Alberta doctor has practice permit cancelled after sexual abuse decision

A Grande Prairie, Alta., family doctor will not be allowed to practise after she was found to have committed sexual abuse by entering into a relationship with a vulnerable patient. 

Dr. Brianne Hudson is the first doctor to have her practice permit cancelled by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta under the provincial Act to Protect Patients. The act outlines mandatory penalties for medical professionals found to have committed sexual abuse or misconduct. 

The decision was announced by the college on Dec. 22, 2023, with the legislation enacted by the Alberta government in April 2019.

The decision comes after a CPSA hearing tribunal found in January 2023 that her conduct constituted sexual abuse as defined in the Health Professions Act.

Hudson was also found to have provided CPSA with false information during her 2020 annual renewal, claiming she had not engaged in a sexual or inappropriate personal relationship with a patient that had not been previously reported to CPSA.

After the January 2023 decision, she was suspended from practice, pending the determination of sanction.

A vulnerable patient

Hudson admitted to having a sexual relationship with the patient from August to December of 2019, according to details noted in a series of proceedings held by the tribunal.

According to previous testimony from Hudson, she first met the paraplegic patient in 2011 during rounds at the QEII Hospital.

She had further encounters in which she treated him at the hospital between 2016 and 2018.

Hudson testified that the patient "had fallen into opioid addiction, and he started to frequent the hospital regularly" in 2016. She said, "he was in and out of hospital with infections repeatedly."

On Dec 20. 2018, Hudson took over the care of the patient while he required medical treatment while being incarcerated. 

Hudson said she was upset about the patient's health after he described to her subpar treatment while in detention. He described being made to walk on his own and falling resulting in the opening of his wound dressings and being made to drag himself across the floor of his cell to reach the food that was provided to him.

The patient, who became paraplegic after a workplace accident, contended with health conditions like being anemic and poorly nourished, which inhibited his wound healing.

He was an amputee with severe infections of the bone and blood, and because he had wounds and ulcers that would not heal, he required specialized care to change his dressings. He could not maintain basic standards of cleanliness, and his wound care was not being maintained.

He was also homeless and incarcerated and had an imminent court date regarding severe charges but had not yet retained legal representation.

The former 37-year-old patient died of a drug overdose in his apartment in August 2022.

Boundaries 

On Feb. 18, 2019, the Peace River Correctional Centre director, Allen Gukert, submitted a complaint alleging that Hudson had failed to maintain professional boundaries with the patient during his hospital stay in December 2018.

Gukert alleged that Hudson denied the patient's transfer without a medical reason, questioned the need for correctional staff to monitor him while in hospital, provided him with a bag of food from McDonald's, attempted to allow him to use her personal cellphone, and paid a $500 deposit for the patient to be released from custody representing a violation of her professional boundaries.

Hudson said that she began to have feelings for the patient shortly after the patient was released from incarceration in January 2019 and Hudson assisted with finding him permanent housing.  

Hudson said at various points, she experienced confusion over what was regarded as permissible with the patient, despite attending a boundaries course in B.C. 

Following completing the course, Hudson said she began to feel guilty about her relationship with the patient and subsequently decided to report herself to the college. 

Hudson said she had no contact with the patient from April 2021 onward.  

There was also no evidence presented during the hearing that Hudson took any steps to try to formally terminate her physician-patient relationship. 

Before April 1, 2019, physicians were subject to the previous version of the Health Professions Act, which did not define a "patient" or address when a sexual relationship may occur between a physician and a patient.

Hudson's legal counsel, Taryn Burnett and Shayla Stein noted Hudson admitted her sexual relationship, but she did not acknowledge that this constituted sexual abuse of a patient under the amended Health Professions Act and the new standard of practice.

CBC News requested comment from Hudson via Burnett but did not hear back by publication. 

Juliet Guichon is with the University of Calgary's Cumming School of Medicine and specializes in medical ethics.

She said the case is unfortunate for every party involved. 

"He was in a wheelchair, he was addicted to substances, he was a convict ... If she as a physician didn't recognize that even one of those would have been evidence of high vulnerability, why did she miss that?"  

Family impact 

The patient's father and stepmother also filed a complaint with the college about what they believed to be Hudson's unethical behaviour. 

In an impact statement from the patient's stepmother on behalf of both parents, "they struggled to find the balance required in dealing with an adult child with intractable drug dependency issues who was also being sexually abused and exploited by Dr. Hudson." 

They noted feeling Hudson positioned herself between their son and them. As the patient's parents, "they felt used, manipulated and intimidated by Dr. Hudson's tactics." 

Bianca Velasco, acting chair for the group Open Arms Patient Advocacy, said in an interview that the case showcases a strong power imbalance between doctors and patients and the duty of physicians to act as ethical advocates for their patients. 

Furthermore, "other forms of misconduct beyond sexual acts are implemented as part of [An Act to Protect Patients]." 

The tribunal has fined Hudson $5,000 for providing CPSA with false information during her annual renewal and ordered that she be responsible for paying two-thirds of the total cost of the investigation and hearing, to a maximum of $90,000, payable in equal installments over five years.