeons takes effect in a few weeks despite prior insistence from the regulator that such a change could only be made after politicians amended the law governing the medical profession.

“We want to get that in place to show progress,” said college spokesperson Steve Buick. “If the option of going further comes up, we’re open to that as well.”

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Members of the college’s governing council also voted Friday to start publishing specific charges doctors will face at upcoming disciplinary hearings rather than just a generic reference to “unprofessional conduct.”

The regulator said it will work with the province to ensure criminal convictions and disciplinary findings from outside Alberta will be included in a physician’s online profile. It will also look at tougher penalties for sexual misconduct.

Neither registrar Scott McLeod nor council president Kate Wood agreed to be interviewed Monday — or at any point during the Star’s investigation.

A statement on the college’s website makes no mention of the Star’s 18-month search that found 159 disciplined doctors who have held licences on both sides of the Canada-U. S. border, highlighting the gaps in a broken system that keeps their histories secret from patients.

But the agenda for last week’s meeting notes the “controversy” the series caused when it was published last month. It also says the regulator had asked Field Law for advice on how it could provide further transparency to Alberta patients about their doctors’ misdeeds.

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The college’s previous registrar had advocated — since 2015 — keeping disciplinary findings on the public file for 10 years instead of five, but the regulator previously said it needed the Alberta government to legislate the change.

In an interview Monday, Buick said the college did believe it needed regulatory approval, so it put the item on a list of requested edits to the Health Professions Act.

“There was no special urgency around it,” he said. “No one really considered any need to look at any other option.”

However, in light of increased transparency in jurisdictions like Ontario — where criminal convictions are posted to doctors’ online profiles — and more demand from the public, Buick said the college consulted with Field Law.

Field Law found the college could treat the five-year rule in the legislation as a minimum and create its own bylaws to post more, said Buick, acknowledging that some doctors would likely be unhappy about the move.

The firm also recommended the college go the regulatory route to add criminal convictions and disciplinary history from outside Alberta to the public record — something Health Minister Sarah Hoffman has said she’s open to.

“Yes, Ontario discloses more than we do,” said Buick. “Some other provinces disclose less. We are reasonably transparent ... but we acknowledge that the public is demanding more transparency and we are fully committed to moving forward.”

Patient advocate Rick Lundy characterized the College’s actions as too little, too late.

“These are half measures in response to (the Star’s) investigation,” said Lundy, spokesman for Open Arms.

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“The college has been aware of this problem for years, and we need it and the provincial government to move proactively and swiftly now to place a patient’s right to know ahead of a doctor’s desire for privacy.”

Instead of continuing to issue a de facto pardon by expunging disciplinary findings from its website after 10 years, Alberta should follow Ontario’s lead and leave rulings against a physician online indefinitely, he said.

“This is a good first step,” said Lundy, “but it’s not nearly enough to ensure patients are fully protected.”

Buick rejected the idea that removing disciplinary findings from public profiles amounts to a pardon, saying the records remain with the college and are shared with other jurisdictions as required — just not in a way that allows patients to easily see them.

“It does not erase the offence,” he said.

However, the college is open to posting disciplinary histories indefinitely, should the option come on the table, Buick said.

“The decision on this particular item is not a final word or an end of the discussion or anything like that; it’s just where they were at on that day.”

Hoffman said last month she was troubled by the apparent inaction on the transparency file despite the prior college registrar’s urging, and committed her government to looking at how it could post doctors’ records from outside the province and criminal convictions on their public licences.

On Monday, Hoffman wouldn’t commit to an exact timeline for making the legislative changes required but said the province was working on the exact wording required to make the amendments happen. The college’s Friday decision was a “win-win” for Albertans, she said, and one she fully supports.

“I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to move quite quickly,” Hoffman said.

Liberal Party MLA Dr. David Swann said the changes should be of high priority for the NDP-led government.

“Albertans want this fixed,” said Liberal Party MLA David Swann. “If this is not possible to handle right away, then it should be at the top of the legislative agenda for the fall session.”

Buick said the college still has to decide if the decision will apply retroactively — something he said would appear to be within the spirit of council’s vote. The regulator should have a decision by July, and the public can expect to start seeing changes on doctors’ public records in a matter of weeks, he said.

“I just have to ask you to take my word,” he said. “We cannot implement these changes tomorrow; we need a few weeks to do them ... We’ll just do them as quick as we can.”

Do you have a tip? Email us at medicaldisorder@thestar.ca Matt McClure and Emma McIntosh are investigative reporters based in Calgary. Follow them on Twitter at @mattmcclure2 and @EmmaMci

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