Edmonton doctor found guilty of prescribing offences, inappropriate relationship with patient

An Edmonton family doctor has been found guilty of six charges of unprofessional conduct after a hearing tribunal with Alberta’s medical regulator.

Dr. Daniel McKennitt received a 24-month suspension, is under several conditions, and must pay for the costs of the hearing ($25,131), the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta (CPSA) decided.

The tribunal found McKennitt guilty of:

• Violating a continuing care agreement with the college by prescribing while not permitted to see or prescribe to patients and prescribing to someone with whom he was in a personal relationship (two counts)
• Deceiving the college during a complaint investigation (one count)
• Deceiving the Edmonton Police Service during an investigation into a forged document (one count)
• Using another physician’s prescribing form without authority to do so
• Engaging in an inappropriate personal relationship with a patient

The tribunal found McKennitt’s conduct violated the college’s standards of practice and the Canadian Medical Association’s code of ethics.

His 24-month suspension began on July 21, 2016. His practice permit is now under the following conditions:

• Cannot prescribe any drugs monitored by the Triplicate Prescription Program
• Can only practice in a group setting approved by the college
• The other physicians and nurses there must know about hearing decision
• All patients he sees must have a chaperone present or parent/guardian in the case of minor
• Must participate and co-operate fully with the CPSA’s Physician Health Monitoring Program
• Must pay the costs of the tribunal hearing and investigation over the course of 36 months

The full CPSA hearing tribunal decision is posted here.

McKennitt graduated from the University of Alberta‘s faculty of Medicine and Dentistry in 2010.