Professional Conduct reports – January 2025

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Recent hearing outcomes

Dr. Gina Arps sanctioned by CPSA for failing to abide by practice conditions

Family physician Dr. Gina Arps was sanctioned by a CPSA Hearing Tribunal after findings of unprofessional conduct.

It was alleged that between 2021 and 2022, Dr. Arps violated restrictions placed on her practice permit in 2017 by performing invasive and sensitive procedures and examinations, and providing injections to patients at a location that was not an Alberta Health Services (AHS) facility. Dr. Arps was also accused of failing to comply with minimally acceptable infection prevention and control requirements, and was not candid with CPSA and AHS investigators who visited her clinic.

Dr. Arps admitted to the allegations at a hearing in 2023 and the Tribunal accepted a joint submission on sanction. Their orders include the following:

• Dr. Arps is suspended from practice for nine months, with six months considered served to account for time Dr. Arps was withdrawn from practice. Dr. Arps has returned to practice as the rest of her suspension is held in abeyance provided she fulfills the Tribunal’s remaining orders.
• Dr. Arps is responsible for half of the costs of the investigation and hearing to a maximum of $15,000.

The Tribunal’s written decision can be reviewed in full on CPSA’s website.

Dr. Tarek Motan sanctioned by CPSA for unprofessional conduct

Dr. Tarek Motan, an obstetrician, gynecologist and family physician from Edmonton, admitted to unprofessional conduct and was sanctioned by a CPSA Hearing Tribunal.

Dr. Motan admitted to the Tribunal that between August 2015 and November 2017, he failed to comply with CPSA’s Conflict of Interest standard of practice by accepting payment of rebates from pharmaceutical manufacturers based on prescribing certain fertility drugs to his patients. Dr. Motan also referred his patients to a specific pharmacy to facilitate payment of the rebates, offered a portion of the rebates to the pharmacy and did not disclose to his patients that he was receiving rebates for the drugs he was prescribing. The investigation into Dr. Motan’s conduct prior to the hearing did not find that the care provided to Dr. Motan’s patients was inappropriate.

The Tribunal accepted both the admissions by Dr. Motan and the recommendations on sanctions jointly submitted by both parties. Their orders include the following:

• Dr. Motan is suspended from practice for six months, of which he must serve three-and-a-half months. The remainder is considered served to account for the time his clinical privileges were suspended and to acknowledge his cooperation with the hearing process. The suspension began on Oct. 18, 2024.
• If Dr. Motan does not use the after-tax income he received from the rebates to settle a class-action lawsuit filed against him by his patients, he must donate the funds to the University of Alberta’s Division of Reproductive Endocrinology Education Fund.
• Dr. Motan must complete a course on ethics and boundaries (this has already been completed), pay a $5,000 fine and is responsible for 50% of the costs of the investigation and hearing.

The Tribunal’s full, written decision is available on CPSA’s website.

Dr. Phu Truong Vu found guilty of sexual abuse

Calgary physician Dr. Phu Truong Vu has been found guilty of conduct meeting the definition of sexual abuse under the Health Professions Act (HPA). Dr. Vu was previously found guilty of sexual abuse in 2022, in a separate CPSA case involving two other patients.

After a hearing in December 2023, a CPSA Hearing Tribunal found Dr. Vu guilty of allegations that between 2018 and 2020, he failed to have an adequate consent discussion with his patient regarding testing for sexually transmitted diseases, touched his patient in a sexual nature and made inappropriate, sexualized comments while conducting sensitive, invasive examinations that were not medically required. Additional charges including Dr. Vu using inappropriate language and failing to wear gloves during a sensitive examination were found to have not been proven.

Dr. Vu denied that his conduct was of a sexual nature, or that it should be considered sexual abuse. After considering the evidence and testimony provided, the Tribunal concluded Dr. Vu’s conduct met the definition of sexual abuse under the HPA and also violated CPSA’s standard of practice on sexual boundaries. The Tribunal’s written decision is available in full on CPSA’s website (please note, the decision contains sexual language and descriptions of sexual abuse). A hearing on sanction will be scheduled for a later date.

Dr. Vu has not been in practice since the first finding of sexual abuse in August 2022. His license was immediately suspended and then subsequently cancelled in January 2024 upon delivery of the written decision on sanction. Dr. Vu has appealed this decision.

Dr. Vu’s hearing was held in accordance with the legislation the Government of Alberta introduced in 2018, requiring mandatory penalties for health professionals found guilty of sexual abuse or sexual misconduct of a patient. Those penalties can include mandatory suspensions or cancellations, up to and including lifetime bans on providing professional health services to patients in Alberta.