The Quebec College of Physicians won a small victory Monday, as the courts granted an injunction severely limiting the work of Pointe Claire osteopath and naturopath Ken Montizambert.
The College of Physicians said Montizambert he would diagnose illnesses and write prescriptions, something only medical doctors are licensed to do.
He appeared in civil court Monday to face 12 charges of illegally practicing medicine. He was ordered to stop providing medical procedures.
“We had to protect the public from someone who is not a doctor,” said Stephane Gauthier, a lawyer for the College of Physicians.
Last spring, an undercover investigator visited Montizambert's clinic, Tri-Med clinic on Boulevard St-Jean in Pointe-Claire.
The investigator said osteopath used metal probes connected to a laptop to try to diagnose illnesses such as liver disease and prostate cancer, and would prescribe homeopathic solutions as remedies.
The College of Physicians doesn't recognize most alternative medicines, because most of them aren't supported by evidence-based science. The medical establishment therefore keeps a close eye on practitioners who may try to tell their clients they're just as qualified as doctors to treat them.
“He doesn't have all the knowledge and the way to make a good description. It might be dangerous. Maybe someone has cancer or something and it's not treated and it's going to be worse,” said Jean-Louis Granger, an investigator with the of College of Physicians.
CTV Montreal briefly spoke to Montizambert on Friday. He said then that he plans to fight the case.
“I'm going to prove the falsehood related to those charges,” he said.
Quebec's largest association of osteopathsOsteopathy Quebec, also refuses to defend his controversial methods.
“This is the type of the problem that shows we need a regulation for osteopathy in Quebec,” said Isabelle Coindre, president of Osteopathy Quebec, in a previous interview about the case.
Despite the controversy, Montizambert has a very loyal clientele – his page on the online doctor-rating website RateMDs.com features a number of glowing testimonials.
