Bad Practice

When patients put themselves in the hands of a doctor, they trust they'll be treated with care. But what happens when that trust is abused? Medical authorities and courts can and do take action against doctors who have failed or harmed their patients. Yet those same doctors can easily practice again — they just have to move to another country. This unprecedented investigation spanning Europe and beyond shows how doctors who have been banned for major wrongdoing, including causing psychological and physical damage to their patients, relocate and pick up their careers. Sometimes the authorities in their new jurisdictions are unaware of their past bans and convictions as information-sharing fails. Other times they do know, but don’t act.In most countries, the public has no access to their doctor’s disciplinary record. And even when there is transparency, connecting the dots to find out whether a doctor has ever been sanctioned abroad is almost impossible. Reporters across 50 media outlets worked for months to trace banned doctors who are still licensed and practicing in a different country and asked the question: How? Bad Practice reveals how failed warning systems, official complacency and a lack of accountability from the banned doctors themselves leaves the public unprotected and unaware.