Do you know your Doctor?

What you are about to read may cause the necessary level of paranoia needed in order to take the essential steps towards knowing more about your family physician. Few have the gall to ask their doctor questions pertaining to their past that could eventually affect the future. Most doctors possess the charm or at least the medical degrees that seem to speak for themselves. A recent case that highlights this discussion identifies why the public should be concerned about family physicians’ lives in and out of the clinic. It begins in Manitoba, takes a criminal turn in California, and ends up back in the Prairie provinces.

The year was 1995, and a Manitoba Medical University graduate named George Korol found himself far from the sort of honest, hard-working life that most Manitobans have come to lead. He achieved his status as a doctor on Aug. 10, 1979; shortly thereafter, Korol turned his back on the Prairies and headed to the sun-drenched state of California. His motive for leaving Manitoba is unknown; the common speculation would be that the California medical scene offered lucrative incentives for the young doctor. In all fairness, he was not the first to take his degree and head south and he will not be the last – Manitoba’s economy has not been buzzing since the Hudson Bay Company built Winnipeg’s infrastructure off the fur trade. Korol packed his bags and migrated away from mundane Manitoba. The rest is history gone unnoticed.

Beyond a suntan, California brought more harm than heal to the handsome doctor. On July 4, 1995,  Korol would ironically lose his freedom on Independence Day. Heavily distraught, Korol found himself in an Orange County office after reports identified him as the accused perpetrator in the firebombing of his mother-in-law’s home. Korol was allegedly targeting his wife who tried to seclude herself from his madness. Luckily, no one was hurt by the makeshift Molotov cocktail, but the damage was done. The fiery message beyond what he intended it to be – a cry for help or what have you – was that Dr. Korol was overwhelmed with an undetected chemical imbalance that had spilled over into his emotional existence as a husband. Dr. George Korol was convicted of arson by a California court. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba licensed this same man. Korol was stripped of his green card, his California medical license terminated, and after he received a five-year prison sentence – of which he served two – this same man was deemed competent to practice medicine in the great province of Manitoba.

Dr. George Korol was convicted of arson by a California court. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba licensed this same man. Korol was stripped of his green card, his California medical license terminated, and after he received a five-year prison sentence – of which he served two – this same man was deemed competent to practise medicine in the great province of Manitoba.

On July 1st, 1999, Manitoba miraculously made Korol – a convicted felon – a doctor once more. Somehow, Korol was able to convince the regulatory body into licensing him. A cost-benefit scenario might have occurred: on one hand, you have a trained physician financially capable of opening up his own clinic, which would create jobs and offer Winnipeg residents the opportunity to be medically advised by someone who was convicted of arson. On the other side of the spectrum, there is certainly no statute of limitations on acting crazy, is there? According to The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba (CPSM)’s head registrar Dr. Bill Pope, the regulatory body was aware of Korol’s criminal history. They assessed the situation, then deemed him competent to practise medicine in Manitoba. This decision was rendered in 1999, around the same time that California suspended his license and revoked his green card, essentially deporting Korol back to Canada. Dr. Pope went on record saying, “There are doctors who apply to us who have had some form of criminal conviction. Today’s society is expected to rehabilitate people. He could have reapplied for licensure in California but he didn’t. He decided to come back to Manitoba.” Korol surely traced his roots when he pleaded for a license in Manitoba. The University of Manitoba Medical School graduate clearly had the best chance of re-obtaining his status in the province that gave it to him in the first place.

After educating myself on The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO)’s extensive website, and speaking to its head of media relations, Kathyrn Clarke, it’s as clear as Manitoba skies that Korol would not have been re-licensed under the Ontario system. Shockingly, on ratemds.com, a website that offers patients a chance to comment on their family doctor experiences, Korol received an overall quality rating of four out of five, based on knowledge and helpfulness. One patient even described him as, “a good doctor, helpful and caring … haven’t seen you for a few years now. I hope you continue working as a doctor, you are a good person!” she wrote. This comment was listed on Dec. 1, 2009.

Recently, Gordon Sinclair Jr., a Winnipeg Free Press columnist, met with a visibly distraught Korol. During the interview, Korol painfully admitted that he indeed wrote  prescription medications under his wife’s name. Along with the fake prescription allegation leaked out by a former staff member at Korol’s clinic, a 2008 conviction of assault and possession of a weapon were the indiscretions that the Manitoba body chose not to overlook. Korol accepted an interim suspension from the CPSM. Silence was no longer an option for anyone associated with this story. It seems like Korol’s poisonous personal life found a way into his professional practice. For now, Korol is entangled in the mess he created.

Luckily, this is just an isolated case in the prestigious nation of Canada. The question is: How are you to know that your doctor has a questionable past? There are simple ways of checking up on your doctor before he or she has the privilege of giving you your yearly checkup.

“There are doctors who apply to us who have had some form of criminal conviction. Today’s society is expected to rehabilitate people. He could have reapplied for licensure in California but he didn’t. He decided to come back to Manitoba.” – Dr. Bill Pope

First, each province has its own legislations when it comes to its medical system. In Ontario, one would contact the CPSO. In Quebec, it would be The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Quebec (CPSQ), and so on. This can be done through the phone or via the Internet. Expect quality and quantity from the website. Don’t let it overwhelm you – you can obtain a background check on the doctor in question within minutes. Simply type in your family physician’s name under “Doctor Search” and the history of your doctor will appear on the screen. It begins with the date in which they graduated up until the present day. The public is able to skim through and discover any indiscretions made that are relevant to the doctor’s line of work. If your doctor is licensed, they will be listed in the database. In less than five minutes, I was able to view Dr. Korol’s 2008 assault conviction, and his indefinite suspension from practising medicine.

The CPSO’s media relations director Kathryn Clarke informed me that the public has a right to access information pertaining to a doctor’s background. “There are no time limitations and anything relating to a doctor’s history and his competence as a physician is available to the public. It is a mandate that all doctors must follow.” She did not wish to comment on what took place to her westerly neighbors. The Canadian medical system seems honest in its efforts to make any wrongdoings related to the field of medicine open to the public, especially the doctor’s history.

The old-fashioned way of obtaining a family physician is by asking your pediatrician or your dentist to refer someone trustworthy. Information offered to the public through the Internet and the telephone does not guarantee that the right doctor will care for your health.  As we saw in the case of Korol, the system is not perfect –  even with a demanding and extensive application process, screening and criminal background check, a doctor with a criminal past may still be licensed to practice. It is our duty to use the power of information through word of mouth or through the tools we have in our society to better protect our families and ourselves.

Hopefully, the first meeting with a family physician will be one where a charismatic doctor welcomes you with warmth and a kind smile. A sense of comfort is established. From that point on, your trust is innocently offered to him, the caregiver. Instead of just taking your blood pressure and pursuing routine checkups, the doctor sits you down in his office for a brief discussion. With medical degrees perched on the wall behind his head, the doctor delivers a brief summary of how he got to where he sits today. In his explanation, he includes any indiscretions that relate to his profession in and outside of the workplace. His honesty is not a choice but a mandate handed down by the provincial legislature. Currently this is not the case, however, would it not be the kind of reassuring experience that after a few simple minutes could ease any caution and allow your doctor-patient relationship form a comfortable bond? Unfortunately this is not so; the public does not have such an open relationship with its doctors and most do not know more about their doctor than their name, number, and location. Be cautious, Canada, your doctor won’t be the first one to tell you that it is better to be safe than sorry.
www.ratemds.com
www.cpso.on.ca