Saturday, February 18, 2012

Bulletin; Flawed pathology results. Winnipeg. Pathologist wrong in 137 cases,; review finds failure to warn 2 cancer patients; Free Press.


PUBLISHER'S NOTE: From time to time this Blog weighs in on flawed pathology outside of the criminal justice context - usually in the context of private labs and hospitals - where there can also be disturbing consequences and supervision and quality concerns. Query: Why has the  identity of the errant pathologist not been released for publication?
STORY: "Pathologist wrong in 137 cases, review finds: Failed to warn 2 cancer patients," by reporter Jenny Ford, published earlier today in the Winnipeg Free Press.
GIST: "A provincial pathology probe found more than 130 Manitobans were given the wrong medical prognoses -- including two patients who were told they didn't have cancer when in fact, they did. The Diagnostic Services of Manitoba review investigated the work of one Manitoba pathologist, revisiting more than 3,000 of his cases from October 2010 to June 2011. The pathologist, whom the review is not naming, is no longer practising..........The pathologist in question practised in Manitoba for about eight months. He had attended medical school in the United States before coming to Manitoba, where Kabani said he had participated in a mentorship program and completed a probation period when he started practising with DSM. "He had been in very prestigious institutions. We had interviewed his references," Kabani said. The pathologist first came under scrutiny after DSM conducted a routine internal audit in April, reviewing 20 of his cases. It expanded the probe to 100 cases after finding discrepancies and put him under the supervision of a senior pathologist. The pathologist was suspended in June while DSM went over all his cases."
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:

http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith

Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:

http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;