COLLEGE REJECTS ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE BIAS CHARGE

Motion Against Disciplinary Panel A 'Smokescreen'

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario's disciplinary
committee has dismissed a motion, filed by a doctor found guilty of
professional misconduct, accusing its chair of bias against
alternative medical treatments.

Dr. Jozef Krop's lawyer, Matthew Wilton, accused committee chair Dr.
John Thompson of being biased against treatments such as acupuncture
and homeopathy.

But Robert Armstrong, the lawyer acting on behalf of the College of
Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario - the provincial regulating body
for doctors - dismissed the accusations as a ``smokescreen.''

After listening to both sides' arguments, the committee, led by
Thompson, pronounced ``there is no findings for a reasonable
apprehension of bias on behalf of the chair of this
committee.''

``It doesn't surprise me,'' Krop said after the first day of his
sentencing hearing. ``They've thrown out every other motion my lawyers
has brought forward on this case, so why not this one too.''

The basis for what Wilton called a ``reasonable apprehension of bias''
on the part of Thompson, came from a book on arthritis the chair wrote
in 1995.

A chapter in the book, published by the Canadian Medical Association,
is titled ``Alternatives to Conventional Medicine'' and discusses the
merits of several alternative treatments for arthritis. In it,
Thompson reviews everything from diets to herbal remedies, to
acupuncture and chiropractic.

Wilton argued that Thompson was critical of alternative medicine in
the chapter, and that his criticisms helped predetermine the
committee's decision to find Krop guilty of professional misconduct on
Jan. 6.

Wilton urged the committee to halt its proceedings and re-evaluate
both Thompson's conduct and the judgment of Krop.

``It is my submission that this is a complete and utter red herring,''
Armstrong said. ``This is just another (attempt) to derail this
committee.''

The Krop case has generated controversy since the Mississauga
physician was probed in 1989 for failing to maintain his profession's
standard of practice.

Specifically, the college found Krop's professional conduct
sub-standard in the treatment of six patients - ranging from a
61-year-old man with chronic fatigue syndrome to a 4-year-old girl
with respiratory infections.

But controversy hangs on the fact that no patient of Krop's complained
to the college - the process which normally prompts an
investigation.

Instead, college deputy registrar Dr. John Carlisle wrote to inform
Krop in 1989 that unnamed ``colleagues'' had questioned his practices.

This has led to accusations the college is out to get doctors who
practise alternative medicine.

Krop's supporters call the hearing a witch hunt.

``The college says it's just a matter of Dr. Krop's practice. But the
purpose of the college is to go after people and set an example for
everyone else,'' said Jerry Green, a Krop supporter who led 60 people
to the steps of Queen's Park yesterday to present Liberal MPP Monte
Kwinter, a vocal advocate of alternative medicine, with a petition
supporting Krop.

After lunch, Wilton called four of Krop's former patients to testify
to the doctor's professional credibility.

The sentencing hearing is expected to wrap up today.