MONTREAL -- A Laval family doctor who was temporarily banned from practising medicine a year ago has continued to see patients illegally, according to the Quebec College des Medecins (CMQ).
In a statement from the CMQ, Photios Giannakis was initially barred by the Order of Physicians as of April 1, 2020 for “having practised medicine without respecting the limitation imposed on his right to practise,” failing to respond to patients' requests for their medical records and prescribing benzodiazepines, despite committing not to in 2012.
The CMQ alleged that despite this ban, Giannakis continued to practise, following up on patients' lab results and seeing them for consultations, receiving cash payments in return.
Despite several orders from Quebec Superior Court to cease his activities, Giannakis reoffended.
In December 2020, he was found guilty of contempt of court and was fined $24,000 but the CMQ accused him of continuing to practise medicine illegally.
A disciplinary board then found him guilty.
The CMQ warned patients that prescriptions written by Giannakis are not valid, as are prescriptions for lab and imaging tests, and will not be filed by pharmacists or laboratories.
"As a professional association, our primary mission is to ensure the protection of the public. In order to fulfill our mandate, we monitor and evaluate the practice of medicine in Quebec and control the illegal practice of medicine. Without commenting on this particular case, which is currently before the courts, the CMQ would like to remind the citizens that a physician cannot practice medicine in Québec if he or she is not registered with the Order," said CMQ president Mauril Gaudreault.
