A West Vancouver doctor who wrote a letter asking patients for regular payments to support him during retirement is facing scrutiny from the B.C. College of Physicians and Surgeons.
The two-page goodbye letter from general practitioner Dr. Myron MacDonald announces that he will be retiring this month after 48 years in practice, time that he describes as “a pleasure, not a chore.” He ends the letter with a plea for help, explaining that he didn’t make much money during his career and has limited savings and no pension.
“This is because I ran a low-volume practice and spent time with each of you. Ironically most of my patients followed my advice and got better, which further reduced my income. Doesn’t that take the cake!” the letter reads. “I fully understand that most of you do not have an extra $1,000 lying around, but any amount will be of help to me. Going forward, perhaps $20-$30 a month on your credit card would work for you.”
MacDonald also mentions that he asked his patients five years ago to pay a $200 annual fee to cover uninsured services like bone-density exams and advice by phone, but the practice has still become a financial burden. He billed just under $164,000 last year and similar amounts in the previous two years, according to the provincial Medical Services Commission.
Enclosed with the letter is a form where patients can authorize their credit cards to give monthly, quarterly, yearly or one-time contributions to help the doctor make ends meet.
Patients contacted the College of Physicians and Surgeons about the letter last week, and the college took “immediate definitive action,” according to spokeswoman Susan Prins.
“Any physician who requests money from patients to support him/her in retirement would be contravening a foundational principle contained in the Canadian Medical Association Code of Ethics, which every physician is required to abide by: Do not exploit patients for personal advantage,” Prins wrote in an email.
She said she expects the college to resolve the matter within the next few days. There will be no formal investigation or discipline if MacDonald takes steps to make things right.
No one was answering the phone or the door at MacDonald’s office Monday.
Although he is classified as a family doctor by the college, MacDonald’s specialty is bone density and osteoporosis.
The doctor was an original member of Greenpeace and served as a medic on the environmental group’s campaigns to save the whales in the 1970s.
According to his letter, he spent four years circumnavigating the globe by sailboat after his time with Greenpeace.
