Last year, I spoke to my husband about his needing to find a new GP for his benefit as I would not ever contact his GP if he needed help. I would take him to a walk-in clinic or an emergency department before having any interaction with the man who laughed at me and mocked me when I was in pain. That GP continued to receive MRI reports and gastroenterology reports, although I had communicated to my neurologist and gastroenterologist that I had a new GP. He did nothing to correct these wayward reports to the doctors and felt at liberty to read them and discuss them with my husband months later. While he had been my husband’s GP for a few years, he was mine for only three months, from October 18, 2011 to January 18, 2012.

Monday, August 13, 2012

Vancouver, BC

_________ (full name used without the title “Dr.”)

My husband went to see you to on Friday to inform you that he would not be continuing with you as a patient. He let you know that your behaviour towards me on January 18, 2012 was unacceptable when you accused me of pretending to have pain in order to seek attention.

For your information, the gastroenterologist who admitted me to [hospital] in December has been instructed to revise the multitude of errors he made in my intake and other reports, including his difficulty in taking a history from me where he confused my biological family with my adoptive family as well as his made up term [diagnosis] of post-herpetic neuralgia. I have met with their VP of Medical Affairs to discuss the situation.

Your contemptuous tone of voice and your treatment of me on January 18 by telling me that I should see a psychiatrist because all of my problems were “in my head” were highly objectionable. You refused to talk about the side effects of the new medication I was on stating, incorrectly, that I had been on that medication before.

I had not planned on writing to you directly as any confrontation or challenge would be my word against yours as your derision and mocking of me was behind closed doors without witnesses. When I had a pain in my face, you put your hand on your face and said, in effect, “There you go, pretending you have pain just to get sympathy.”

Of course, the sheer irony of all of this is that I had a serious chronic sinus infection that was treated successfully by the brilliant diagnostician and surgeon, Dr. Amin Javer. And, subsequent brain MRIs have revealed possible multiple sclerosis. All in my head, indeed.

When my husband returned from his meeting with you on Friday, Aug 10, 2012, he told me that you had advice for me. It appears that not only did you read the MRI reports that had been sent to you in error; you believed you were at liberty to discuss the results with my husband. This is highly unethical and most shocking to me. Your continued description of my psychologist as my “friend” is also insulting and not becoming of a physician.

No human being should be treated by another human being in the way that you treated me, regardless of mental health. The fact that a physician did it to a vulnerable woman in pain is unpardonable. You are a disgrace to your profession.

Jennifer Sweeney, M.Sc., RSLP