Doctors discover their bios being used by clinic despite never working there

An Ottawa walk-in clinic already under scrutiny is now being accused of falsely posting the biographies of at least two doctors who have never worked for the clinic on its website.

Dr. Sonam Maghera shared screenshots with CBC of the South Keys Health Center’s (SKHC) website section of team members, which displayed her name and a description matching the bio posted on her practice’s website word for word. 

But according to Maghera she has never had any contact whatsoever with the South Keys clinic.

“I was deeply concerned because I didn’t work there … and they could have potentially been seeing patients under my licence,” she said.

The physician, who specializes in sports medicine, became aware of the problem last week after a patient contacted her clinic concerned that Maghera had left her existing practice with the Ottawa Orthopedic Centre (OOC).

A screenshot of the South Keys Health Center’s website shows Dr. Sonam Maghera as being a member of the clinic’s medical team and includes word for word the doctor’s biography from own clinic’s page. (Submitted by Dr. Sonam Maghera)

Maghera’s colleague at OOC, Dr. Darryl Young, tells CBC the South Keys Health Center also posted a copy of his bio, with only slight alterations to his first name and institutional connections.

A Dr. Dave Young on the SKHC site trained in Alberta and is the chief of surgery at the Cornwall Community Hospital, whereas Dr. Darryl Young trained in Newfoundland and is the chief of surgery at the Kemptville District Hospital.

And while the SKHC states “He is passionate about medical humanitarian work and has led multiple surgical volunteer teams to Haiti with the organization Doctors Without Borders,” the real Dr. Young’s bio states “He is passionate about medical humanitarian work and has led multiple surgical volunteer teams to Haiti with the organization Team Broken Earth.”

Both bios list the doctor’s hobbies as “kitesurfing, mountain biking and snowboarding.”

Before Google was alerted of the problem, the second highest ranked search result for Dr. Sonam Maghera was the fake listing as a team member of the South Keys Health Center. (Submitted by Dr. Sonam Maghera)

According to Maghera and her clinic’s staff, the two bios were removed after OOC contacted the South Keys Health Center.

But the impact has not dissipated, said Maghera, citing what happened earlier this week when she searched her name in Google.

“To have that [SKHC site] as the second [Google] hit after all the work that you do was extremely concerning,” she said. 

The South Keys Health Center is offering patients access to nurse practitioner services at $400 a year. (Jean Delisle/CBC)

CBC reached out to the South Keys Health Center for comment but did not hear back. 

The walk-in clinic was already the subject of scrutiny following news reports earlier this week that it offers patients access to nurse practitioners for $400 a year.

While the clinic has said charging the fee is legal, Ontario’s Ministry of Health has said it is reviewing the scheme. 

Maghera described the added attention of being linked to the walk-in clinic as unwelcome.

“I put in a lot of work to serve my patients, to create an honest practice,” she said. “I don’t want someone else taking my licence and being able to practice medicine from it.”

Maghera said she has reported the incident and forwarded screenshots to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, but was told there is little they can do. 

She added she is considering whether or not to involve Ottawa police. 

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