Doctor operating safer supply clinics billed OHIP $2.5M last year

A doc moving a web of addiction clinics crossed Ontario, including an Ottawa determination that offers safer opioid supply, is billing nationalist security astir $2.5 cardinal per year.

Dr. Suman Koka is the sole serviceman and manager of Northwood Recovery, which has locations successful North York, Hamilton and Manitoulin Island. It operates nether the sanction Recovery North successful Sudbury, Timmins and Sault Ste. Marie.

Northwood Recovery opened its archetypal Ottawa determination successful Hintonburg past year, but softly moved it to Chinatown this March.

Neighbours successful some Hintonburg and Chinatown person criticized Koka for prescribing opioid medications to fentanyl users. They say his patients are trading the medicine drugs connected the thoroughfare to get harder substances, attracting dealers and transgression to the area.

City councillors representing some neighbourhoods person urged Northwood Recovery to alteration its operations oregon unopen down.

In an interrogation past month, Koka confirmed that the Ottawa session offers safer supply, a harm simplification attack intended to assistance users regenerate thoroughfare drugs similar fentanyl with safer medicine narcotics.

Among different treatments, Koka prescribes hydromorphone, which is besides known by the commercialized sanction Dilaudid. He confirmed that helium chiefly meets with patients astatine the Ottawa session remotely done telemedicine.

CBC submitted a state of accusation petition to the Ontario Ministry of Health seeking records of Koka's total billing to the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP). It reveals that helium billed conscionable implicit $2.3 cardinal successful 2023 and astir $2.5 cardinal successful 2024.

Those totals bash not correspond Koka's nett oregon take-home pay, since astatine slightest immoderate of the wealth would beryllium utilized to screen overhead costs astatine his clinics, which could see rent, supplies and administrative staff.

But the totals are acold successful excess of emblematic billing. The mean gross objective outgo for Ontario physicians was $388,557 successful 2022-23, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information. Payments for the apical quintile — the apical 20 per cent of physicians by billing — were $568,432 connected average.

CBC besides submitted a petition for Koka's billing for telemedicine specifically. He billed $524,302 for virtual attraction services successful 2024, including video and telephone consultations.

The figures were existent arsenic of January 22 of this year. The documents include a enactment that physicians inactive person a three-month play to taxable further claims for processing.

Koka had antecedently appeared connected a Toronto Star database of highly paid doctors published successful 2019. According to the Sudbury Star, which cited the Toronto Star's reporting, Koka billed $1.5 cardinal successful 2018-19, putting him successful the apical 1 per cent of doctors ranked by OHIP billing.

Koka did not respond to a petition this week with elaborate questions astir his 2023 and 2024 billing. He did not explicate however helium is capable to personally spot capable patients to measure millions of dollars per year, oregon whether helium is delegating immoderate of the care.

But successful a March interview, CBC asked him whether helium was inactive 1 of Ontario's highest paid doctors.

"I'm not definite astir that, but I'll archer you I'm astir apt 1 of the hardest moving doctors successful Ontario," helium said astatine the time.

Previously cautioned for telemedicine practices

Doug Angus, a prof emeritus astatine the University of Ottawa's Telford School of Management, said Koka would person to spot a precise precocious measurement of patients to make that benignant of money.

Angus, who specializes successful wellness economics, said Koka's reliance connected virtual attraction could let him to rhythm done patients quickly.

"That's changed the crippled completely," helium said. "There's a batch of wide practitioners who would emotion to person that benignant of situation, but there's nary mode they tin make that benignant of gross income with face-to-face visits."

He said that the ministry has tried to rein successful precocious billers, but it's hard to monitor. He said they haven't yet addressed the question of however galore patients a doc tin efficaciously see.

Koka's rank leafage connected the College of Physicians and Surgeons website shows helium has 15 signifier locations, arsenic good arsenic infirmary privileges astatine the Health Sciences North determination infirmary successful Sudbury. His aesculapian nonrecreational corp has 13 antithetic addresses.

The assemblage cautioned him successful 2019, aft a diligent complained that Koka didn't conscionable with him astatine all. Instead, a doc adjunct astatine his bureau prescribed methadone aft a virtual appointment.

The assemblage recovered nary motion that the doc adjunct had due grooming — and noted that delegating attraction is lone due successful the discourse of an existing doctor-patient relationship, which did not beryllium successful that case.

Somerset Coun. Ariel Troster met with Koka past month, on with country MPP Catherine McKenney. In a station to her website, Troster said she insisted connected wraparound supports for patients and amended information protocols during the meeting.

She said the session has hired a information defender and a caregiver and committed to removing radical from the programme if they divert their medications.

In his March interrogation with CBC, Koka said Northwood Recovery takes cause diversion precise seriously. He said patients recovered to beryllium trading oregon selling their medications are discharged from the program.

According to Koka, adjacent suspicion tin pb the session to enactment patients nether a stricter authorities wherever they indispensable instrumentality doses connected site.

He said telemedicine has accrued the fig of radical helium is capable to see, allowing much radical to entree addiction treatment.

"Whether it's done video league oregon whether done successful person, the enactment is the same," helium said.