Disciplinary council imposes six-month suspension on Amir Khadir

Former Québec solidaire MNA Amir Khadir will have to hang up his stethoscope for six months.

The disciplinary council of the College of Physicians has imposed a six-month suspension on the microbiologist and infectious disease specialist for continuing to prescribe antibiotics for more than 28 days, despite a commitment to cease this practice made to the assistant syndic in 2020.

“The assistant syndic (Dr. Michel) Joyal gave the respondent a chance, but he did not take it,” the disciplinary council stated in its 41-page decision.

Guilty plea

Khadir pleaded guilty to all 12 counts of the complaint filed by another assistant syndic, Dr. Steven Lapointe, on the first day of the hearing before the Council, on Oct. 28.

With the six-month suspension, the council has reached a compromise. The assistant syndic had requested a 12-month suspension, while Dr. Khadir had argued for a one-month suspension.

The assistant syndic had submitted as evidence the files of 12 patients who had received antibiotic therapy for more than 28 days to treat the effects of Lyme disease, a therapeutic approach that is neither approved nor proven by the medical community.

Khadir administered these treatments at his practice, the outpatient clinic of Pierre-Le-Gardeur Hospital in Terrebonne, on Montreal’s North Shore.

Commitment

Dr. Joyal’s intervention occurred during an initial disciplinary investigation, and in 2020, he had Dr. Khadir sign a commitment in which he agreed to cease providing this treatment. This restriction was supposed to end once a formal research protocol on the prolonged antibiotic treatment of chronic Lyme disease was established, or if this treatment were eventually recognized by the medical community.

Subsequently, Khadir did indeed take numerous steps with government and academic authorities to establish a centre, a specialized clinic, and to implement a research protocol. The Vector-Borne Disease Clinic was even created, and Dr. Khadir devoted a significant portion of his practice to it.

However, he continued to administer antibiotics before obtaining all the necessary authorizations and despite his signed commitment to cease doing so until all the required conditions were met.

‘A lamentable error of judgment’

The disciplinary council emphasizes that, in his testimony, Khadir acknowledged “that he acted too hastily and made this lamentable error of judgment by continuing to prescribe antibiotic treatments for more than 28 days.”

Dr. Khadir also stated that he “regretted not having been wiser and not having proceeded with more caution with his patients… adding that he blames himself and that he should never have violated the commitment he signed in 2020.”

150 patients

A new complaint was filed against him in January 2024 by the Professional Inspection Directorate after its review of three files showing that he had again prescribed antibiotics for more than 28 days to these patients, leading to a new investigation by the assistant syndic. Ultimately, Dr. Khadir admitted to having prescribed prolonged antibiotic therapy to approximately 150 patients.

Dr. Lapointe randomly selected 15 files for analysis, finding that in 10 of them, Dr. Khadir had violated the commitment he made to Dr. Joyal in 2020.

“A physician who neglects to respect a commitment made to a member of the Order’s disciplinary board sends the message to the public that one of the Order’s bodies responsible for ensuring its protection is incapable of regulating the practice of its members and adequately ensuring the legitimacy of the services they provide to the public,” the council stated.

“The respondent therefore broke his solemn promises made to the Office of the disciplinary board, promises which were intended to protect the public,” the council continued.

Risk of side effects

The council noted that Khadir himself testified that “these therapies could affect the liver or even lead to antibiotic resistance.” The side effects of the treatment provided by the respondent are difficult to assess, as it remains unproven by the medical and scientific community in Quebec. The potential consequences of failing to honour this commitment on patients’ health are highly significant and serious.

Referring to the admission made to the assistant trustee that he had administered this treatment to some 150 patients, “even if we take half that number, to predict within a margin of error, it remains possible that between 75 and 150 patients received a prescription for antibiotics from the respondent when he was prohibited from doing so. This finding increases the objective seriousness of the offence committed by the respondent,” the council notes.

Khadir has practiced medicine since 1997. He was elected to the National Assembly in 2008 under the Québec solidaire banner and left politics in 2018.