Two radiologists in British Columbia, Canada, are being investigated for reading CT and ultrasound scans without appropriate credentials or experience, in a case that may affect more than 3,000 patients.
Meanwhile, the provincial government has been left scrambling to defend itself for not taking quicker action to stop the practice.
On January 11, Minister of Health Colin Hansen ordered an investigation into thousands of scans performed in British Columbia hospitals. Newspaper reports identified one of the radiologists as Mansukhlal Mavji Parmar, MD, a full-time radiologist in Powell River, while the other is an unnamed temporary radiologist who practiced briefly in the eastern Fraser Valley last year.
The investigation was launched after concerns came to light over readings performed last year. As part of its internal investigation, the Vancouver Coastal Health and Fraser Health authorities have begun to notify roughly 3,400 patients who may have been affected.
Among them are approximately 900 patients in the Powell River area following an internal investigation into concerns that Parmar was not authorized by the British Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons to interpret CT scans. Parmar allegedly performed nearly 2,300 obstetrical ultrasounds since 2002 without being authorized to do so by the college, according to a report in the Globe and Mail.
Meanwhile, Fraser Health will contact 170 patients following an internal investigation into concerns that the unnamed temporary radiologist who worked at Abbotsford Regional Hospital and at Chilliwack General Hospital in the Fraser Valley may have lacked sufficient experience to interpret CT scans.
At a news conference on Friday, Hansen apologized to patients as he came under fire for the government's allegedly slow response after learning last fall that the radiologists were unqualified to read the scans. It took time to determine whether the allegations were valid and whether it would be necessary to contact the patients involved, David Ostrow, MD, Vancouver Coastal Health president and CEO, said in response to questions at the news conference.
