Order on Consent Dr. Syed Naqvi (Patient JS)

September 1, 2022

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Prince Edward Island received a complaint in February 2020, by JS regarding the care provided by Dr. Naqvi from 2017-2020. JS stated in the complaint that Dr. Naqvi did not provide a minimum standard of care in regard to the management of underlying medical conditions and prescribing medications that were not indicated for the medical conditions, along with other allegations.

Dr. Naqvi prescribed medications to JS that were indicated for diabetes when JS did in fact not have diabetes. He explained that he made an error by inaccurately labelling JS with a diagnosis of diabetes in 2017, and entering this in the clinical chart. His consequent treatment of JS, including inappropriately prescribing her medications for diabetes, was due to repeating his charting error for more than two years by recopying this misdiagnosis with all the subsequent visits that were made to his clinic. Subsequently in August 2018 the Diabetes Education Centre (DEC) confirmed that JS’s bloodwork did not meet criteria for the diagnosis of diabetes, and also outlined the increased risk of hypoglycemia because of the two medications Dr. Naqvi had prescribed to JS at the time. Dr. Naqvi had evidence of his misdiagnosis of JS’s underlying medical condition that he reviewed on multiple occasions over the course of years, and yet failed to reassess his assumption that JS had a diagnosis of diabetes.

JS had only one kidney and needed monitoring to preserve the function of the kidney, so, so regular blood pressure checks were important for ongoing care. Dr. Naqvi stopped her angiotensin receptor blocker, used to treat hypertension, and responded to the complaint by stating that he “continued to monitor her blood pressure afterward”, but review of Dr. Naqvi’s clinical chart failed to show evidence of a single blood pressure reading for this patient after the fall of 2017.

After investigating the complaint, the Investigation Committee found evidence of professional misconduct as defined in the now-repealed Medical Act Regulations against Dr. Syed Naqvi. as follows

(1)
XI, 1. For the purposes of Part IV of the Medical Act, “professional misconduct” constitutes a failure to maintain the standards of practice of the professional and includes:
(a) failing to maintain accepted professional standards and procedures in the practice of medicine;
(h) engaging in conduct or an act relevant to the practice of medicine that, having regard to all the circumstances, would reasonably be regarded by medical practitioners as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional;
(2)

(e) prescribing, administering or assisting any person in the use of any drugs or therapy in a manner that is not consistent with generally accepted professional standards and procedures in the practice of Medicine, unless in the context of a research protocol approved by a research ethics committee acceptable to Council.

Three allegations in the complaint were dismissed, but the Committee decided that certain orders were appropriate for the misconduct related to the other two allegations, and Dr. Syed Naqvi has accepted the findings of the Investigation Committee and has consented to the following orders (the words in italics are explanatory statements and do not form part of the orders):

1. Dr. Naqvi shall enroll in and complete successfully a course acceptable to the College on best practice guidelines for management of patients with Type 2 diabetes, at his own expense, on or before February 28, 2023,(The Comprehensive Primary Care Update Online Course, from Harvard Medical School is acceptable);
2. Dr. Naqvi shall enroll in and complete successfully a course acceptable to the College on proper medical record-keeping for a family physician, at his own expense, on or before February 28, 2023 (The Medical Record Keeping Online Course, from Dalhousie Medical School is acceptable); and
3. Dr. Naqvi shall pay the sum of twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) in costs to the College on or before February 28, 2023.

Upon completion of these requirements, the discipline process pertaining to this complaint will be concluded.