Health Care Complaints Commission v Nguyen [2018] NSWCATOD 82

Civil and Administrative Tribunal New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Health Care Complaints Commission v Nguyen [2018] NSWCATOD 82 Hearing dates: 15 and 16 March 2018 Date of orders: 30 May 2018 Decision date: 30 May 2018 Jurisdiction: Occupational Division Before: Boland ADCJ, Deputy President Associate Prof G Albert, Senior Member Associate Prof A Demirkol, Senior Member J Houen, General Member Decision: 1. The registration of Dr Long Phan Nguyen (also known as Dr Lawrence Nguyen) (the practitioner) is suspended for a period of 3 months commencing on 13 June 2018.

2. On the expiration of the suspension the following conditions are imposed on the practitioner's registration: (1) the practitioner shall: (i) not possess, supply, administer or prescribe any "drug of addiction" (Schedule 8 drug) as defined by the Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Act 1966 (NSW); (ii) not possess, supply, administer or prescribe any substance listed in Schedule 4 Appendix D of the Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Regulation 2008 (NSW); (iii) obtain approval from the Medical Council of NSW (the Council) prior to changing the nature or place of his practice; (iv) obtain approval from the Council prior to employing or taking on any new independent contractors, general practitioners or employees; (v) see no more than 4 patients per hour for a maximum of 6 hours on any given day and not see patients on weekends; (vi) nominate an experienced registered general practitioner to act as his professional supervisor in accordance with the Medical Council of NSW's supervision level 3 policy in force from time to time; (vii) review and discuss with his supervisor matters relating to his practice including but not limited to: Managing a group practice; Dealing with drug dependent patients; Ethical issues as they arise in practice; Workload; Clinical performance; Personal and/or medical practice issues as they arise; Compliance with regulations governing medical records; and Medical record reviews. (viii) authorise the supervisor to report, in an approved format, to the Council every 3 months about the supervision, and to inform the Council if there is any concern about his professional conduct, health or personal wellbeing; (ix) to submit to audits of his medical practice by a random selection of his medical records by a person or persons nominated by the Council; (a) within 3 months of the of the practitioner's resuming practice following expiration of his suspension; (b) within a further 6 months of the initial audit. (c) It is noted that the auditor is to assess the practitioner's compliance with good medical record keeping standards and all regulatory requirements; and (d) authorise the auditor(s) to provide the Council with a report on their findings; (x) meet all costs associated with compliance with all conditions on his registration.