On January 20, 2020 the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee (ICRC) referred a matter involving Kamran Sadeghi Nogourani to the Discipline Committee for a hearing. 

The hearing took place on January 13, 2021. This matter was resolved by way of an Agreed Statement of Facts and a Joint Submission on Penalty.

Finding

The Discipline Committee issued a decision on the finding on January 13, 2021, on penalty on January 13, 2021 and on costs on January 13, 2021. 

After having considered all of the evidence, a panel of the Discipline Committee found Kamran Sadeghi Nogourani to have committed the following acts of professional misconduct:

• Paragraph 1 (failing to maintain the standards of practice of the profession),
• Paragraph 18 (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), 
• Paragraph 26 (failing to keep records in accordance with the standards of practice of the profession),
• Paragraph 27 (falsifying a record), 
• Paragraph 28 (signing or issuing a document containing a statement that the member knows or ought to know is false or misleading), 
• Paragraph 32 (submitting an account or charge for services that the member knows or ought to know is false or misleading), 
• Paragraph 33 (failing to take reasonable steps to ensure that any accounts submitted in the member's name or billing number are fair and accurate, 
• Paragraph 40 (continuing the treatment of a patient where it is no longer indicated, has ceased to be effective or is unnecessary); and 
• Paragraph 41 (failing to supervise in accordance with the standards of practice of the profession) 
  

Penalty

The panel of the Discipline Committee ordered the following penalty. That Kamran Sadeghi Nogourani:

• Receive a reprimand at the conclusion of the hearing (delivered on January 13, 2021)
• Serve a suspension for the period of January 14, 2021 through to and including August 14, 2021. The suspension could be extended if they are unable to complete certain requirements.
• Complete a review of various College, standards, tools and resources.
• Meet with a practice coach on no more than eight occasions.
• May not supervise physiotherapy students, PTA students or registrants of the profession who hold a provisional practice certificate of registration during the coaching period.
• Successfully complete the ProBe program.
• Practice as a PTA during their suspension only under the supervision of an approved, registered member of the College who is a physiotherapist in their practice location. This location must be owned by a regulated health professional. 
  
  

The Committee also ordered Kamran Sadeghi Nogourani to pay costs to the College in the amount of $4,000 to offset some of the costs associated with investigating and prosecuting this case.

As a part of the penalty the Committee also issued a reprimand which read as follows: 

The panel has found that your behaviour constituted professional misconduct and wishes to comment on four specific elements. 

Firstly, it was viewed by this panel that your behaviour reflects negatively on the profession. We strongly emphasize that your professional obligations demand that you maintain proper billing and record keeping practices.

Secondly, the College has a zero-tolerance policy on inappropriate billing practices and as a member of this profession, you are required to adhere to our College’s professional standards. The lack of oversight on the invoicing process in inadequate recordkeeping could give the impression of falsified and/or fraudulent behaviour. The panel wishes to reinforce the importance of maintaining the standards. 

Third, the panel wants to highlight that this is a recurring behaviour on your part over the years. Based on the prior history with the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee in 2006, this panel found that you previously were made aware of similar shortcomings; therefore, you should have been able to avoid being in this setting today. 

Finally, although you were not the clinic owner related to these allegations, it is a serious concern for this panel that you are a business owner of another practice and did not appear to have a full understanding of the obligations for billing and record keeping practices. In light of the joint submission and cooperation on your part, it is hope that you will take the learnings from this case and transfer them to your practice in all settings. 

Should you appear before a disciplinary panel for similar behaviour in the future, this proceeding will weigh heavily on penalty consideration at that time.

You can read the full decision of the Discipline Committee of the College of Physiotherapists of Ontario. The panel’s decision will be made available on CanLII (www.canlii.org).