On September 19, 2017 the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee referred a matter involving Steven Brown, Registration Number 09752 to the Discipline Committee for a hearing. The hearing was held on June 13, 2018. The panel’s decision will be made available on CanLII (www.canlii.org). 

Overview of the Allegations
The allegations refer to the following headings of professional misconduct:

• Failing to maintain the standards of practice of the profession
• Engaging in conduct or performing an act relevant to the practice of the profession that, having regard to all the circumstances, would reasonably be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional
• Advertising, unless the advertisement accurately and fairly presents verifiable information to assist a patient in choosing whether to engage the services of the member

Penalty  
At the conclusion of the hearing the panel found that Mr. Brown had committed acts of professional misconduct and ordered the following penalty:

1. That the Member appear before the panel of the Discipline Committee to be reprimanded at the conclusion of this hearing held on June 13, 2018.

2. That the Registrar suspend the Member’s certificate of registration for two (2) months, with one (1) month of the suspension to be suspended on condition that the Member successfully complete the remedial activities specified in paragraphs 3 (a) and (b) below. The suspension shall commence on a date to be determined by the Member but no later than September 1, 2018. That if the balance of the suspension is required to be served by the Member because he does not complete the remedial activities set out in paragraphs 3 (a) and (b) proposed below, the remaining one-month suspension shall commence 60 days from the date of the Member failing to successfully complete the PROBE course in accordance with paragraph 3(a) below and/or failing to undertake the remedial activities set out in paragraph 3(b) below, whichever comes first.

3. That the Registrar impose specified terms, conditions or limitations on the Member’s certificate of registration, namely that:

a)       within the 30 days of the date of this Order, the Member shall register in the first available PROBE (Program for Professional, Problem-Based Ethics) course. The Member shall at his own expense, complete the PROBE course, with an unconditional pass;

b)       within 60 days of the date of this Order, the Member shall complete a review of the following College standards, tools, and resources and send written confirmation to the Registrar confirming that he has done so. (Code of Ethics, Ethics E-Learning Module (videos and print), Professional Misconduct Regulation, Advertising Standard and resources, Conflict of Interest Standard, Essential Competency Profile for Physiotherapists in Canada)

c)       for greater clarity, the remedial activities and set out in (a) and (b) above must be completed by the Member regardless of whether the Member serves the second month of the suspension as set out in paragraph 2 of this Order.

d)      for a period of twelve (12) months following the date of this order, Mr. Brown shall submit all proposed advertising for Family Physio and/or any other physiotherapy clinic under Mr. Brown’s direction or control, to the College for review in advance of publication of the advertising. The draft text, scripts, clips and/or images for advertisements shall be provided to the College for review a minimum of one week prior to publication. Where the College identifies a concern with respect to the advertisement’s compliance with the College’s standards of professional practice, Mr. Brown shall amend the advertisement consistent with the College’s direction. For greater clarity, Mr. Brown’s television show where he conducts interviews with health professionals and others, is not “advertising” for the purpose of this paragraph.

e)    the Member shall not provide physiotherapy services as a physiotherapist assistant during the period in which he is suspended from practice in accordance with paragraph 2 above.

That the Member pay costs to the College in the amount of $7,500.00, payable by way of post-dated cheques dated June 30, 2018 ($2,000.00), August 30, 2018 ($2,000.00), October 30, 2018 ($2,000.00) and December 30, 2018 ($1,500.00) and provided to the College on or before June 30, 2018.