The Quebec College of Physicians has suspended the licence of Dr. Raymond Rezaie for six months for writing medical notes and prescribing medication to students without properly assessing them.
He pleaded guilty to 13 violations dating between December 2015 and January 2016 at Alpha medical clinic, located at 1253 Guy St. in downtown Montreal.
He was also fined $10,000.
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This comes after multiple students from Collège Maisonneuve-Rosemont handed in notes from the clinic, which opened in 2010, so they could skip or drop classes.
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Investigators working for the College of Physicians visited the clinic, including one woman on April 26, 2016, who said she was suffering from what seemed to be burnout.
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In the judgment released by the College of Physicians, dialogue of an undercover patient video goes as follows:
Patient: “I don’t feel well, but it’s not physical. It’s just right now, with exams, everyone is burned out.”
Doctor: “Do you want a note for school?”
Doctor: “Do you want to drop classes?”
Patient: “I don’t know what to do. I have difficulty concentrating.”
Doctor: “Which classes do you want to drop? And how many classes do you want to drop?”
He then informs the “student” that it will cost $65, saying if she has anxiety or burnout, “we can drop the classes you don’t want.”
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Rezaie then asks if the patient is suffering from insomnia, anxiety and has a hard time concentrating.
The patient was prescribed citalopram, an antidepressant, without proper examination.
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“It is clear that Dr. Rezaie steered the interview by suggesting symptoms to make sure all the criteria are filled out so the school would accept her request to drop classes,” stated Dr. Sophie Ménard, who acted as an expert witness, in the decision.
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Despite his saying he asked several university and CEGEPs to refer patients to him, the clinic was in dire straits in 2017, reporting a deficit of $45,000.
Not the first time
Rezaie previously had his licence suspended for one month after he admitted to botching more than 30 circumcisions on babies dating between 2010 and 2013.
He was banned for life from performing the procedure after many of the babies suffered major complications and had to undergo corrective surgery.
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He also had to pay a $20,000 fine.
Rezaie received his licence to practice medicine in 2006.
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He expressed regret to the College for what he did but said the students accounted for a small portion of his 1,500 patients, including 10 families who he says currently depend on his status as a physician.
Rezaie’s six-month licence suspension will start June 4.
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