Types of misconduct, explanations for misconduct, removal rates and multivariable predictors of removal
| Cases, n (% of all cases)* | Cases resulting in removal from practice, n (category %) | OR (95% CI)† | p Value | |
| Type of misconduct‡ | ||||
| Inappropriate or inadequate treatment | 175 (36) | 65 (38) | 1.69 (0.98 to 2.91) | 0.06 |
| Inadequate or inappropriate medical certificates or records | 127 (26) | 53 (42) | 1.12 (0.67 to 1.89) | 0.66 |
| Illegal or unethical prescribing | 119 (25) | 55 (46) | 2.27 (1.28 to 3.99) | 0.005 |
| Inappropriate conduct not in relation to patient | 79 (16) | 41 (52) | 3.06 (1.65 to 5.68) | <0.001 |
| Sexual relationship with patient | 79 (16) | 64 (81) | 22.59 (10.18 to 50.14) | <0.001 |
| Inappropriate non-sexual conduct towards patient | 71 (15) | 30 (42) | 1.67 (0.88 to 3.17) | 0.12 |
| Breach of conditions | 60 (13) | 35 (58) | 2.40 (1.19 to 4.85) | 0.01 |
| Failure to obtain informed consent | 54 (11) | 14 (26) | 0.89 (0.42 to 1.88) | 0.76 |
| Inappropriate sexual conduct towards patient (not relationship) | 47 (10) | 25 (53) | 4.39 (1.99 to 9.68) | <0.001 |
| Missed, delayed or incorrect diagnosis | 37 (8) | 9 (24) | 0.70 (0.28 to 1.75) | 0.45 |
| Criminal offence | 18 (4) | 7 (39) | 4.11 (1.26 to 13.39) | 0.02 |
| Breach of privacy | 11 (2) | 3 (27) | 0.37 (0.08 to 1.77) | 0.21 |
| Supervision of others | 10 (2) | 2 (20) | 0.62 (0.11 to 3.34) | 0.58 |
| Explanation for misconduct§ | ||||
| Poor judgement | 164 (46) | 64 (39) | 1.15 (0.64 to 2.06) | 0.64 |
| Willful wrongdoing | 162 (45) | 112 (69) | 17.14 (8.62 to 34.09) | <0.001 |
| Personal situation | 90 (25) | 51 (57) | 4.17 (2.07 to 8.41) | <0.001 |
| Work environment | 86 (24) | 24 (28) | 0.67 (0.33 to 1.37) | 0.27 |
| Incompetence | 84 (23) | 51 (61) | 6.02 (2.87 to 12.63) | <0.001 |
| Insufficient knowledge | 82 (23) | 18 (22) | 0.68 (0.32 to 1.43) | 0.31 |
↵* Of 485 cases, four cases were missing data on whether the tribunal imposed a removal sanction, five cases were missing data on conduct type, and 127 cases were missing data on explanation for the misconduct. Frequency statistics and multivariable models thus used 477 cases for the analysis of misconduct types and 357 cases for the analysis of explanations for misconduct.
↵† ORs come from two multivariable models (type of misconduct model, explanation for misconduct model) and are adjusted for doctors' sex, specialty and state.
↵‡ Fifty-eight per cent of cases involved >1 type of misconduct (mean per case 1.85; SD 0.86).
↵§ Sixty-three per cent of cases involved >1 explanation for misconduct (mean per case 1.90; SD 0.82).