THUNDER BAY – A local physiotherapist has been suspended for a year by the College of Physiotherapists of Ontario, after the regulatory body found he submitted false statements relating to treatment of his then-spouse.
The college issued the suspension to Jason Taddeo, a Thunder Bay physiotherapist and former owner of local practice Fairway Physiotherapy Clinic, on Thursday.
A disciplinary panel found Taddeo had committed acts of professional misconduct including issuing a document he knew or ought to have known contained false or misleading statements, and submitting charges for services he knew or ought to have known were false or misleading.
As a result, the college suspended Taddeo until April 22, 2022, and issued a strongly-worded reprimand.
It also ordered him to pay $25,000 in costs to the college, to offset some of the expenses associated with the investigation and prosecution of the case.
To be reinstated, he must successfully complete the ProBe ethics and boundaries program, meet with a practice enhancement coach on no more than three occasions, and complete a review of college tools, standards, and resources.
He is also barred from practicing as a physiotherapist assistant (PTA) during the suspension.
The resolution came via an agreed statement of facts and a joint submission on penalty, following discipline hearings that took place on Feb. 24 and April 22.
“The panel finds that your behaviour constituted serious misconduct,” the college's reprimand to Taddeo reads in part. “The submission of false statements on several occasions brings into question your honesty, integrity, and professionalism.”
The one-year suspension offers Taddeo a chance “to reflect on [his] actions and grow as a therapist,” the college said, but warned any future findings of misconduct could bring more serious consequences.
Taddeo said via email on Sunday he would comply with the decision in its entirety.
He is not currently practicing physiotherapy, he said, but referenced plans to return to the profession in the future.
“I have always provided good quality physiotherapy treatment and will continue to do so once I return to practice,” he said.
He said the college disciplinary process had been “fair and transparent” and described himself as satisfied with the outcome, but declined to comment on specifics of the case.
The college received a complaint in 2017 that the Fairway clinic had submitted invoices to an insurer for physiotherapy services that had never been provided.
The charges were issued under the name and registration number of Michael Poling, Taddeo’s then-business partner and fellow physiotherapist at Fairway, and described services provided to Taddeo's then-spouse.
The incidents occurred between 2007 and 2009, and again in 2012.
“No clinical records exist that document any assessment of, treatment plan for, or treatments provided to Patient A in the [relevant] period,” the college's discipline panel wrote in a 2020 decision finding Poling committed professional misconduct.
That decision found Fairway's invoices to the insurer listed appointments occurring at times when Taddeo’s then-spouse had provided evidence she was at work.
In an initial joint response to the college in 2017, Taddeo and Poling stated his then-spouse “was often treated at home” by Taddeo, according to the decision on Poling’s misconduct.
Taddeo now denies having provided those services, and said Sunday that allegations he provided treatment to his then-spouse have been withdrawn by the college.
The full decision issued Thursday is not yet publicly available, but the college’s public register includes a summary.
Note: This article has been updated to remove references to a 2018 notice of hearing in the case.
