“If doctors make a complaint maliciously, with no real basis, for instance if they’re in competition with another doctor, then that could still leave them open to these sorts of actions”, he said.
MJA InSight has previously reported on doctors misusing mandatory reporting requirements for personal agendas. (4)
http://www.mjainsight.com.au/view?post=defamation-risk-in-reporting-colleagues&post_id=8987&cat=news-and-research
SOME doctors are misusing the new mandatory reporting requirements for their own personal agendas, according to a medical defence organisation and other anecdotal reports.
In a comment article in this week’s MJA InSight, the chief executive officer of Avant, David Nathan, says that a quarter of members’ requests for support on mandatory reporting come from doctors who have been reported to AHPRA. (1)
“Unfortunately, several of these cases involve an undertone of market competition or a personal agenda driving the making of such reports”, Mr Nathan wrote.
Dr Mukesh Haikerwal, chair of the World Medical Association and former president of the AMA, said he was also aware of cases where reports had been made “not in good faith”.
http://www.mjainsight.com.au/view?post=mandatory-reporting-%25e2%2580%259cmisused%25e2%2580%259d&post_id=6941&cat=issue-41-31-october-2011
