September

While the College does not collect information from physicians about whether they perform a particular procedure or have a specific expertise or special interest beyond their formal training and academic credentials, it does have an expectation as outlined in the bylaws under the Health Professions Act, and as clearly stated in a practice standard (Advertising and Communication with the Public), that registrants represent themselves and their credentials accurately and truthfully, and that they avoid misleading the public through false or exaggerated claims.

Evert Tuyp raises some interesting points in his letter about nonrecognized qualifications (BCMJ 2018;60:240). I appreciated the frank and honest editorial comment attesting that the BCMJ doesn’t have a robust policy on the topic. I wonder whether the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC, or for that matter governing bodies such as the College of Family Physicians of Canada, have robust policies either. As this issue clearly affects patient safety, public trust, and physician accountability, one would expect them to.

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts on our decision to sell MD Financial Management. I appreciate this opportunity to provide some further details and hopefully answer some of the questions you raised.

The sale of MD Financial Management to Scotiabank has been very unsettling to me and to many of my colleagues. This subsidiary of the CMA has been an integral part of the financial planning and retirement security for Canadian physicians for the past 50 years. An overwhelming number of the physicians I know supported MD Management because it felt safe. The physicians owned the company. The financial agents did not work on commission. They worked solely for us. The fees were the lowest in the investment community. It will be hard to convince us that this will not change.

I was disheartened to see that Dr Peter Rothfels, in his article “Best practices in treating noncancer pain”[1] chose to use United States data and an Ontario study about emergency physician prescribing to back up his claim that, “since the mid-1990s, physicians have been increasingly prescribing higher doses and stronger opioids for their patients, particularly those with chronic noncancer pain.” Being the chief medical officer for WorkSafeBC, I would presume this arti

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