Clinical Supervisor to keep a close eye on Chatham Ophthalmologist

More restrictions have been imposed on a Chatham eye doctor who was already being watched by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO).

Ophthalmologist Dr. Christopher Anjema has been under investigation by the College since May 18, 2018 amid allegations of disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional conduct.

The College previously announced it will be holding a hearing to address those allegations, but as of December 4, 2019 there is no scheduled date yet for that hearing.

The latest release from the College, dated November 22, 2019, said Dr. Anjema "must practise under the guidance of a Clinical Supervisor acceptable to the College", adding that he may no longer perform three specific procedures "unless the patient is examined by a Clinical Supervisor acceptable to the College and the procedures are approved and observed by the Clinical Supervisor."

Those procedures are as follows:

1) Laser capsulotomy -- the Canadian Ophthalmological Society says that procedure that can help to clear up "haze on the membrane behind the intraocular lens implant following cataract surgery, which results in diminished vision." It notes approximately 20% of cataract patients develop that haze.

2) Retinal laser photo coagulation -- the Anjema Eye Institute says that procedure is "a controlled method of delivering focused laser power to the retina, creating limited burns... used to treat a variety of conditions including: Diabetic macular edema, proliferative diabetic retinopathy, retinal vein occlusion, retinal tears or holes, retinal detachment, high risk lattice degeneration, and retinal arterial macroaneurysm."

3) Laser trabeculaoplasty -- the Glaucoma Research Foundation says that procedure "is a form of laser surgery that is used to lower intraocular pressure in glaucoma."

The College notes that the restriction on those three procedures "does not apply to Dr. Anjema's hospital-based practice or urgent/emergent situations" where the procedure needs to be performed within 72 hours.

A written statement from the Anjema Eye Institute in response to the restrictions sent to Blackburn News echoes that, pointing out "the latest update relates exclusively to supervision of elective procedures."

You can read the Institute's full statement below:

"We continue to cooperate with the College and fully participate in its process which is progressing as expected.

This latest update relates exclusively to supervision of elective procedures.

All our service lines will continue - we will keep serving patients in all areas of our practice.

We appreciate the opportunity of this due diligence to demonstrate that we provide safe sight-saving surgery using the most advanced technology."

In addition to the practice restrictions imposed in the latest order by the CPSO, the Clinical Supervisor will carry out a number of actions including: observing all of Dr. Anjema's patient encounters for one full day a month, meeting with Dr. Anjema at his practice location or another location approved by the College at least once every month, reviewing at least 40 of his patient charts during each of those meetings for an average of 10 patients per week, discussing any concerns arising from the chart reviews, and submitting a written report to the College at least once a month.

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